Alonso Fernández de Heredia (died March 19, 1782) was a Spanish Captain General and administrator who governed

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

(1747),

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

(1751–1758), Yucatan (in modern-day

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

; 1758–?), the

Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala (), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala (), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America, including present-day Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras ...

(1761–1771) and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

(1761–1771).

Biography

Alonso Fernández de Heredia was born in

Cetina The Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Nap ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, in the first half of the 18th century. He was the son of Antonio Fernandez de Heredia y Liñan Altarriba, 2nd Count of Contamina, and of Beatriz Ximenez de Cerdan y Gurrea, 2nd Marquesa de Barboles. He was a captain in the

Spanish army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

and later a

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

of the royal armies. In 1749, he was involved in a well-known smuggling case of the time; twenty nine years later, he was sentenced along with other accused participants. Heredia, like the other persons accused of smuggling, had fought against the British and promoted a plan to defend Spanish possessions on the Atlantic Coast. Two years later, in 1751 (or on 18 April 1755, according to some sourcesCahoon, Ben
U.S. States F-K
), he was appointed governor of

,Taracena, Luis Pedro (November 26, 2008)
Ilusión minera y poder político: La Alcaldía mayor de Tegucigalpa, siglo XVIII
(In Spanish: Illusion mining and political power: the Mayor of Tegucigalpa, the 18th century). where he established a naval stores industry. The last substantial modifications of the

Castillo de San Marcos The Castillo de San Marcos ( Spanish for “ St. Mark’s Castle”) is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish en ...

under Spanish rule had begun in 1738, and were concluded in 1756 during his governorship with the construction of a drawbridge and portcullis at the fort's

sally port A sallyport is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter and ...

entrance, as well as a plaque of the Spanish royal coat-of-arms above them.Castillo de San Marcos: Frequently Asked Questions

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. On the other hand, the Florida population grew under Heredia's administration when 363 agricultural settlers from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, Spain, arrived in St. Augustine in October 1757. The Spanish authorities had conceived a plan to repopulate the province with groups of Spanish settlers, and altogether the Spanish crown sent 154 families hailing from the Canary Islands to Florida between 1757 and 1759.Hernández González, Manuel. La emigración canaria a América (Canarian Emigration to the Americas). Pages 43–44. First Edition January, 2007 Heredia's term as governor of Florida ended on April 21, 1758, when he was appointed to serve as governor of Yucatan,

. Among his accomplishments in Yucatan, Heredia published a royal decree which exempted Indian women from all taxes and ordered several modifications to the fortification of

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

.Molina Solís, Juan Francisco. ''Historia de Yucatán durante la dominación española'' (In Spanish: History of Yucatan during the Spanish domination). Editorial: Imprenta de la Lotería del Estado, Mérida de Yucatán, 1913. Tomo III, page 228. On June 14, 1761, Heredia was sent to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

to become its Captain General. He soon requested the Spanish crown to create a

viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * British Raj, India was governed by the Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Vi ...

of Guatemala, pointing to the region's development of large cattle ranches and sugar cane, fruit and cocoa plantations, as well as the higher development of its cities, but the request was rejected. The same year, he was also appointed governor of

(although according to some sources, he was actually governor of Nicaragua between 1746 and 1753) and acting governor of

. His government in Honduras implemented a series of changes such as the reorganization of the tax code and an extension of state jurisdiction in social sectors. These initiatives met great success due to the goodwill he had cultivated with the provincial bureaucracy in his previous positions. Heredia was also able to improve relations with local government, including more efficient processing of applications by the people of

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...

. On March 12, 1768, he left the

. Heredia also was recognized by the construction of Tegucigalpa in the construction of

Omoa Omoa is a town and municipality with a population of 10,550 (2023 calculation) in the Department of Cortés in Honduras. Omoa is located on a small bay of the same name 18 km west of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea coast. Geography ...

, where many people died due to the harsh climate of the region and his difficulty in adapting to it. Heredia died on March 19, 1782, in

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

Personal life

Alonso Fernández de Heredia married the 3rd Countess San Clemente Elena Marin de Villanueva e Hijar, with whom he had one daughter, Maria Magdalena Fernandez de Heredia y Marin de Villanueva.

References

External links

Cantones: Heredia
(In Spain). {{DEFAULTSORT:Alonso Fernandez De Heredia Royal governors of La Florida Governors of Yucatán (state) Governors of Honduras Governors of Nicaragua People from Zaragoza 1782 deaths Year of birth unknown