Ouvidores

They were judges appointed by the grantees and in many cases their lieutenants. They received the oath of the aldermen, in the absence of the grantees, and exercised judicial and police functions, being able to capture individuals accused of any crime. To prevent the excesses of jurisdiction of the grantees and their ouvidores, there were already corregedores in Madeira in the 15th century, responsible for conducting judicial inquiries and punishing judges who committed malfeasance. The bishops also had ouvidores, with the prelate D. Luís de Figueiredo creating two ouvidorias in Madeira and one on the island of Porto Santo. The ouvidores of the grantees had a pension paid by the Municipal Chamber.