In theory, the Brazilian colony was governed from Lisbon by centralized royal authority vested in governors, magistrates, and other royal officials, but the earlier system of donatary captains had remained in place in some regions, and local government was often controlled by the municipal councils of the port cities. Thus, powerful individuals, families, and interest groups such as the sugar planters or the merchants often exercised considerable influence on government and the law. The growth of the colony's population and its burgeoning economy in the later sixteenth century had created a number of challenges for the administration of justice. Municipal magistrates and a royal judge sent in 1549 were not able to keep up with the increasing amount of litigation and the prosecution of crime. After an aborted attempt in 1588, a royal court of appeals (Relação) with ten judges (desembargadores) was established in 1609. Its judges not only enforced the law but also made and interpreted legislation and served the governor in an advisory role, as well as taking on other administrative functions. Competing authorities such as the bishops or the donataries resented the proximity and power of the High Court, and so, in the aftermath of the Dutch seizure of Salvador (1624–5), pressure was brought on the Crown to abolish the High Court. It was abolished in 1626 and not reinstituted until 1652. The following anonymous document laments the court's demise and reveals the inequities and continuing problems in the judicial system.