José de Zúñiga y la Cerda (1654–1725) was a Spanish nobleman,

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 ...

and governor of

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...

(1699–1706) and

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

in present-day

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

(1712–18). He served twenty-seven years in the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

, rising to the rank of field marshal. He participated in the defense of the town of

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...

when it was besieged by the Moors.

Political career

Governor of Florida

King

Carlos II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War of ...

named Zúñiga Governor and

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 ...

on January 30, 1699. The oath of office with instructions concerning the responsibilities of his appointment was administered by the court of the

Casa de Contratación The ''Casa de Contratación'' (, House of Trade) or ''Casa de la Contratación de las Indias'' ("House of Trade of the Indies") was established by the Crown of Castile, in 1503 in the port of Seville (and transferred to Cádiz in 1717) as a cro ...

(in English: House of Trade) in

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 ...

, on May 20, 1699. He was given a license to carry four slaves, and he sailed to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

in the fleet commanded by General

Manuel de Velasco y Tejada Manuel de Velasco y Tejada commanded the Spanish fleet during the Battle of Vigo Bay (1702), which occurred during the War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 170 ...

on May 23, 1699. Zúñiga was governor of Florida from 1699 until 1706. In 1701, he appointed

Juan de Ayala y Escobar Juan Francisco Buenaventura de Ayala y Escobar (1635 – May 28, 1727) was a prominent Spanish soldier and administrator who governed Spanish Florida from October 30, 1716, to August 3, 1718. The succeeding governor, Antonio de Benavides, a zealo ...

as "visitador general" of Apalachee to investigate the terms of the peace that the native tribes there had made with other peoples, such as the towns of

Apalachicola Province Apalachicola (sometimes Palachacola) was the name of a Native American tribal town, and of a group of towns associated with it, which the Spanish called Apalachicola Province, located along the lower part of the Chattahoochee River in present-da ...

.Grady, p. 110. During his administration he improved the castle (''castillo'') or fortress and the town defenses of

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

, the capital of the province. In 1702 St. Augustine was besieged by English troops under Colonel Moore, who lacked heavy artillery to capture the fort. The siege resulted in the burning of the town outside the fort. Zúñiga y la Cerda ordered the remaining Spanish missions in Apalachee and

Timucua Province Beginning in the second half of the 16th century, the Kingdom of Spain established a number of Christian missions, missions throughout Spanish Florida, ''La Florida'' in order to convert the Native Americans in the United States, Native America ...

to be moved closer together for defensive purposes. The English and their Indian allies fled with the arrival of a relief

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...

commanded by Esteban de Berroa and Capt. Lope de Solloso, leading a team of Galician recruits and militia troops from

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.

. Zúñiga's term as governor of Florida ended on April 9, 1706.Cahoon, Ben
U.S. States F-K

Governor of Cartagena de Indias

Zúñiga was appointed governor of

in 1706 (or 1712) to replace Juan Diaz Pimienta. He served until 1710 (or 1718), and returned to Spain in the only boat of the fleet of Admiral

Antonio de Ulloa Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giralt, FRS, FRSA, KOS (12 January 1716 – 3 July 1795) was a Spanish naval officer, scientist, and administrator. At the age of nineteen, he joined the French Geodesic Mission to what is now the country o ...

that survived a storm in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. He died in 1725.

References

Sources

* Alcedo, Antonio de (1812). The Geographical and Historical Dictionary of America and the West Indies. Vol. 1. London: G.A. Thomson Esq. * Alcedo, Antonio de (1812). The Geographical and Historical Dictionary of America and the West Indies. Vol. 2. London: G.A. Thomson Esq.. * http://pares.mcu.es «AER (Archivos Españoles en Red)». * . Nº 14. Page 110. * * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerda, Jose de Zuniga y la Royal Governors of La Florida 1654 births 1725 deaths