Carlos Benites Franquis De Lugo
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Carlos Benites Franquis de Lugo, (1691–?) was a Spanish governor of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
between 1736 and 1737. He was a very critiqued governor. De Lugo favored the total or partial abandonment of several missions and accused the previous governor
Manuel de Sandoval Manuel de Sandoval was a prominent Neomexican soldier who served as governor of Coahuila (1729–1733 ) and Texas (1734–1736). During his administration in Texas, he lived in and worked on the problems of Bexar, but he neglected Los Adaes, wh ...
of criminal actions, so sent him to prison. Ultimately, his economic mismanagement of Texas led the province to near bankruptcy. However, he favored the distribution of river waters through the "dula".


Biography


Early years

Franquis was born in
La Orotava La Orotava is a town and a municipality in the northern part of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The area of the municipality stretches from the north coast to the mountainous interior, and includes the summit of the Teide volcano, ...
,
Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
( Canary Islands,
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 1736, he was chosen to govern
Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...
, in the modern
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 ...
, by
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 ...
. However, when Franquis reached the province, he learned that the position was not yet vacant, because his predecessor had not yet left his political office. Because Franquis could not take office, the
Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
became him in interim governor of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, since the previous governor,
Manuel de Sandoval Manuel de Sandoval was a prominent Neomexican soldier who served as governor of Coahuila (1729–1733 ) and Texas (1734–1736). During his administration in Texas, he lived in and worked on the problems of Bexar, but he neglected Los Adaes, wh ...
, had left the government of the province before the king had appointed a new governor.Weddle, Robert S. (1998)
San Juan Bautista: Gateway to Spanish Texas
University of Texas Press, Austin, page 211.
Chipman, Donald E.; Joseph, Harriett Denise (2010)
Spanish Texas, 1519–1821: Revised Edition
The University of Texas Press. Pages 143-144.
On his trip to Texas, he passed through
Monclova Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and a ...
, in Coahuila, where he criticized the administration of Clemente de la Garza Falcón. Franquis questioned that Falcón was doing everything possible to defend the Spaniard populations from the Amerindians who were attacking the territory.


Governor of Texas


Upon arrival in Texas

On September 26, 1736 Franquis came to
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
to take office. However, De Lugo arrived to the city by surprise because he had not communicated his arrival beforehand and didn't even have an escort. In addition, when the authorities asked him to present his credentials he opposed, as he preferred them to rely on his word. On the other hand, he considered his authority over the Texas and Coahuila
presidios A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...
similar to that of the king and viceroy, as he pointed out in Texas. Shortly after he arrived in San Antonio, he conceded three lots of land to widows of military members and another two to military veterans.


Administration

Upon taking office, Franquis' economic mismanagement led the province to near bankruptcy. In 1736, Franquis "appropriated" of many Native Americans of the missions and sent them to other places, where he forced them to work for him. However, many of them deserted to the forest and began to interact with the Native Americans of the region, which had never been Christianized because they had never lived in missions, and spoke them about the treatment they had been subjected to. The fact was reported to the Spanish Crown. The king, through a letter dated in March of this year, warned Franquis that he would be fined if he continued to send the indigenous from the missions to other places and indicated that the only legal way to dispose of them (out of the missions) was if the religious allowed him to.Reed Swanton, John (1942)
Source Material on the History and Ethnology of the Caddo Indians
University of Oklahoma Press. Page 67.
In addition, Franquis opposed almost all the missionaries and
Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...
officials working in the main regions of Texas and Coahuila (i.e.
Los Adaes Los Adaes was the capital of Tejas on the northeastern frontier of New Spain from 1729 to 1770. It included a mission, San Miguel de Cuellar de los Adaes, and a presidio, Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes (Our Lady of the Pillar of the Adae ...
and
Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...
), causing disaffection between the governor and them. Franquis accused the friars of stealing "the royal treasure", besides insulting them,Curiosuly, one of the insults that De Lugo poured out against them was that of "Hijos de Satán" ("Sons of Satan"), even though this was a religious group, which served to the church. Other insults such as "alcahuetes" or "cornudos cabrones" (cuckold bastards) were also poured against them by De Lugo. and preventing their letters from being sent because he appropriated their. In addition, he ordered the friars to fire the most of the guards working on each mission. So, the guards were to be reduced from three to one per mission, even though they were very important to the missions because they contributed to the "maintaining of discipline", the "daily tasks" and to the search and recovery of the Amerindians who had escaped from the mentioned religious outposts, as well as to their punishment for having fled. Franquis was apparently annoying for the supposed mistreatment that the missionaries were inflicting on indigenous of various regions, particularly those of La Concepción, San Juan Capistrano and La Espada, as he explained to the Viceroy of New Spain in a letter he send him in August 1737. Volume 1 (in Spanish: Resistance movements and indigenous rebellions in northern of Mexico, Volume 1). In April 1737, the governor ordered all the guards working in the missions to vacate them. Several month later, on June 8, 1737, San Francisco mission was abandoned and the 230 Native Americans who lived there got the freedom,Amerindians residing in the missions could not leave until they were fully cultured and, perhaps, had learned a profession. while the other religious establishments had lost many Native Americans as well (including the San Juan Capristano mission, which was abandoned by most of the amerindians). Although the Viceroy ordered Franquis to return all the guards to the missions, he decided to ignore the order. For instance, he ordered the construction of the first "dula" (a piece of land that receives irrigation from a ditch) for the distribution of rivers.Bienmesabe. Presencia canaria en el sur de Estados Unidos
(In Spanish: Bienmesabe. Canarian presence in South of United States). Accessed September 29, 2010 at 15:00.
In 1737, Franquis took all the Sandoval's documents and accused him of criminal actions. Accused of "seven counts of official misconduct", Sandoval was later sent to prison. Shortly thereafter, an investigation into the administration of Franquis took place, which ended on July 9, 1737.


Last years

After the investigation, Franquis was imprisoned, because he was accused of imposing an authoritarian system in Texas. In September 1737, he was expelled from his position as governor and sent to San Juan Bautista, in
Nuevo Leon Nuevo is the Spanish word for "new". It may refer to: * Nuevo, California, a town in the state of California * Nuevo (band), featuring singer and musician Peter Godwin * Nuevo (Bayamón), a settlement in Puerto Rico * "Nuevo", Spanish-language vers ...
, but Franquis fled to
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 ...
. After submitting the official accounts of his government, Franquis was found not guilty in his trial. A little later, he settled in
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 ...
, in the modern-day Mexico, and assumed the rank of officer of the garrison of that place. Finally, he returned to Spain and rejoined to the regiment of Savoy. The place and date of his death are not known, but it is thought that he died in Mexico or Spain.


Personal life

When Franquis was young, he emigrated to
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, "where he married Ángela de Alarcón y Ocaña".


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benites Franquis de Lugo, Carlos Governors of Spanish Texas 1691 births Year of death unknown People from Tenerife 1730s in Texas