Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa (died 10 March 1583), sometimes spelled as Gonçalo Ronquillo Peñaloza, was the fourth Spanish governor and captain-general of 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 ...

from April 1580 until his death in 1583. He was succeeded by his nephew, Diego Ronquillo. Before arriving in the Philippines he served as royal court

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

in Mexico.

Governorship

His first official action was to order

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 ...

to become

's political and economic capital in 1582. That same year, he established the ''Palacio del Gobernador'' (Governor's Palace) in

Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...

, Manila to integrate all governmental activities in the Philippines. On 30 March 1582 he issued a decree stating that no person may leave the country without his permission. Ronquillo de Peñalosa, according to the content of his order, was informed that some

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

priests headed by Fray Pedro de Alfaro left the country in 1579 heading for mainland China. Around March 1582, as he continues, Franciscan Fray Pablo de Jesus and other missionaries re-entered China where they disseminate scandalous talks about the colony. In June 1582, the first bishop of Manila

Domingo de Salazar Domingo de Salazar (1512 – December 4, 1594) was a Catholic Dominican prelate who served as the first Bishop of Manila (1579–1594), ''(in Latin)''Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionaries successfully entered the Islands. Ronquillo de Peñalosa also reported that they successfully conquered and annexed the last of Moluccan Islands—the

Tidore Tidore (, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island of Tidore (with three sm ...

. He also reported to the King that the other island,

Ternate Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...

was threatened by conquests and invasions from the British through

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

. In his dated letter of 16 June 1582, Ronquillo de Peñalosa suggested to the King of Spain of further fortifications of Spanish footholds in the country. He also said that the Spaniards must dominate the Portuguese in Moluccas, and planned for possible seizing of

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

from Portugal. In a reply letter from the King, Philip II instructed the governor on how to initiate the ''

repartimiento The ''Repartimiento'' () (Spanish, "distribution, partition, or division") was a colonial labor system imposed upon the indigenous population of Spanish America and the Philippines. In concept, it was similar to other tribute-labor systems, such a ...

'' (forced labor) among

Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índi ...

s. In 1582, the Spaniards won and defended Cagayan from

Sino Sino as a prefix generally refers to: * China * Greater China * Chinese people * Two Chinas * Culture of China * History of China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

from possible terrorism and invasion.

Post-governorship and death

Former governor-general

Francisco de Sande Francisco de Sande Picón (1540 – September 12, 1602) was the third Spanish governor and captain-general of the Philippines from August 25, 1575 to April 1580. He established the Royal City of Nueva Cáceres, now known as Naga City. Early c ...

's chief enemy and Manila's attorney-general Captain Gabriel de Rivera filed a complaint against Ronquillo de Peñalosa for being the captain-general of the Philippines for life. In 1583, upon processing of Rivera's complaint, Ronquillo de Peñalosa died at his house in

. He was succeeded by his own nephew, Diego Ronquillo in office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronquillo De Penaloza, Gonzalo Year of birth missing 1583 deaths Captains general of the Philippines