![BaltasardeZugniga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/BaltasardeZugniga.jpg)
Baltasar de Zúñiga y Guzmán, 1st Duke of Arión, 2nd Marquess of Valero (1658 in
Spain
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, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
– December 26, 1727 in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
) was Spanish
viceroy of New Spain
The following is a list of Viceroys of New Spain.
In addition to viceroys, the following lists the highest Spanish governors of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, before the appointment of the first viceroy or when the office of viceroy was vacant. ...
from August 16, 1716, to October 14, 1722, and later president of the
Council of the Indies
The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...
.
Early life
Zúñiga y Guzmán was born in Spain in 1658, second son of , and thus of royal blood.
With his elder brother he participated in the
Great Turkish War and fought the
Battle of Buda (1686), in which he was slightly wounded, but his brother killed. Between 1692 and 1697, he was
Viceroy of Navarre.
At the start of the
Spanish Succession War
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
, he chose the side of
Philip V Philip V may refer to:
* Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC)
* Philip V of France (1293–1322)
* Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598)
* Philip V of Spain
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...
and became
Viceroy of Sardinia
This is a list of viceroys of Sardinia.
Aragonese Viceroys
From 1418 to 1516 Sardinia was ruled by viceroys from the Crown of Aragon, which merged into the Monarchy of Spain in 1516.
1. Lluís de Pontons (1418-1419)
2. Joan de Corbera (1419-14 ...
between 1704 and 1707.
As viceroy of New Spain
He made his formal entrance into
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
on August 16, 1716, and received his office from the previous viceroy,
Fernando de Alencastre, 1st Duke of Linares. Zúñiga was the first bachelor to be viceroy of New Spain.
He was soon informed of famine in Texas, which was causing colonists to abandon their villages. He immediately ordered the governor of
Coahuila to send aid to the region. He also ordered that the Indians be taught agriculture and animal husbandry.
In 1717 Florida Indian chiefs meeting in Pensacola asked to come to Mexico City. Viceroy Zúñiga sent a ship from the Armada de Barlovento (coast guard) to pick them up and transport them to
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
. They traveled by stagecoach from there to the capital, where they were received with honors. They accepted baptism and promised friendship to the Spaniards, a promise which they kept.
In 1717 the Spanish Crown established its monopoly on tobacco in Cuba and New Spain, and the private factories disappeared. The export of tobacco to Peru was prohibited. The changes resulted in a large increase in royal revenue.
In 1718 rebel Lipanes Indians surrendered in the Sierra Gorda (
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
). Missionaries were sent, and the Indians accepted Christianity. Rich mines were subsequently discovered in the region.
The first feria (festival) organized by the merchants of
Jalapa
Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...
was celebrated in late 1720. In 1722 Juan Ignacio María de Castorena Ursúa y Goyeneche began publishing a newspaper in Mexico City. The Hospital Real burned in 1722. Also in that year a principal idol of the Indians was burned in an
auto de fe
Auto may refer to:
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* An automobile
* An autonomous car
* An automatic transmission
* An auto rickshaw
* Short for automatic
* Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play
* ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film
* Auto (play), ...
in Mexico City.
["In a spectacular auto de fe in Mexico City, the principal idol adored by the Indians was burned". Manuel García Puron, ''México y sus gobernantes'', v. 1. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984, p. 114.] The convent of Corpus Christi was founded for Indian nobles.
On June 16, 1718, as the viceroy was leaving the procession of Corpus Christi with the
Audiencia, he was attacked with a knife on the stairs of the palace by a man named Nicolás Camacho. Zúñiga escaped without injury. Camacho was arrested, judged insane, and committed to the Hospital of San Hipólito.
Foreign encroachments
During his term as viceroy, Zúñiga y Guzmán was able to expel the English from
Laguna de Términos
Laguna de Términos is the largest tidal lagoon by volume located entirely on the Gulf of Mexico, as well as one of the most biodiverse. Exchanging water with several rivers and lagoons, the Laguna is part of the most important hydrographic riv ...
(in present-day
Campeche). This site had been occupied almost continuously since 1663 by pirates and by Englishmen directing the illegal cutting of precious woods. (The Spanish did not make this distinction.) In 1714 alone, the English sent 150 ships carrying logwood from the site. Also in that year the English had 1,000 men, 16 fortifications, six large warships, four brigantines and six sloops on the island of Tris in the Laguna de Términos.
In 1716 the viceroy sent a Spanish fleet from Veracruz, under Alonso Felipe de Andrade, to reclaim the island. They took the English by surprise, and were successful. The precious woods and pirate booty they captured amply repaid the costs of the expedition. A Spanish garrison was established on the island, and Andrade was named governor. The Spanish fought off a return attack of 335 filibusters on July 16, 1717, but Andrade lost his life in the fighting. His descendants were honored with the hereditary position of captain of dragoons.
Zúñiga also advanced the colonization of Texas and established four advance posts in the region to expel the French. In addition he conquered Nayarit and reconstructed the fortifications in Florida. On May 19, 1719, shortly after the declaration of war between France and Spain, the French disembarked in Pensacola. They were easily defeated and forced to surrender. However, the missionaries and soldiers in Texas returned to Coahuila, fearing French advances. The viceroy sent the
Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo and 500 militiamen to expel the French from the Bay of Espíritu Santo, where they were established. Aguayo was named governor of Florida and Texas.
Zúñiga also worked to dislodge the French from
Española, where they were well established, and the Danish from the
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...
.
On December 21, 1720, the system of convoys was established to transport tribute and merchandise to Spain. On that date a fleet of merchant ships escorted by ships of war sailed from Veracruz to the
Canary Islands. From the Canaries, another fleet escorted the merchant ships to
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
.
Later career and death
For the marriage of the Prince of Asturias to the Princess of Orléans, Viceroy Zúñiga was named majordomo of the palace in Madrid. To take up that position, he turned over the government of New Spain to his successor,
Juan de Acuña, marqués de Casafuerte
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
. On Zúñiga's return to Spain, he became president of the Council of the Indies. He died in Madrid in 1727. In accordance with his will, his heart was sent to the Capuchin convent of Corpus Christi, which he had founded in Mexico City, where it was preserved.
Notes
References
* "Ciudad del Carmen, Camp.," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 3. Mexico City, 1988.
* "Zúñiga y Guzmán, Baltasar de," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 14. Mexico City, 1988.
* García Puron, Manuel, ''México y sus gobernantes'', v. 1. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984.
* Orozco L., Fernando, ''Fechas Históricas de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1988, .
* Orozco Linares, Fernando, ''Gobernantes de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuniga, Baltasar 01
1658 births
1727 deaths
Viceroys of Navarre
Viceroys of New Spain
Dukes of Spain
Marquesses of Spain