Miguel Tacón y Rosique, (

Cartagena, Spain Cartagena () is a Spanish city and a major naval station on the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Iberia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants, being the region's second-largest municipality and the country's sixth-lar ...

, 10 January 1777 - 13 October Madrid, 1855) was a Spanish military and colonial administrator in the Spanish Americas. From 1834 to 1838, he was

Governor of Cuba This is a list of colonial heads of Cuba. Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office. For continuation after independence ''see'' List of presidents of Cuba. See also * List of governors of Provincia de Santiago de Cuba *Ti ...

Biography

He was the son of Miguel Antonio Tacón y Fosca, a Brigadier in the Royal Spanish Army, and of María Francisca Rosique y Ribera. In March 1806, he was named civil and military Governor of

Popayán Province Popayán Province was first a Spanish jurisdiction under the Royal Audience of Quito and the Royal Audience of Santafé , and after the independence one of the provinces of the Cauca Department (Gran Colombia), later becoming the Republic of New Gra ...

(today's Southern Colombia). Here, he was faced with the first rebellions for independence in Ecuador and the

United Provinces of New Granada The United Provinces of New Granada was a country in South America from 1810 to 1816, a period known in Colombian history as '' la Patria Boba'' ("the Foolish Fatherland"). It was formed from areas of the New Kingdom of Granada, roughly corres ...

. He was defeated in the Battle of Bajo Palacé in 1811 and had to flee to Oruro. Here he joined the army of Viceroy of Peru Pezuela, and participated in the victories in the Battles of Vilcapugio and Viluma. He was promoted to Mariscal de Campo and returned to Spain in 1819 for health reasons. Considered a liberal, he was sidelined during the

Ominous Decade The Ominous Decade (Castilian: ''Década Ominosa'') is a liberal term for the last ten years of the reign of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, dating from the abolition of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, on 1 October 1823, to his death on 29 Septem ...

(1823-1833) in which King

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

reestablished a conservative

Absolute Monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

. In 1834, he was appointed

, where he arrived on 7 June. His good governance of the island in daily matters and public works, especially in Havana, thanks to the zeal of the mayor Claudio Martínez de Pinillos, was overshadowed by his despotic style and his promotion of slave trade. Named after him in Havana were : the

Tacón Theatre The Teatro Tacón (Tacón Theatre) opened in 1838 in Havana, Cuba. Its auditorium contained 2,750 seats. It was built by , a businessman from Barcelona who moved to Havana, and named after Miguel Tacón y Rosique, Governor of Cuba from 1834 to ...

Paseo de Tacón The Paseo de Tacón, or Paseo Militar, was created by the Captain General ( es, Capitanía General de Cuba) Miguel Tacón y Rosique (1834–1838) who promoted the reform of the “road” that, starting from the calles of San Luis de Gonzaga (Rein ...

, Mercado de Tacón and Tacón Garden. After his return to Spain in 1838, he was

Spanish Ambassador to Great Britain This is a List of Ambassadors of Spain to England and to the United Kingdom Introduction Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor sent ambassadors to England representing the Empire, as well as Spain. When the Catholic Reformation began, Spain was in the o ...

in 1844 and from 1847 to 1848. In 1847, he was ennobled to the Duque de la Unión de Cuba and received in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. In 1853, during the reign of Isabel II, he was appointed senator for life. Teatro-tacon. Havana, Cuba.jpg, Teatro Tacón El Paseo de Tacón, Havana Cuba.jpg, Paseo de Tacón Havana- Tacon Market.jpg, Mercado de Tacón

Sources

Real Academia de la Historia
{{Authority control Governors of Cuba Ambassadors of Spain to the United Kingdom 1777 births 1855 deaths Spanish nobility Knights of Santiago Order of the Golden Fleece