Juan de Mendoza y Luna, 3rd Marquess of Montesclaros (January, 1571 – October 9, 1628) was a Spanish nobleman, man of letters, and the tenth viceroy of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. He governed from October 27, 1603 to July 2, 1607. Thereafter he was viceroy of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, from December 21, 1607 to December 18, 1615. After returning to Spain, he became advisor to the king and a high official in the Court.

Youth and early career

Juan de Mendoza y Luna was born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

in January 1571. He was the posthumous son of the 2nd Marqués de Montesclaros. He was raised by his mother, Isabel Manrique de Padilla. He served with distinction in the army of the Duke of Alba in the Portuguese campaign, as a captain of lancers. For his service, he was awarded the Order of Caballero de Santiago in 1591. Later he was governor of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, where he first became acquainted with the affairs of the Indies. On May 19, 1603 the Crown named him viceroy of New Spain.

As viceroy of New Spain

He made his formal entry into

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

on October 26, 1603, accompanied by his wife Ana de Mendoza, and assumed the reins of government. He immediately accused his predecessor, Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo, Count of Monterrey of excessive spending and of exceeding his authority. Plans to colonize

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

in the wake of

Sebastián Vizcaíno Sebastián Vizcaíno (c. 1548–1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Asia. Early career Vizcaíno was born in ...

's exploration were cancelled. In August 1604 there was another major inundation of Mexico City. Damage was extensive. The viceroy initially suggested moving the capital to the nearby hills of

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a Poverty in Mexico, working-class area of Mexico City in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, D.F., Miguel Hidalgo. The ''colonia (Mexico), colonia'' Tacubaya and adjacent areas in other colonias are collectively referred to as Tacubaya. ...

, but this was deemed too expensive. Then he decided to finish the drainage canal of Huehuetoca, but this was a project requiring many years and the labor of 15,000 Indians to complete. In the meantime he repaired the dikes constructed under Viceroy

Luís de Velasco Luis de Velasco y Ruiz de Alarcón (1511 – July 31, 1564) was the second viceroy of New Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the mid-sixteenth century. Biography Velasco was born in the town of Carrión de los Con ...

, at the same time paving the streets of San Antonio Abad, Chapultepec, San Cristóbal and Guadalupe. Nevertheless, parts of the city remained submerged for a year. Mendoza y Luna also constructed an aqueduct on stone arches that conducted water from the springs on

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Area´s in Mexico, measuring in total just over . Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of ...

to the center of the city. He cleaned the water channels and paved many streets with cobbles. He lifted restrictions on Indians returning to their land to live.

Later career and death

On November 20, 1606, Mendoza y Luna was named viceroy of Peru, with instructions to remain in New Spain until the arrival of his successor. The new viceroy,

Luis de Velasco, 1st Marquess of Salinas del Río Pisuerga Luis de Velasco, 1st Marquess of Salinas del Río Pisuerga (c. 1534 – September 7, 1617) was a Spanish nobleman who was the ninth viceroy of New Spain from January 27, 1590 to November 4, 1595, and again from July 2, 1607, to June 10, 161 ...

, arrived in July of the following year, and Mendoza sailed from

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

for

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

in that month. He served as viceroy of Peru until 1615. During his government in Lima the famous Stone Bridge and the

Alameda de los Descalzos The Alameda de los Descalzos is an Avenue (landscape), alameda located in Rímac District, Lima, Peru. One of the best-known places in the district, around it stand—among other buildings—the churches of Iglesia de Santa Liberata, Santa Liberat ...

of that city were built. He returned to Spain the following year, and served as counselor of state and of war. In 1621 King Philip IV made him a grandee of Spain. Subsequently, he was president of the Council of Hacienda (treasury) (1623-1626), and also of the

Council of Aragon The Council of Aragon, officially, the Royal and Supreme Council of Aragon (; ; ), was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Spanish Empire in Europe, second only to the monarch himself. It administered the Crown of Arago ...

(1628). He died in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

on October 9, 1628, at the age of 57.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * García Puron, Manuel, ''México y sus gobernantes'', v. 1. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984. * Orozco L., Fernando, ''Fechas Históricas de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1988, . * Orozco Linares, Fernando, ''Gobernantes de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza y Luna, Juan de, Marquis of Montesclaros 1571 births 1628 deaths Viceroys of New Spain Viceroys of Peru Marquesses of Spain Knights of Santiago