José Antonio Manso de Velasco y Sánchez de Samaniego,

KOS Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census), ...

( es, José Antonio Manso de Velasco y Sánchez de Samaniego, primer Conde de Superunda) (May 10, 1689 – Jan 5, 1767) was a Spanish soldier and politician who served as

governor of Chile The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General. There were 66 such governors or captains du ...

and

viceroy of Peru The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Braz ...

As Governor of Chile

Manso de Velasco served as governor of Chile from November 1737 to June 1744, during which time he stood out for his numerous projects. His tenure saw the construction of the first public food market in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, irrigation canals on the Maipo River as well as breakwaters on the

Mapocho River The River Mapocho ( es, Río Mapocho) ( Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two. Course The Mapo ...

, the rebuilding of

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...

(destroyed by an earthquake), and the celebration of an armistice with the indigenous

Mapuche people The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...

, signed in the "Parlement of Tapihue". In addition, he founded a large number of Chilean cities listed here with their current names, their given names, and their date of founding: *

Cauquenes Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region. History According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community o ...

(''Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes''), 1742 *

Copiapó Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region. Copiapó lies about 800 km nort ...

(''San Francisco de la Selva''), 1744 *

Curicó Curicó (), meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun (originally meaning "Land of Black Water"), is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley. The province lies between the provinces of Colchagu ...

(''San José de Buena Vista''), 1743 *

Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital. The commune spans an area of . Demographics Acco ...

(''San José de Logroño''), 1742 *

Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named Sant ...

(''Santa Cruz de Triana''), 1743 * San Felipe, 1740 *

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

(''San Fernando de Tinguiririca''), 1742 *

Talca Talca () is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142. The city is an importan ...

(''San Agustín de Talca''), 1742 His efficiency and diligence recommended him to a higher post, and

Ferdinand VI , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Savoy , birth_date = 23 September 1713 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Villavic ...

named him viceroy of Peru in 1745, making him the first governor of Chile to be elevated in such a manner.

As Viceroy of Peru

Joseph Antonio Manso de Velasco y Sanchez de Samaniego - AHG

Manso de Velasco was the viceroy of Peru during the reign of

of the House of Bourbon, holding the office from 1745 to October 12, 1761. He succeeded José Antonio de Mendoza, 3rd Marquis of Villagarcía and was replaced by

Manuel de Amat y Juniet Manuel de Amat y Junyent, OSJ, OM ( ca, Manuel d'Amat i de Junyent) (March 1707 – February 14, 1782) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator. He was the Royal Governor of the Captaincy General of Chile from December 28, 175 ...

. The most important event of his tenure was the great earthquake of 1746.

Lima earthquake

On October 28, 1746 at around 10:30 at night, a major earthquake struck

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

and vicinity, resulting in one of the highest number of deaths for such an event in the area. Witnesses differ on the duration of the event, with reports ranging from 3 to 6 minutes. The intensity of the quake is today estimated at X or XI on the Mercalli intensity scale. The aftershocks, by the hundreds, continued for the following two months. In Lima, the destruction was severe. Of 60,000 inhabitants, 1,141 were reported to have died. Only 25 houses remained standing. In Callao, a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

of nearly 17 meters in height penetrated up to 5 kilometers inland leaving only 200 survivors out of a population of 5,000. The fact that the earthquake struck at night probably contributed to the casualties, as many people were caught asleep in their homes. In the wake of the disaster, the population was gripped by hunger and fear. As a result of this earthquake, building practices were modified, with the adobe style abandoned for quincha (wattle and daub) construction techniques, which resulted in more flexible structures that were more resistant to disruptive seismic activity. On February 10, 1747 he founded the city of Bellavista. On May 30, 1755 the cathedral of Lima was begun.

Last days

The aged and tired Manso de Velasco asked for permission to return to Spain for his retirement, and received a positive answer from the crown in 1761. However, his trip home took him through the port of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in the then- Captaincy General of Cuba, just at a time when the colony was

under siege ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis, written by J. F. Lawton, and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones, after they commandeer the ...

. The British laid siege to the port, and Manso de Velasco, nominally the highest-ranking military officer in the area, found himself named the "Chief of the War Council" by the Governor of Cuba. Thus, at age 74, he led the defense of the fortified city. Unfortunately, the troops under his command were poorly trained and their equipment was inferior, leading to a Spanish surrender after only 67 days. Placa de la calle Conde de Superunda de Priego de Córdoba

Placa de la calle Conde de Superunda de Priego de Córdoba

Captured by the British, he was eventually brought to Cadiz in Spain. Due to his position as "Chief of the War Council", he was imprisoned in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

and tried by a court-martial presided over by the Count of Aranda. He and other accused chiefs were held responsible for the inglorious defeat in Cuba by this court-martial.

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

, King of Spain, ratified the sentences on March 4, 1765 ending the process. The sentences were not lenient, Manso de Velasco was condemned to 10 years of exile to 40 leagues from the Court, seizure of goods and he was made jointly responsible for compensating harmed Habaneros. Shortly after being notified of the sentence Manso de Velasco left for his exile in

Priego de Córdoba Priego de Córdoba is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It lies on the southeasternmost end of the province of Córdoba, near the headwater of the Guadajoz, and on the northern slope of the Sierra ...

, where he arrived the same year. Less than two years later, on January 5, 1767, he died in the same city, where his remains still lay in the Church of San Pedro.

References

External links

El Conde de Superunda by Manuel Peláez del Rosal, official chronicler of Priego de Córdoba (Real Asociación Española de Cronistas Oficiales)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manso de Velasco, Jose Antonio 1689 births 1767 deaths 18th-century Chilean people 18th-century Peruvian people 18th-century Spanish people Spanish city founders Captaincy General of Chile Counts of Spain Knights of Santiago People of the Arauco War Royal Governors of Chile Spanish generals Spanish people of Basque descent Viceroys of Peru