José Joaquín Vicente de Iturrigaray y Aróstegui,
KOS (27 June 1742,
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 ...
, Spain – 22 August 1815,
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
) was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of
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 ...
, from 4 January 1803 to 16 September 1808, during Napoleon's invasion of Spain and the establishment of a
Bonapartist regime in Spain. His plans to form a provisional autonomous government led to his arrest and deposition.
Origins and military career
Iturrigaray was born of a family of wealthy
Vizcaíno (
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
) merchants in
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 ...
. His parents were José Yturrigaray y Gainza, born in
Pamplona
Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain.
Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
,
Navarre, and María Manuela de Aróstegui y Larrea, born in
Aranaz, Navarre.
Under
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
in 1762 he took part in the
Spanish invasion of Portugal and in
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
. In 1793, now under
Charles IV, he earned fame for the courage shown in the
War of the Pyrenees with
Republican France. In 1801 he was commander in chief of the army of
Andalucía in the so-called
War of the Oranges with Portugal, under the command of Generalissimo
Manuel de Godoy.
Viceroy of New Spain
After serving as governor of Cádiz from 1793 to 1798, Iturrigaray was named
viceroy of New Spain by Godoy. Iturrigaray arrived in the colony in 1803 with his wife, María Inés de Jáuregui y Aróstegui. She was the daughter of Agustin de Jaúregui y Aldecoa, Viceroy of Peru, born in Lecároz, Valle de Baztán, Navarra, and María Luisa de Aróstegui y Bassave, born in
Habana, Cuba, a first cousin of José de Iturrigaray y Aróstegui. When he passed through customs at
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
, he brought with him a huge shipment of goods, which entered free of duty because he declared it his personal baggage. The king sent him a large quantity of arms, which the viceroy provided to the regiments of Mexico and Puebla, then stationed in Cuba. Iturrigaray soon gained popularity for his friendly and jovial character, which contrasted with the austere character of his predecessor,
Félix Berenguer de Marquina.
In June he visited the current state of
Guanajuato
Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...
, for the announced purpose of opening a public granary. He also inspected the mines of La Valenciana and Rayas, and received a present of 1,000 ounces of gold. He offered to request from Spain a sufficient amount of mercury to work the mines. Passing through
Celaya, he granted permission for the Ayuntamiento (city government) there to celebrate ''corridas'' (
bullfights), and to build a bridge over the Río La Laja. The bridge was to be constructed under the direction of the architect
Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras.
On December 9, 1803 he inaugurated
Manuel Tolsá's bronze equestrian statue of Charles IV in the
Zócalo in the Center of Mexico City. The first stone in the pedestal had been laid July 18, 1796 by then-Viceroy
Miguel de la Grúa Talamanca y Branciforte, marqués de Branciforte, and the statue had been cast on August 4, 1802.
On March 22, 1803 the Prussian explorer and naturalist Baron
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...
arrived in
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
from
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
in the ship ''Pizarro''. Humboldt spent a year 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 ...
, spending time in Mexico City and especially important time in the mining area of Guanajuato. Since the crown had given Humboldt unlimited access to travel and investigate New Spain, Iturrigaray directly aided Humboldt's research, first published in his ''Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain''. Humboldt estimated the population of New Spain to be 6 million.
On March 18, 1804 an expedition for the propagation of
smallpox vaccine
The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with th ...
under Dr.
Francisco Javier de Balmis also arrived. The viceroy's reception of this expedition was less enthusiastic than the leaders had anticipated. Nevertheless, Dr. Juan Arboleya vaccinated the son of the viceroy.
In March 1805 news was received in New Spain of the renewed declaration of war by Spain against Britain. Iturrigaray received orders to put the colony in a state of defense, and to increase the regular payments to Spain. To do this, he applied the ''Cédula de la Caja de Consolidación''. This order was the equivalent of
disentailment of the church because it ordered the transfer of income from the religious estates and foundations to the government. A direct result of this order was the strengthening of the Spanish opponents of the viceroyalty, who raised protests. Among them was Bishop
Manuel Abad y Queipo.
Popular discontent grew with the increase in taxes. So did the discontent of the
Peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain), because of the favor shown by the viceroy to the
Criollos (Spaniards born in America). And among the latter there began to appear a spirit of independence inspired by news of the
disturbance at Aranjuez and the political defeat of the royal Prime Minister
Manuel Godoy. Iturrigaray saw the necessity of relying on the Criollo party to maintain his power.
On April 30, 1803, Napoleon
sold Louisiana to the United States for 80 million francs. In 1806, that country asked the
Marqués de Casa Calvo, to remove the Spanish troops from New Orleans so that the United States could take possession of the area up to the
Sabine River.
Situation in Spain
In 1808 Napoleon's French invaded Spain. As the French forces approached Madrid, the royal family decided to flee to New Spain. This idea, however, was poorly received by the Spanish populace. On March 17, 1808 a riot broke out at
Aranjuez. The hated Godoy was apprehended by the crowd, humiliated, stripped of his honors, and nearly killed. The mob, loyal to Prince
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
(later King Ferdinand VII), forced Charles to abdicate in his son's behalf. Ferdinand then had Godoy arrested. But in May, all three — Godoy, Ferdinand and Charles — were enticed across the French border, where Napoleon took them prisoner. Napoleon forced the abdication of both Ferdinand and Charles in favor of himself. He then named his brother,
Joseph Bonaparte, king of Spain.
On May 2, 1808, the people of Madrid rose in arms against the French. This was the spark that began a country-wide revolt. Everywhere provisional juntas were organized claiming to govern in the name of Ferdinand VII.
Consequences in New Spain
Iturrigaray had been appointed viceroy with orders to put down any rebellion, but the situation in Spain with the Napoleonic invasion, and the "political events back home bewildered him." News of the situation in Spain was received in Mexico on June 23, 1808, and the following July 14, news of the abdication of the Spanish king in favor of Napoleon was also received.
Viceroy Iturrigaray was presented with a report by the Mexico City
Cabildo (city council) proposing that as the throne of Spain was now occupied by a usurper, the royal power should now be transferred to the viceroy, who would refuse to recognize the authority of Spain as long as it was under foreign domination. Iturrigaray accepted the charge, which was opposed by the
Audiencia, whose members were mostly Spanish born as opposed to the Ayuntamiento whose members had been criollos. The viceroy now began work on organizing a national congress.
On July 20, 1808,
Diego Leño of the Ayuntamiento of
Jalapa, called for a congress of representatives from throughout New Spain.
The Criollo party continued to agitate, asking for the formation of a junta, as in Spain, and the convening of a congress. Once again the Audiencia was opposed, arguing that New Spain was a colony, and not permitted to take this kind of decision.
On August 9, 1808, at a meeting of Notables, the lawyer Primo Verdad y Ramos spoke in favor of popular sovereignty. Some of the ''
oidores'' (judges on the Audiencia) spoke in rebuttal, declaring the proposal seditious and subversive. Inquisitor
Bernardo Prado y Ovejero declared it heresy and anathema. The Notables adopted an intermediate position — New Spain would recognize no authority above the king of Spain.
On August 31, 1808 the crisis took a sharper turn with the arrival of
Juan Gabriel Jabat, representative of the Junta of Seville, and a message from the Junta of Asturias. Both juntas requested recognition as the legitimate government of Spain by New Spain, thus providing evidence of the lack of ''any'' legitimate government in the country.
On September 1, 1808,
Melchor de Talamantes, a Peruvian priest and the intellectual leader of the Criollo party, delivered two tracts to the Cabildo, in favor of separation from Spain and of the convoking of a Mexican congress. His premises were that all ties to Spain had now been broken; that regional laws had to be made, independently of the mother country; that the Audiencia could not speak in behalf of the king; and that the king having disappeared, sovereignty was now vested in the people.
It looked as if open fighting would break out between the mostly Peninsular partisans of the Audiencia and the Criollo ones of the Cabildo. A further meeting on September 9 was tumultuous.
Coup deposing the viceroy
Iturrigaray was strongly inclined towards the party of the Criollos and held in great suspicion by the Spanish party. He had received Criollo petitions for a congress and disrecognition of the Spanish junta. He had ordered 40,000 pesos sent to the Consulado of Veracruz, notoriously liberal in outlook. He had nominated Criollos to high positions in the administration. And most importantly, he had mobilized the regiment of dragoons from Aguascalientes, stationed in Jalapa. This regiment was under the command of Colonel Ignacio Obregón, an intimate friend of the viceroy.
Iturrigaray was on the point of resigning when, on September 15, 1808 the pro-Spanish party, headed by
Gabriel J. de Yermo, arrested him. Yermo was supported by the rich Spanish merchants, by the oidores Aguirre and Bataller, by the archbishop, and by the judges of the Inquisition. Five hundred well-armed conspirators attacked the viceregal palace at 2 in the morning. One soldier was killed. The members of the Cabildo were also arrested.
After Iturrigaray was taken prisoner, he was conducted to the Inquisition, so that the populace could be made to believe he had been deposed for heresy. His wife and children were taken to the convent of San Bernardo. The vicereine was cruelly insulted and her jewelry was stolen. The viceroy was deposed by the Audiencia. An inventory of the viceroy's valuables was ordered, and the total came to more than one million pesos. This was considered evidence that the viceroy had taken advantage of the situation for his personal enrichment.
In accordance with custom, the unanticipated vacancy in the office of viceroy was filled with the oldest and highest-ranking military officer in the colony, Marshall
Pedro de Garibay, an octogenarian controlled by the Audiencia.
Primo Verdad y Ramos and Melchor de Talamantes were imprisoned, and died in jail. Also imprisoned were Lic. Cristo, Juan Francisco Azcárate and French general
Octaviano d'Alvímar.
[General Octaviano d'Alvimar (or Delvimere), emissary of Napoleon, had crossed Texas to enter Mexico in order to promote the revolution against Spain there and to establish plans which would make it possible for Napoleon to control Spanish America.]
Return to Spain
On September 21, 1808, Iturrigaray was sent as a prisoner to Spain. He was brought to trial in
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 ...
for disloyalty. The charges were not proven and he was freed under the amnesty granted by the Cortes in 1810. A
juicio de residencia continued after the amnesty, and was ended only by the death of Iturrigaray in 1815, but not before he was assessed a fine of 435,000 pesetas. According to most historians, he was also implicated in a private scheme by
James Wilkinson to head off an invasion of Mexico by
Aaron Burr.
Footnotes
Further reading
* ''Diccionario Porrúa de Historia, Biografía y Geografía de México'', 6th ed., v. 2, pp. 1857–58. Mexico City:
Editorial Porrúa, S.A., 1995. .
* "Iturrigaray y Aróstegui, José de," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 8. Mexico City: 1987.
* García Puron, Manuel, ''México y sus gobernantes'', v. 1. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984.
* Orozco L., Fernando, ''Fechas Históricas de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1988, .
* Orozco Linares, Fernando, ''Gobernantes de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, .
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iturrigaray, Jose De
Viceroys of New Spain
Spanish generals
1742 births
1815 deaths
Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
People from Cádiz
Spanish people of Basque descent
1800s in Mexico
1800s in New Spain