Gregorio Álvarez Tuñón y Quirós (1683–1728) was a captain and in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. Historian John L. Kessell describes Tuñón y Quirós as a "provincial entrepreneur", while David Yetman says he was "widely known as the most corrupt official in the region".

Biography

Tuñón y Quirós was born in 1683 in

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, Spain, the oldest of twelve children. He traveled to New Spain and arrived in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

at age nineteen, joining his uncle, Spanish general Jacinto de Fuensaldaña. In 1701, Tuñón y Quirós assisted Fuensaldaña in displacing

Domingo Jironza Petriz de Cruzate Domingo Jironza Pétriz de Cruzate (or Domingo Gironza) (born c. 1640) was a Spanish soldier who was Governor of New Mexico from 1683 to 1686, and again from 1689 to 1691. He came to office at a time a large part of the province of Santa Fe de Nu ...

as captain of

Fronteras Fronteras is the seat of Fronteras Municipality in the northeastern part of the Mexican state of Sonora. Frontera translates as Border. The elevation is 1,120 meters and neighboring municipalities are Agua Prieta, Nacozari and Bacoachi. The ar ...

. In 1706, Tuñón y Quirós received title to the local mines at San Juan Bautista de Sonora. That same year, he became alcalde mayor of Sonora, a position he held until succeeded by Raphael Pacheco Zevallos in 1723. In 1710, he succeeded his uncle as captain for life of Fronteras. In 1724, Tuñón y Quirós led three attacks against nearby

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. For the most part, however, he neglected his , employing the garrison in herding his cattle and mining his silver. Due to his absenteeism, citizens of northern Sonora turned to Antonio Becerra Nieto at Janos Presidio for military support. Tuñón y Quirós also routinely drew salaries for nonexistent soldiers, forging papers and using criminals or as stand-ins during inspections. Many locals lodged complaints against him for embezzlement, including a 1718 complaint to Nieto which led to an official inspection. Tuñón y Quirós maintained an opulent household, including, at the time of his death, four slaves. He clashed with the local

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missionaries over land and native labor, and led a petition calling for the Jesuit expulsion from Mexico. In 1726, inspector general Pedro de Rivera y Villalón arrived in

, where he arraigned Tuñón y Quirós on fifteen counts. Rivera passed summary judgement on two counts of embezzlement and removed Tuñón y Quirós from his post, assigning Juan Bautista de Anza I in his place. The remaining charges went to trial in

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, adjudicated by the viceroy, Juan de Acuña. After consulting with Juan Manuel de Oliván Rebolledo, de Acuña confirmed the removal. By that time, however, Tuñón y Quirós was already dead, having fallen victim to an epidemic in the spring of 1728.

References

{{Reflist 1683 births 1728 deaths Spanish soldiers Slave owners People from the Provincias de Sonora, Ostimuri y Sinaloa Military personnel from New Spain Colonial officials for Spain