Miguel Tacón y Rosique, (

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

, 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 This article lists the heads of state of Cuba from 1902 until t ...

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 G ...

(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 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 constituti ...

. 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, Paseo de Tacón, Mercado de Tacón and Tacón Garden. After his return to Spain in 1838, he was Spanish Ambassador to Great Britain 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 marriag ...

. 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