Juan Antonio de Vizarrón y Eguiarreta
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Juan Antonio de Vizarrón y Eguiarreta (September 2, 1682, in
El Puerto de Santa María EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...
,
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– January 25, 1747, in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
,
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) was archbishop of Mexico from March 21, 1731, to January 25, 1747, and viceroy of
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...
from March 17, 1734, to August 17, 1740.


Early career

He studied in the College of San Clemente in Rome. At the time he was named archbishop of Mexico (January 13, 1730), he was archdeacon in the patriarchal church in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
. He was also chaplain to the king. He was consecrated archbishop in Mexico City on May 13, 1730, and took formal possession of the archdiocese on March 21, 1731.


Actions as viceroy

In 1734 he took over the government of the viceroyalty in conformity with sealed orders from the Crown. These orders were to be opened by the Audiencia in the event of the death of the previous viceroy, Juan de Acuña, marqués de Casafuerte. They named Vizarrón y Eguiarreta as his successor. As viceroy, he confiscated the property of the Duke of Monteleone, a descendant of
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
, because of his involvement in the war against
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 mo ...
in
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. He reinforced the presidios in
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because of the nearby French presence. Two of these were located 30 and 55 leagues (170 and 300 km) north of
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.


The disasters of 1735 and 1736

In 1735 a storm completely flooded the settlement of San Augustín, Florida, and the viceroy sent aid. The year 1736 was disastrous for New Spain. Strong north winds uprooted trees and toppled weathercocks and crosses on the buildings. A comet appeared, provoking panic in the population, who feared it portended great disasters. In October a fearful epidemic of ''matlazáhuatl'' (perhaps
yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
or
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
) broke out in the vicinity of Mexico City. Vizarrón y Eguiarreta tried to mitigate the effects of the epidemic, which was said to have taken the lives of two-thirds of the Indian population of the capital. It certainly killed tens of thousands of people, mostly Indians, in many cities and villages. To combat the plague, he ordered many public buildings converted into hospitals, and he swore an oath to the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1737. He supplied food to the sick.


Further actions as viceroy

Also in 1736 new silver mines were discovered in Arizona, resulting in a rush of miners to the north. In 1737 a religious prophet appeared among the Guaima and Pima Indians. This was Agustín Ascuchul, who claimed that the god Moctezuma had appeared to him and named him his prophet. He called on the Indians to follow him to a new place, to worship the god. More than 5,000 Indians abandoned their homes to follow the prophet. The governor of
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...
, Juan Bautista de Anza, interpreted this as a rebellion. He soon suppressed it and hung the prophet. The English were still importing much contraband, and the viceroy took steps to suppress this trade. When the Armada de Barlovento (coast guard) detained four English ships on the high seas heading for New Spain, Vizarrón y Eguiarreta was on the point of breaking relations. The English sent a strong squadron to the region, but the incident was resolved diplomatically. In 1739 the English declared war on Spain and were threatening to invade Spanish possessions in the Americas. Because of the war with England, Vizarrón y Eguiarreta reinforced the garrisons at
San Juan de Ulúa San Juan de Ulúa, also known as Castle of San Juan de Ulúa, is a large complex of fortresses, prisons and one former palace on an island of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico overlooking the seaport of Veracruz, Mexico. Juan de Grijalva ...
and
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, and he sent arms, militiamen, supplies and money to the military posts in Florida, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo and Cartagena. He was reluctant to send aid to the Spanish in Baja California, where an uprising of Pericu Indians allied with marooned sailors had broken out. In 1734 in Baja California Pericu had killed two Jesuit missionaries, some soldiers and some friendly Indians. The Spanish and allied Christian natives took refuge in Loreto (Baja California Sur). The Jesuits in Baja asked the Viceroy to provide ships and men, but he only referred the matter to Madrid, which would cause interminable delay. It was only in 1735 when a manila galleon put in at San Jose del Cabo and was attacked and nearly looted by the rebels, that the ensuing uproar finally inspired the Viceroy to act.Harry Crosby (1994) Antigua California. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, p. 116. He sent aid to the Capitanía General of Guatemala, where Indian uprisings had broken out. The rebels in Guatemala were armed and assisted by the English in
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
and were assaulting and robbing Spanish settlements on the coast. The viceroy also ordered a fleet of the Armada de Barlovento to the Virgin Islands to expel the Danish, but the fleet did not reach its destination. He continued the campaign against banditry. He sent two million pesos in silver to Spain as a contribution to the rebuilding of the Royal Palace in Madrid, which had been destroyed by fire in 1734. The Mexico City mint was completed and streets were repaired. His reform of the coinage angered the silver merchants.


Later life and career

He turned over civil power to Pedro de Castro y Figueroa, duque de la Conquista in 1740, but continued as archbishop until his death in 1747. During his ecclesiastical tenure he built the archbishop's palace and the College of San Fernando. He died January 25, 1747, in Mexico City and was interred in the cathedral there.


References

* "Vizarrón y Eguiarreta, Juan Antonio de," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 14. Mexico City, 1988. * García Puron, Manuel, ''México y sus gobernantes'', v. 1. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984. * Orozco Linares, Fernando, ''Gobernantes de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, .


External links


Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vizarron Y Eguiarreta, Juan Antonio De 1682 births 1747 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of Mexico (city) Viceroys of New Spain 18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico People from El Puerto de Santa María