Francisco Xavier de la Paz Pizarro Martínez (24 January 1787 – 9 February 1840) was a Mexican diplomat who served as

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

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 ...

to the

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from 17 October 1837 until his death on 9 February 1840. Previously, Pizarro served as Mexican consul to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Biography

Francisco Pizarro was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

on 24 January 1787 to Timoteo Antonio Pizarro López and Antonia San Martín Pérez, a Spanish couple from

Alcántara Alcántara () is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atte ...

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

, and

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, respectively. At 27, he married Marie Thérèse Visoso, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and daughter of a Galician immigrant, on 27 April 1814. In 1833, as Mexican consul of New Orleans, Pizarro refused entry to blacks and other "people of color" to the then-Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas, claiming that they were slaves in disguise and inherently lazy and immoral. After the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

, he negotiated a

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with Stephen F. Austin in the winter of 1836. In May 1837, he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Mexico to the United States by President

Anastasio Bustamante Trinidad Anastasio de Sales Ruiz Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as the 4th President of Mexico three times from 1830 to 1832, 1837 to 1839, and 1839 to 1841. ...

. As envoy, he negotiated the ''Convention for the adjustment of claims of citizens of the United States of America upon the Government of the Mexican Republic'' with John Forsyth in 1838. Shortly thereafter, Pizarro died while on duty on 9 February 1840, at the age of 53, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The President of the United States, his cabinet, and members of the diplomatic corps were present at his Catholic funeral. He was originally interred behind the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier on College Ground (a burial ground of the Holy Trinity Church) in the historical neighborhood of Georgetown. In 1953, when

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

cleared the cemetery for the construction of new buildings, his remains were transferred to Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Notes and references

1787 births 1840 deaths Politicians from Mexico City Ambassadors of Mexico to the United States Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Civil servants from New Spain {{Mexico-diplomat-stub