Note 5 — Spanish Insular Government

In 1810 Tomás de Comyn wrote as follows:—“In order to be a chief of a province in these Islands, no training or knowledge or special services are necessary; all persons are fit and admissible.... It is quite a common thing to see a barber or a Governorʼs lackey, a sailor or a deserter, suddenly transformed into an Alcalde, Administrator, and Captain of the forces of a populous province without any counsellor but his rude understanding, or any guide but his passions.”5