Francisco Gil de Taboada
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Francisco Gil de Taboada y Lemos (in full ''Francisco Gil de Taboada y de Lemos y Villa Marín'') (September 24, 1733 in Santa María de Soto Longo,
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
,
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") , ...
– 1809 in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
) was a Spanish naval officer and colonial administrator in South America. He was briefly viceroy of
New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia. * New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1819 *United Provinces of ...
in 1789, and from March 25, 1790 to June 6, 1796 he was viceroy of
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
.
/sup> After his viceregal service he returned to Spain, where he became a member of the governing junta after King Ferdinand VII of Spain, Ferdinand VII was forced to abdicate by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
. He was director general of the Spanish Royal Navy.


Background

Francisco Gil de Taboada y Lemos was born in 1733 (some sources say 1736 or 1737) in Galicia, Spain. He became a knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem at age 16. He entered the navy as a cadet at
Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
on October 27, 1752. He was promoted to lieutenant ''de navio'' September 3, 1767. During this period he sailed the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Pacific. He was promoted to commander in 1770 and to captain in 1776. From January 5, 1774 to February 1, 1777 he was Spanish governor of the
Malvinas Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubo ...
(Falklands).
/sup> On February 17, 1779 he was named captain of the recently created Company of Naval Cadets of the Department of Ferrol, Spain, Ferrol. He remained in this position until he was appointed viceroy and captain general of New Granada and president of the ''Audiencia'' of
Santa Fe de Bogotá Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
by Antonio Valdez, minister of the Indies (1788). By this time he was commander of a squadron.


As viceroy of New Granada

He took up his new position in January 1789, and served there only until July, when he was named viceroy of Peru and president of the Audiencia of Lima. On March 4, 1789 he was promoted to lieutenant general.


As viceroy of Peru

In Peru he introduced administrative reforms, encouraged literature and the arts, and sent out exploring expeditions. In addition to being a career naval officer who had fought in Algeria, Normandy, Gibraltar and Sicily, Gil de Taboada was also a man of letters. In Peru, he was distinguished by his support for the arts, as well as science and exploration. He supported the foundation of the newspaper '' El Mercurio Peruano'' in 1791 and founded the Academy of Fine Arts. He founded an anatomy center and a hospital, supported the navigation school and ordered the first census of the population. In 1796, he also reincorporated the region of
Puno Puno (Aymara and qu, Punu) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was establ ...
into the Viceroyalty of Peru. At the end of his term as viceroy in 1796 he returned to Spain. There he was subject to a ''
juicio de residencia A ''juicio de residencia'' (literally, ''judgment of residence'') was a judicial procedure of Castilian law and the Laws of the Indies. It consisted of this: at the termination of a public functionary's term, his performance in office was subject ...
'' (grievance tribunal) to investigate the state of the colonial finances during his administration. (This was very common at the end of viceregal administrations in the Spanish overseas colonies.) The verdict was in his favor.


Back in Spain

In 1799 he was named director general of the navy, a position he occupied simultaneously with other high positions until 1807. On February 6, 1805, upon the appointment of General Domingo Grandallana as commander of the squadron at el Ferrol, Gil de Taboada was named interim secretary of state and of the navy. In November of that year he was promoted to captain general in the navy. On April 22, 1806 he was named minister of the navy (no longer on an interim basis). These high positions were held under the authority of King Charles IV. On March 17, 1808 the
Mutiny of Aranjuez The Tumult of Aranjuez ( es, link=no, Motín de Aranjuez) was an uprising led against King Charles IV that took place in the town of Aranjuez, Spain, on 17–19 March 1808. The event, which is celebrated annually in the first week of September ...
forced Charles to abdicate and turn over the government to his son, Ferdinand VII. The rioters at Aranjuez also attacked the hated Prime Minister
Manuel de Godoy Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, Prince of the Peace, 1st Duke of Alcudia, 1st Duke of Sueca, 1st Baron of Mascalbó (12 May 17674 October 1851) was First Secretary of State of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He received many ...
. This and the events that followed directly on it changed everything in Spanish politics, and had enormous repercussions in the Spanish colonies in the Americas.


As a member of the governing junta

The governing ministers, including Gil de Taboada, were confirmed in their positions by Ferdinand. On the invitation of Napoleon, both Charles and Ferdinand left Spain for France, crossing the border on April 21, 1808. They arrived in
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine r ...
, where Napoleon forced them to abdicate and claimed the Spanish crown, which he gave to his brother Joseph I of Naples. It was the beginning of a seven-year exile for the Spanish kings. Before leaving for Bayonne, Ferdinand VII had formed a ruling junta (''Junta Suprema de Gobierno'') composed of his ministers and presided by Infante Antonio, uncle of Fernando VII. Gil de Taboada was still minister of the navy. When
Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...
demanded that Godoy (held in the Castle of Villaviciosa since his deposition) be turned over to the French, Gil strongly opposed the suggestion. Fearing the French encroachment, Gil proposed moving the junta of ministers away from Madrid. Infante Antonio, the day after the popular explosion of the Second of May, was forced to join Charles and Ferdinand in Bayonne. Antonio wrote to Gil that the junta should continue as it had been, but Murat demanded to preside over it. Most of the members accepted this on May 4, but Gil did not. He turned in his resignation a few days later. After the
Battle of Bailén The Battle of Bailén was fought in 1808 between the Spanish Army of Andalusia, led by Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding, and the Imperial French Army's II corps d'observation de la Gironde under General Pierre Dupont de l ...
(July 18–22, 1808), in which the French were defeated and forced to withdraw from Madrid, Gil de Taboada was again sworn in as a member of a governing junta, this time the ''Junta Suprema Central''. This occurred on September 29, 1808 in Aranjuez. When the French reoccupied the capital, they required an oath of allegiance to Joseph Bonaparte, as King Joseph I of Spain. Gil, now an octogenarian, refused. There were calls that he be prosecuted for his refusal, but Joseph rejected that, saying that such a valiant old man should not be molested. When Gil de Taboada died the following year, the French garrison of Madrid accorded him the funeral honors of a man of high dignity.


References

* Artola, Miguel. ''La España de Fernando VII.'' Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1999: 58-70. * González de Canales, Fernando. ''Catálogo de Pinturas del Museo Naval''. Ministerio de Defensa. Madrid, 2000. * Martínez-Valverde y Martínez, Carlos. ''Enciclopedia General del Mar''. Garriga. 1957.


External links


Brief biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gil de Taboada y Lemos, Francisco Viceroys of Peru Viceroys of New Granada Captain generals of the Navy 1730s births 1809 deaths People from Lalín 1780s in the Viceroyalty of New Granada 1790s in the Viceroyalty of Peru Date of death missing Date of birth unknown 18th-century Peruvian people 18th-century Spanish people