Juan Antonio Curiel Luna y Tejada (born 13 January 1690 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 ...

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 ...

; died 29 November 1775 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 intellectual and politician who became the

Minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the Council of Castile and member of the secret .

Early life and education

His father was

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Luis Francisco Curiel y Tejada, an influential diplomat and member of the Council of Castile. He received his formal education at the University of Salamanca in Salamanca,

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

, but it is not known whether he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

Culture and publishing

Curiel was a founding member of the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

and held the position of Chair of the ''R'' seat from 1714 to 1775, having been a member since 20 June 1714. On 8 February 1752, he was appointed as "Printing Judge". In this position, he had complete control of what was allowed to be printed in Spain. In this position, he drew up regulations and kept notoriously tight control over what was published, making sure that books fit into the enlightenment ideals. Whilst making many enemies, he has influential in the publishing of some of the most important books in the

Spanish-speaking Hispanophone and Hispanic refers to anything relating to the Spanish language (the Hispanosphere). In a cultural, rather than merely linguistic sense, the notion of "Hispanophone" goes further than the above definition. The Hispanic culture is th ...

world.

Political career

On 3 September 1720, he received the

Military Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava ( es, Orden de Calatrava, pt, Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order ...

, thanks to the services performed by his father,

Luis Curiel Luis Francisco Curiel y Tejada (born 11 October 1655, Seville, Spain; died 27 November 1724, Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish lawyer, diplomat, Mayor of the House and Court, and knight of the Order of Santiago. Early life and education He receiv ...

. He was appointed head of the Seville Court on 24 March 1722, remaining in this position until his promotion to judgeship on 24 December 24 1729. After seventeen years in Seville, on 24 September 1739, he was appointed by

Felipe V Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

mayor of the House and Court. He had to delay his journey to Madrid to swear in the hands of the regent of the Seville Court by a commission entrusted to him by the monarch. He did not serve as mayor for long, becoming prosecutor of the Justice Chamber of the Finance Council on 15 May 1741. On 11 December 1745, he received the honour of councillor of the Council of Castile and, on 13 August 1746, the position of property councilor of Castile. By the end of his political career, he had held the highest judicial positions in Spain for over 20 years.

Death

He retired from public life on 30 April 1769, with royal permission. Curiel died on 29 November 1775 in

and was buried in the chapel of the Santísimo Cristo de los Milagros, in the parish church of

San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...

of Madrid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curiel, Juan 1690 births 1775 deaths Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Spanish political people University of Salamanca alumni