 The three main institutions of the early colonial era were the Roman Catholic Church and the civil hierarchy of the State, both controlled by the Spanish monarchy.In the late eighteenth century, the crown created a standing military to protect its sovereignty over territory and prevent foreign invasions.The royal army and militias became a way for American-born Spaniards ("criollos") to achieve upward mobility when other paths to advancement were blocked by the Spanish crown's preference for Iberian-born Spaniards ("peninsulares") for high civil and ecclesiastical offices.