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 v ...

Manuel de Oms y Santa Pau, 1st Marquess of Castelldosrius, Grandee of Spain (sometimes ''marqués de Castell dos Rius'') (1651 – 24 April 1710) was a Spanish diplomat, man of letters, and colonial official. From July 7, 1707 to April 22, 1710, he was viceroy of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Before becoming viceroy

Manuel de Oms y de Santa Pau was born in Barcelona and belonged to a noble family of Catalonia. He was governor of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

from 1677 and ambassador to Portugal from 1681. In 1698, Charles II, the last Habsburg king of Spain, named him ambassador to the court of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

in Paris. Oms was a francophile who favored the Bourbons in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phi ...

. During the war, he took the part of the Duke of Anjou, the future

Philip V of Spain 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 mona ...

. He it was who informed the French king that Charles had named the Duke of Anjou as his heir, with the words ''Señor, desde este momento no hay Pirineos'' ("Lord, from this moment there are no more Pyrenees."). Charles II granted him the title of Marquess of Castelldosrius in 1696, and a Grandeeship, which was later attached to the title. As a reward for his support, the Philip V named him viceroy of Peru in 1704, although he did not occupy the post until 1707.

As viceroy of Peru

He took up his position as viceroy on July 7, 1707. He was able to send back an enormous sum of money (1,600,000 pesos) to the king to cover some of the costs of the war. This was possible in part because of the discovery of the mines in Caraboya. The collection of the money caused many protests, especially among the merchants, who brought suit against the viceroy many times in the ''Tribunal del Consulado''. The merchants also opposed his opening of the port of

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Cal ...

to French shipping. To this problem were added others: the increase in French contraband and the English attacks on the coast, especially those of

Charles Wager Admiral Sir Charles Wager (24 February 1666 – 24 May 1743) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1733 to 1742. Despite heroic active service and steadfast administration and diplomatic service, ...

and Thomas Colb in 1708 and those of

Woodes Rogers Woodes Rogers ( 1679 – 15 July 1732) was an English sea captain, privateer, slave trader and, from 1718, the first Royal Governor of the Bahamas. He is known as the captain of the vessel that rescued marooned Alexander Selkirk, whose ...

between 1709 and 1711. To deal with the attacks, the viceroy tried to form a navy, recruiting men by means of a levy. In 1709 he was accused of embezzlement and dealing in contraband. French merchandise had saturated the market, but most of it was landed at

Pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative ...

without duty being paid. (Pisco was a small port about 200 km south of Lima.) Members of the viceroy's family were apparently involved in the contraband. He was nearly stripped of his office, but the favor of the king and the large amounts of money he was remitting to Spain worked in his favor. His property in Catalonia was, however, confiscated, but was returned to his heirs in 1714. He did reach an agreement with the merchants, whereby in return for their financial help he would expel the French from the viceroyalty. This was not a success, because the treasure ships he sent back from Panama to Spain thereby lost the protection of the French and were vulnerable to the English established in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispanio ...

Culture

He was an educated and cultured man, and a man of letters. He translated the hymns of

Saint Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

and wrote the dramas ''El Mejor Escudo de Perseo'' and ''Triunfos del Amor y del Poder'' and the comic sketch ''A cantar un villancico''. He founded a literary academy on September 23, 1709 and promoted weekly literary discussions in the palace that attracted some of Lima's best writers. These included the famous Criollo scholar Pedro Peralta y Barnuevo. He was the patron of several Indigenous poets. He introduced French and Italian fashions in the viceroyalty and composed some musical work. The Italian musician Rocco Cerruti (1688–1760) had arrived in Peru with the viceroy.

Death

Manuel de Oms y de Santa Pau died of illness in Lima on April 24, 1710. His heart was returned to Spain, and his body was entombed in San Francisco (Lima). Miguel Núñez de Sanabria, president of the '' Audiencia'' of Lima took over governmental functions on an interim basis.

References

External links

Manuel de Oms y de Santa Pau, marqués de CastelldosriusArchived
2009-11-01) at MSN Encarta

The Hispanic Society of America - where his papers are archived
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oms y de Santa Pau, Manuel de 1651 births 1710 deaths Marquesses of Spain Viceroys of Peru Grandees of Spain