Diego de los Ríos y Nicolau (9 April 1850 – 4 November 1911) was a Spanish Lieutenant General who was known as the last Spanish

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 ...

during the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

. He also served in the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

, the

Third Carlist War The Third Carlist War (), which occurred from 1872 to 1876, was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier Second Carlist War, "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relative ...

and the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War (; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. On 10 October 1868, sugar mil ...

Military career

Diego was born on 9 April 1850 as the son of Lieutenant General Diego de los Rios the Elder and was given the title "Underage ensign of the Cavalry" in 1860 due to his fathers service in the Hispano-Moroccan War. In the same year, he specialized in infantry combat and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1865. In 1868, he participated in the

and was promoted to Captain for his service in the revolution. For the next three years, he served in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. When he returned to the Spanish mainland, he participated in the

but was seriously wounded during the Battle of Castellfullit in July 1874 when he was promoted to Commander. After the treatment of his wound, he continued to fight the Carlist forces in the north, taking part in the battles of Sierra de Puyarruego, Ermita de la Trinidad de Lumbier and Sierra de Leire. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 1876 but had to then serve in the ongoing

. Once he arrived in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, he was in charge of several operations as he commanded several battalions until the

Pact of Zanjón The Pact of Zanjón ended the Ten Years' War, the armed struggle of Cubans for independence from the Spanish Empire that lasted from 1868 to 1878. On February 10, 1878, a group of negotiators representing the rebels gathered in Zanjón, a village ...

was signed and he returned to Spain to marry Matilde Sáenz Santa María. There he would serve various posts, including becoming King

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

's aide-de-camp in 1886, commanding the Ciudad Rodrigo Battalion in Madrid and dealing with the uprising of the Garellano and Albuera regiments on September 19 as he left with his unit under the orders of Captain General Manuel Pavía in pursuit of the rebels along the Paseo de Atocha,

Vallecas Vallecas was a municipality of Spain that disappeared as such in 1950, when its annexation to the municipality of Madrid took place. Nowadays, the territory is roughly occupied by two districts: Puente de Vallecas (population 240,917) and V ...

, Morata de Tajuña and Arganda. For his service, he was proposed to the Ministry of State for the Commander of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

. After his promotion to Brigadier General on 1895, he was sent 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 ...

under the command of Ramón Blanco who appointed him the commander of the First Brigade of the Mindanao Division.

Governor-General of the Philippines

Government in Iloilo

In September 1898, he became the Governor-General of the Philippines during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

after the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

took control of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

after the 1898 Battle of Manila. The capital of the Spanish Philippines was at that time in

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

. While fighting with the Americans was over, the Spanish authorities continued to fight the forces of the

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

for control of the country outside of Manila and

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

. Desiring to save the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

from being conquered by Philippine revolutionary forces, de los Rios asked Spain to grant some reforms demanded by citizens of

. He issued in Iloilo a proclamation to the people of the Visayas calling on them to establish a "Council of Reforms" to be made up of 24 leading citizens, 12 of whom would be selected by popular vote and another 12 to be appointed by the governor-general himself. The granted reforms, however, satisfied only a few ilustrado leaders and the Philippine revolution in Iloilo heated up. The general uprising against the Spanish authorities on

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of Il ...

, particularly in Iloilo, took place on October 28, 1898. On that day onward, the interior towns of the province of Iloilo were liberated from Spanish control. By the first week of November, only Jaro, Molo, and Iloilo remained in the hands of the Spaniards. On November 21, Jaro was delivered by the Spanish government to the Ilonggo revolutionary forces. With the Spanish army being besieged by the revolutionary troops in the positions which they held in Iloilo and Molo, and being threatened by a decisive attack, the Spanish government under De los Rios eventually opened up negotiations with the Ilonggos. The outcome of the negotiations was the evacuation of Molo and Iloilo City by the Spanish troops and their subsequent surrender to the native forces under the command of Gen. Martin Delgado at Plaza Alfonso XII (now Plaza Libertad) on 23 December 1898, which implied Iloilo City as the last capital of the Spanish Empire in Asia and the Pacific.
other formats available
He left

and transferred temporarily to Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora La Virgen del Pilar de Zaragoza in Zamboanga bringing with him the remnants of his colonial forces in the Visayas on the eve of the surrender of the Spanish forces in Visayas to the Ilonggo revolutionaries on December 24, 1898. Thereafter when moved to Zamboanga as his last bastion, he surrendered to the authorities.

In Zamboanga

The Governor-General upon his arrival at Fort Pilar on December 24, 1898, immediately made preparations for the defense against the Philippine revolutionaries. He brought the colonial forces from

Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...

and Lanao and consolidated them all at Fort Pilar. The Governor-General of Mindanao Island, General Jaramillo, transferred his command to General Montero, ex-governor of

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

, and left for Manila with General Rios in Dec. 1898.

In Manila

General Diego de los Rios brought his troops to Manila in January 1899, before the troops' departure to Spain. The general remained in Manila until 3 June 1899, trying to secure the release of Spanish prisoners from the rebels. General Nicola Jaramillo then took over negotiations.

Later Military Career

Upon his return to the Spanish mainland, he was appointed military governor of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

in 1902 and was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1907. He held high civil and military positions as counselor of the Supreme War and Navy Council, Captain-General of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, chief of the Army Staff, senator for the

Province of Cáceres The province of Cáceres (; ; ; ) is a province of western Spain, and makes up the northern half of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Its capital is the city of Cáceres. Other cities in the province include Plasencia, Coria, Navalm ...

and Captain-General of the First Military Region in 1909 which he commanded until his death.

References

Spanish Governors of the Philippines

*[http://www.nhcp.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=757 National Historical Commission of the Philippines - "A Filipino society with citizens informed of their history, who love their country and are proud of their cultural heritage."]

External links

El general Ríos: notas biográficas
''

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

''. 13 November 191. p. 13 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rios, Diego de los 1850 births 1911 deaths People from Madrid Captains general of the Philippines Spanish military personnel of the Third Carlist War (Governmental faction) People of the Ten Years' War Spanish military personnel of the Spanish–American War