José Basco y Vargas, 1st Count of the Conquest of Batanes Islands ( (1733–1805) was a naval officer of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

who served as the 53rd

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Spanish Philippines 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, Cana ...

under the

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, from 1778 to 1787. An "economic minded" governor-general in Spanish-ruled Philippines, his rule tried to subjugate the Ivatan natives of Batanes, which led to the murder of Ivatan indigenous hero Aman Dangat.

Governor General of the Philippines

He established the ''

Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País The ''Sociedades Económicas de Amigos del País'' (Economic Societies of Friends of the Country) were private associations established in various cities throughout Enlightenment Spain, and to a lesser degree in some of Spain's overseas territories ...

'', or the ''Economic Society of Friends of the Country'', which revived the

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industry in the

. He established the basis for the massive growth of Philippine agricultural export, with a policy of tolerance toward (theoretically) illegal activity of foreign retailers, mainly the

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and North Americans, who went to Manila to complete their product shipments. He also made the colony independent by freeing it from the control of New Spain and other Pacific Islands including the Philippines. Hoping to free the Philippines from Mexican and Chinese trade, Basco established reforms including incentivizing the production of cotton, spices, sugarcane, and mining, as well as rewarding scientific reforms. In 1782, Basco sent an expedition to conduct the formalities of acquiring the Ivatans' consent to become subjects of the king of Spain. The Ivatans, with their elders and leaders such as the heroic Aman Dangat, revolted against Spanish rule. Regardless, on June 26, 1783, Joseph Huelva y Melgarjo was declared by the Spanish government as first governor of Batanes. The new province was named Provincia de la Concepcion and Governor General Basco was named “Conde de la Conquista de Batanes” and the capital town, Basco, was named after him. By January 21, 1789, King Carlos III granted in prize to his numerous services the title of Count of Conquista of the Batanes Islands; grace to which he added to the appointments of Squad leader and Governor of Cartagena. Basco was replaced by Pedro de Sarrio on November 22, 1787.

References

Basco, Josebascoy Counts of Spain People from Málaga 1733 births 1805 deaths {{Philippines-politician-stub Spanish nobility