Question

Which is an accurate description of the viceroyalty system in the Americas?

Answer 1

Viceroys were like super-governors that controlled huge areas of land for their country in the name of the ruling monarch. I guess you could call them mini-monarchs.

In Spain's case, for example, one viceroy was the governor of New Spain which included Mexico, the Western United States (when it was still owned by Spain), and the Philippines. That's a huge area under the control of one official, but that's how it worked.