Francisco Torralbo y Robles (1730 – May 15, 1795), acting governor of Puerto Rico, brigadier general, King's Lieutenant of Puerto Rico.
Biography
Colonel Francisco Torralbo was born in the
Principality of Catalonia
The Principality of Catalonia ( ca, Principat de Catalunya, la, Principatus Cathaloniæ, oc, Principat de Catalonha, es, Principado de Cataluña) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian P ...
. He was the legitimate son of Alfonso (Alonso) Torralbo, infantry captain in the Regiment of
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
, and Apolonia Robles, he entered into marriage with Teresa Valenciano y Pimentel in 1763 and had issue, among whom Juana Josefa de la Luz de Torralbo y Valenciano, who in turn married Colonel
Rafael Conti y Flores, defender of Aguadilla against a British invasion in 1797.
[Ramírez Brau, Enrique, ''Orígenes portorriqueños'', Volume 1, pg. 204 (1942)]
He served as Spanish governor of
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
on two occasions, 1789 and 1792–1793, both ''ad interim''. The first occasion occurred after governor Juan Dabán y Busterino was recalled to Spain; the second was similarly a consequence of governor Miguel Antonio de Ustariz's return to the
Peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
following his physical indisposition, a permanent replacement would be, in effect, Field Marshal Ramón de Castro, owing to the sudden death in Mexico of the Crown's original choice, Brigadier General Enrique de Grimarest, which occurred after his appointment but before he could assume the post. During his interimships Torralbo dealt with the consequences of the ongoing
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, especially through its manifestations on the neighboring French colonies of
Saint Domingue
Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the islan ...
and
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
. After retiring Torralbo spent the remainder of his life in Puerto Rico and was buried in the Chapel of
San Vicente Ferrer of the Convent of the Predicators in San Juan.
Notes
External links
*Puerto Rico Encyclopedi
*Genealogical Study (in Spanish
*Familias de Cabo Roj
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torralbo y Robles, Francisco
Royal Governors of Puerto Rico
1740 births
1795 deaths