The Spanish established Comayagua, originally called Nueva Valladolid de Comayagua ("New Valladolid of Comayagua") and Valle de Santa María de Comayagua ("Valley of Saint Mary of Comayagua"), as one of four top-tier gobiernos in Central America that served as administrative centres for commerce and industry. They established less important centres, such as Tegucigalpa, as alcaldías mayores, and more sparsely colonised areas as corregimientos. A number of indigenous settlements, referred to as pueblos de indios ("Indian villages"), comprised a corregimiento. The colonial corregidor governed the corregimiento, but the Spanish also appointed native officials, including the alcalde (or mayor) and his regidores, or councillors. All levels of colonial government were concerned with the collection of tribute and the organisation of native labour.
