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Carlos María de la Torre y Navacerrada (27 February 1809 – 2 December 1879) was a Spanish soldier and
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
. He served as the
governor-general of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...
from 1869 to 1871, and is considered one of the most beloved Spanish governors-general assigned to the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.


Biography

A
Carlist Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...
army officer, he was sent from
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 ...
by Francisco Serrano after the ouster of Queen Isabel II as a result of the La Gloriosa revolution. He was considered a liberal Spaniard who practiced the liberal and democratic principles for imposing liberal
laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...
. He wanted to have the bronze statue of Isabel II, first unveiled in 1860, melted so that it would be put to better use. However, the
Manila City Council The Manila City Council (Spanish language, Spanish: Cabildo de Manila; Tagalog language, Tagalog: Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Maynila) is the legislature of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, capital city of the Philippines. It is composed of ...
saved it by declaring the statue municipal property. He established the Guardia Civil in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
and gave amnesty to rebels, of which the most prominent was Casimiro Camerino (''El tulisán''), the leader of bandits in
Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
. He organized the bandits given amnesty into an auxiliary force of the Guardia Civil. He abolished flogging, relaxed media censorship, and began limited secularization of education. He was also very close to the
ilustrado The Ilustrados (, "erudite", "learned" or "enlightened ones") constituted the Filipino intelligentsia ( educated class) during the Spanish colonial period in the late 19th century. Elsewhere in New Spain (of which the Philippines were part), ...
s, a group of Filipinos who understood the situation of the Philippines under Spanish rule. His supporters had done a Liberal Parade in front of the Malacañan Palace. Only two weeks after the arrival of de la Torre as governor-general, Burgos and Joaquín Pardo de Tavera led a demonstration at the Plaza de Santa Potenciana. Among the demonstrators were José Icaza, Jácobo Zobel, Ignacio Rocha, Manuel Genato, and Máximo Paterno. The cry was "''Viva Filipinas para los Filipinos!''". In November 1870, a student movement, denounced as a riot or ''motín'', at the
University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...
formed a committee to demand reforms on the school and its curricula. It later announced support of Philippine autonomy and recognition of the Philippines as a province of Spain. The committee was headed by Felipe Buencamino. De la Torre was single and he had a mistress who had great influence on him. His mistress, Maria del Rosario Gil de Montes de Sanchiz, flared up friar opposition because of many reasons. One of the reasons was she authored a book entitled ''El Hombre de Dios''. It was criticized because a woman wrote it. Another is during a festivity in
Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...
that was mainly attended by Philippine creoles, who are now definitely called Filipinos. She arrived at the place wearing a ribbon which said ''Viva la Libertad'' (English: Long live liberty) and ''Viva el Pueblo Soberano'' (English: Long live the sovereign nation). In March 1872, de la Torre wrote to Madrid concerning his decision to get relieved from his post. However, his patron in Spain was assassinated the previous month and orders for his relief was given nine days before his letter was written. He was succeeded by
Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
Rafael de Izquierdo, who was described as the opposite of his liberal-mindedness.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torre Y Navacerrada, Carlos Maria De La 1809 births 1879 deaths Captains general of the Philippines Politicians from Seville