Manuel Muñoz (1730– July 27, 1798) was a soldier, colonel and governor of Texas between 1790 and 1798.

Early life

Muñoz was born in 1730, probably in Matamoros, a city in Castile, Spain. He joined the Royal Spanish Army in his youth where he ascended to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Spanish Army. In 1759, Manuel temporarily settled in Texas as the first commander of the "Presidio del Norte". Shortly after, in 1760, the

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...

was attacked by Apache Native Americans but Muñoz aided in repelling the attack. Later, in 1775, he participated in the war between the troops of Colonel

Hugo Oconór Hugh O'Conor by birth or Hugo Oconór in Spanish, was a military governor of northern Mexico. He was appointed governor of Texas by the Spanish viceroy of New Spain in 1767. It is recorded that O'Conor rode well over on horseback in the course o ...

and the American Indians, commanding the troops of

Nueva Vizcaya Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya ( ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Vizcaya; gad, Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; tl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Vizcaya ), is a landlocked province in the ...

. Due to his leadership during the war, Muñoz was appointed

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 1777. In the 1770s and 1780s, Muñoz worked in several "posts" in the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

region, "negotiated" with one of the Apache tribes (particularly with the Mescaleros) and carried out several military campaigns against the Native Americans of the frontier who resigned the Christian religion.Handbook of Texas Online – Muñoz, Manuel
Posted by Marion A. Habig, O.F.M., on November 26, 2008. Accessed on October 9, 2010

Texas Governor

In 1790, Muñoz became governor of Texas. In 1792 Muñoz served as

acting governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an ...

, at the same time that the Count of Sierra investigated his management. A year later, Munoz

secularized In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

the

Mission San Antonio de Valero The Alamo is a historic Spanish missions in the Americas, Spanish mission and fortress compound founded in the 18th century by Roman Catholic missionaries in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was the site of the Battle of the Al ...

and in 1792 he also fulfilled the decree of "partial secularization" directed to the other four Spanish missions that were carried out in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. Muñoz supervised trade among the settlers and the Native Americans and investigated illicit trade among the Spanish and French of Louisiana that existed before his term. In addition, he regulated the work of the Amerindians in their work on the churches and priestly quarters and declared that these works could only be carried out with permission from the commander general. He also "checked the mission and

presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...

accounts".Phares, Ross (1976)
The Governors of Texas
Pages 41 - 42. Firebird Press. Native Americans gained greater autonomy: Munoz converted Native Americans who had acquired the Christian religion into independent owners of lands, upending the social structure based on race that had been established by the Spanish. In addition, the sacred ministry was the only institution in which the missionaries could work "and placed the common property of the mission Indians". This property was supervised by the authorities, either by the

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

, a Spanish politician figure who administrated the Spanish municipalities, or the justice. In 1793, the Mission Refugio was established. In 1795, Muñoz rose to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Army. The

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

ordered him to avoid the entrance of people from the then United States (East of the modern United States) to Texas. They believed the government of the United States wanted to send people to Texas to promote a rebellion against the government.Campbell, Randolph B. (2003).
Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State
Oxford University Press, New York. However, in 1796, Muñoz fell ill and asked King Philip IV for permission to resign as governor. While Muñoz awaited the king's decision, Juan Bautista Elguézabal was selected to help Muñoz. In January 1797, Muñoz received news that the governor of

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

, (modern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

), Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante, had been chosen by the king to replace him. However, at that moment, Bustamante was commanding a war against the Apaches and he could not attend to his duties as governor, so Munoz continued governing Texas "until further notice". In March of that year, Cordero sent him a letter saying that he had been appointed lieutenant governor of

Nuevo Santander Nuevo Santander (New Santander) was a region of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, covering the modern Mexican state of Tamaulipas and extending into modern-day southern Texas in the United States. A history of Texas, commissioned by the U.S. governme ...

, and that therefore he could not govern Texas. Finally, a year and a half later, in June 1798 José Irigoyen got the position of interim governor, but he couldn't serve either. Elguézabal finally took the position. Muñoz died on July 27, 1798, in San Antonio.

Personal life

Muñoz married María Gertrudis del Cipiran, who was also from Castile.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Manuel Governors of Spanish Texas People from Castilla–La Mancha 1730 births 1799 deaths 1790s in Texas