Rafael Gerónimo Cayetano Izquierdo y Gutiérrez (30 September 1820 – 9 November 1883) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and statesman. He served as Governor-General of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

from 4 April 1871 to 8 January 1873. He was famous for his use of "Iron Fist" type of government, contradicting the liberal government of his predecessor,

Carlos María de la Torre y Navacerrada Carlos María de la Torre y Navacerrada (1809–1879) was a Spanish soldier and politician. He served as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1869 to 1871, and is considered one of the most beloved Spanish Governors-General assigned to the Phi ...

. He was the Governor-General during the 1872 Cavite mutiny which led to execution of 41 of the mutineers, including the

Gomburza Gomburza, alternatively stylized as GOMBURZA or GomBurZa, refers to three Filipino Catholic priests, Mariano Gomez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, who were executed by garrote on February 17, 1872, in Bagumbayan, Philippines by Spanish co ...

martyrs. Izquierdo also acted as Governor-General of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

from March 1862 to April 1862.

Early life

Izquierdo was born on 30 September 1820 in

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to Antonio Izquierdo del Monte and Antonia Gutiérrez de la Cámara. He was baptized Rafael Gerónimo Cayetano by Isidro Sánchez on the same day. Entering as a cadet in the regiment of infantry of Gerona, Rafael Izquierdo reached the military rank of captain by the age of 17 when he participated in the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Spanish monarchy: the conservative and devolutionist ...

in Navarre. At the start of the

Second Carlist War The Second Carlist War, or the War of the Matiners (Catalan for "early-risers," so-called from the harassing action that took place at the earliest hours of the morning), was a civil war occurring in Spain. Some historians consider it a direct ...

which took place in

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, Izquierdo was already a lieutenant colonel and at the end of the war

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He was then assigned to Lugo, Spain as military governor in 1861. The following year he was assigned as lieutenant-general to

before becoming an interim Governor-General when Rafael Echagüe y Bermingham vacated the position. Izquierdo then went back to Spain until in 1868 when he supported the revolution in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

and was tasked as deputy for Malaga and Alicante in 1869 until 1871.

Philippine governorship

Replacing General Carlos María de la Torre on 4 April 1871, Rafael Izquierdo was installed as Governor-General of the Philippines. He is responsible for the opening of steamship and telegraph lines in the country. He was also known to have promptly rescinded the liberal measures, thus implementing harsher laws, which ignited an uprising. The reformation suggested that the soldiers of the Engineering and Artillery Corps should pay taxes, from which they were previously exempt. Another drastic change was the requirement to perform

manual labor Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual ...

. These changes eventually led to the 1872 Cavite mutiny, in which around 200 soldiers of the Engineering and Artillery Corps revolted and killed their officers. In retaliation, many liberals were implicated in the involvement of the conspiracy. The Spanish military court condemned the martyred priests, Fathers

José Burgos José Apolonio Burgos y García was a Filipino Catholic priest, accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century. He was tried and executed in Manila along with two other clergymen, Mariano Gomez a ...

, Mariano Gomez and

Jacinto Zamora Jacinto Zamora y del Rosario (14 August 1835 – 17 February 1872) was a Filipino Catholic priest, part of the Gomburza, a trio of priests who were falsely accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th cent ...

(

GOMBURZA Gomburza, alternatively stylized as GOMBURZA or GomBurZa, refers to three Filipino Catholic priests, Mariano Gomez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, who were executed by garrote on February 17, 1872, in Bagumbayan, Philippines by Spanish co ...

), to capital punishment by means of the garrote, on 17 February 1872. This uprising led to delays in rebuilding Malacañan Palace, and in turn almost transferred colonial governance back within the walls of

Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-day ...

for security purposes. The plan to transfer the colonial government to Intramuros ended when Izquierdo fell ill and he stepped down from his position on 8 January 1873. Rafael Izquierdo spent the remaining years of his life in Madrid, Spain, where he died in 1882.

Notes

:1.One source states September 24, 1820 as his date of birth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izquierdo y Gutierrez, Rafael Geronimo Cayetano 1820 births 1883 deaths People from Santander, Spain Spanish generals Captains General of the Philippines Military personnel from Cantabria Politicians from Cantabria

Early life

Philippine governorship

See also

Notes

References