Alonso Fernández de Heredia (died March 19, 1782) was a Spanish Captain General and administrator who governed

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

(1747),

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

(1751–1758), Yucatan (in modern-day

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

; 1758–?), the

Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ( es, Reino de Guatemala), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central A ...

(1761–1771) and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

(1761–1771).

Biography

Alonso Fernández de Heredia was born in

Cetina Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Naprijed ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in the first half of the 18th century. He was the son of Antonio Fernandez de Heredia y Liñan Altarriba, 2nd Count of Contamina, and of Beatriz Ximenez de Cerdan y Gurrea, 2nd Marquesa de Barboles. He was a captain in the

Spanish army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

and later a

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

of the royal armies. In 1749, he was involved in a well-known smuggling case of the time; twenty nine years later, he was sentenced along with other accused participants. Heredia, like the other persons accused of smuggling, had fought against the British and promoted a plan to defend Spanish possessions on the Atlantic Coast. Two years later, in 1751 (or on 18 April 1755, according to some sourcesCahoon, Ben
U.S. States F-K
), he was appointed governor of

,Taracena, Luis Pedro (November 26, 2008)
Ilusión minera y poder político: La Alcaldía mayor de Tegucigalpa, siglo XVIII
(In Spanish: Illusion mining and political power: the Mayor of Tegucigalpa, the 18th century). where he established a

naval stores industry The naval stores industry collects, processes, and markets forest products refined from the oleoresin of the slash pine and longleaf pine trees (genus ''Pinus''). The industry was associated with the maintenance of the wooden ships and sailing tac ...

. The last substantial modifications of the

Castillo de San Marcos The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish ...

under Spanish rule had begun in 1738, and were concluded in 1756 during his governorship with the construction of a drawbridge and portcullis at the fort's

sally port A sally port is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter an ...

entrance, as well as a plaque of the Spanish royal coat-of-arms above them.Castillo de San Marcos: Frequently Asked Questions

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. On the other hand, the Florida population grew under Heredia's administration when 363 agricultural settlers from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, Spain, arrived in St. Augustine in October 1757. The Spanish authorities had conceived a plan to repopulate the province with groups of Spanish settlers, and altogether the Spanish crown sent 154 families hailing from the Canary Islands to Florida between 1757 and 1759.Hernández González, Manuel. La emigración canaria a América (Canarian Emigration to the Americas). Pages 43–44. First Edition January, 2007 Heredia's term as governor of Florida ended on April 21, 1758, when he was appointed to serve as governor of Yucatan,

. Among his accomplishments in Yucatan, Heredia published a royal decree which exempted Indian women from all taxes and ordered several modifications to the fortification of

Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...

.Molina Solís, Juan Francisco. ''Historia de Yucatán durante la dominación española'' (In Spanish: History of Yucatan during the Spanish domination). Editorial: Imprenta de la Lotería del Estado, Mérida de Yucatán, 1913. Tomo III, page 228. On June 14, 1761, Heredia was sent to

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

to become its

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...

. He soon requested the Spanish crown to create a

viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the sixteenth century. France *Viceroyalty of New France Portuguese Empire In the scope of the Portuguese Empire, the term "Viceroyalty o ...

of Guatemala, pointing to the region's development of large cattle ranches and sugar cane, fruit and cocoa plantations, as well as the higher development of its cities, but the request was rejected. The same year, he was also appointed governor of

(although according to some sources, he was actually governor of Nicaragua between 1746–1753) and acting governor of

. His government in Honduras implemented a series of changes such as the reorganization of the tax code and an extension of state jurisdiction in social sectors. These initiatives met great success due to the goodwill he had cultivated with the provincial bureaucracy in his previous positions. Heredia was also able to improve relations with local government, including more efficient processing of applications by the people of

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...

. On March 12, 1768, he left the

. Heredia also was recognized by the construction of Tegucigalpa in the construction of

Omoa Omoa is a town, with a population of 7,020 (2013 census), and a municipality in the Department of Cortés in Honduras. Omoa is located on a small bay of the same name 18 km west of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea coast. Geography ...

, where many people died due to the harsh climate of the region and his difficulty in adapting to it. Heredia died on March 19, 1782, in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

Personal life

Alonso Fernández de Heredia married the 3rd Countess San Clemente Elena Marin de Villanueva e Hijar, with whom he had one daughter, Maria Magdalena Fernandez de Heredia y Marin de Villanueva.

References

External links

Cantones: Heredia
(In Spain). {{DEFAULTSORT:Alonso Fernandez De Heredia Royal Governors of La Florida Governors of Yucatán (state) Governors of Honduras Governors of Nicaragua People from Zaragoza 1782 deaths Year of birth unknown