Miguel Lino de Ezpeleta (sometimes spelled as ''de Espeleta''; June 1701 in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
– July 1771 in
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...
) was a
Spanish
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''
criollo
Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to:
People
* Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants)
Animals
* Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...
'' born in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
who served as the
Bishop of Cebu from 1757 until his death in 1771. Consequently, he assumed the position as the
governor-general from 1759 to 1761 during Spanish intervention to the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
and prelude to the
occupations of Manila and Cavite.
Life and succession
Miguel Lino de Ezpeleta was born in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
in 1701. Though he was born to Spanish parents, he was often considered a Filipino rather than a
Criollo
Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to:
People
* Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants)
Animals
* Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...
. During Spanish colonial days, a ''criollo'' was a natural Spaniard born in the colonies.
On July 18, 1757, he was appointed as the bishop of the
Diocese of Cebu (now an archdiocese) and about a year later, he was ordained by the
Archbishop of Nueva Cáceres Manuel de Matos to the bishopric.
Upon the death of
Governor-General Pedro Manuel de Arandía Santisteban in 1759, the
See of Manila and the
See of Nueva Segovia were vacant, and de Ezpeleta as the Bishop of Cebu was the senior prelate of the islands. He assumed the post of governor against the will of the
Real Audiencia of Manila
Real may refer to:
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Music Albums
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* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...
.
On July 22, 1759, the new
Archbishop of Manila
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...
Manuel Rojo del Rio y Vieyra
Manuel may refer to:
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arrived in the country which made the occupation of de Ezpeleta to the gubernatorial seat void. De Ezpeleta refused to step down as governor after Rojo's orders. De Ezpeleta sought the support from the ''
oidor
An ''oidor'' () was a judge of the Royal ''Audiencias'' and ''Chancillerías'', originally courts of Kingdom of Castile, which became the highest organs of justice within the Spanish Empire. The term comes from the verb ''oír'', "to hear," referr ...
es'' of the Audiencia: two of the four ''oidores'' went to the side of de Ezpeleta while the other to Rojo. De Ezpeleta also raised the precedent of
Juan Arrechedera, who previously had the same instance as him. They brought the question to the
Council of the Indies
The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...
through its prosecutor Francisco Léandro de Viana.
[Cunningham 1919, p. 341]
Administration
One of his initial actions against the previous administration of Arandía and the Real Audiencia was to revoke the reforms and decrees written by the ex-governor.
Later in 1759, he suppressed the armada of Fr. José Ducós, which was commissioned by Arandía to protect the
Jesuit missionaries
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
converting Muslims in
Iligan Bay
Iligan Bay is a bay in Mindanao Island in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Bohol Sea, and curves into the northern coast of Mindanao Island.
A branch of the bay, Panguil Bay, forms a natural isthmus with Illana Bay and geographic bound ...
. One of the reasons of this suppression is that the
Augustinian missionaries in
Caraga
Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region (or simply known as Caraga Region) and designated as Region XIII, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. Th ...
and
Butuan
Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' c ...
filed a complaint to de Ezpeleta that they are not well protected. Spanish historian and biographer José Montero y Vidal pointed out that this suppression greatly accelerated the depredations caused by Muslim pirates in
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...
.
Much of de Ezpeleta's administration was occupied by the prosecution of don Santiago Orendaín, former adviser of governor Arandía who was held responsible for the repression of the church. Orendaín sought refuge in an Augustinian convent but was later seized and imprisoned in
Fort Santiago
Fort Santiago ( es, Fuerte de Santiago; fil, Kutà ng Santiago), built in 1571, is a citadel built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi for the newly established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is lo ...
.
[Cunningham 1919, p. 342]
In July 1761, a royal decree from
Charles III of Spain coming from
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
ordered the stepping down of de Ezpeleta. He then gave the administration of the colony to Archbishop Rojo.
References
Citations
Sources
Bishop Miguel Lino de Ezpeleta †* Díaz-Trechuelo, Lourdes.
Legazpi y la integración de Filipinas en el imperio español de ultramar'
* Manchado López, Marta María.
Las relaciones entre la autoridad civil y las órdenes religiosas en Filipinas durante el gobierno de don Pedro Manuel de Arandía'
* Cunningham, Charles Henry
The audiencia in the Spanish colonies as illustrated by the audiencia of Malina (1583-1800) 1919.
* Bernad, Miguel Anselmo
The great island: studies in the exploration and evangelization of Mindanao 2004.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezpeleta, Miguel de
1701 births
1771 deaths
18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines
People from Intramuros
Captains General of the Philippines
Roman Catholic bishops of Cebu