Manuel Antonio Flórez Maldonado Martínez Ángulo y Bodquín
[Real Academia de la historia]
Diccionario Bibliográfico español - Manuel Antonio Flórez
/ref> (in full, ''Manuel Antonio Flórez Maldonado'') (May 27, 1723 in Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
, Spain
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, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
– March 20, 1799 in Madrid
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) was a general in the Spanish navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigat ...
and viceroy of New Granada (1776 – November 26, 1781) and New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
(August 17, 1787 to October 16, 1789).
Early career
Flórez entered the royal navy of Spain, where he commanded various ships of war fighting pirates, in both the Mediterranean and in Spanish possessions in America. He distinguished himself for his valor as well as his knowledge, and was made a knight of the military Order of Calatrava. He became commandant of the Naval Department at el Ferrol Ferrol may refer to:
Places
* Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
* Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain
** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club
* Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...
, a major naval base, shipbuilding center and arsenal in northwestern Spain. He served in that position for four years (1771–75).
Flórez was named viceroy of New Granada, and sailed to take up the position on December 3, 1775. He served in this capacity for 11 years and 5 months. He was well liked in New Grenada. He resigned in 1787, citing ill health. However, his resignation was apparently motivated by dissatisfaction of José de Gálvez
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...
, Minister of the Indies, and Archbishop Antonio Caballero y Góngora of Bogotá.
As Viceroy of New Spain
In 1787 he was named viceroy of New Spain and president of the Audiencia of Mexico. He arrived in Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
on July 18, 1787 and took possession of his new offices in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...
on August 17.
In office, he raised three new battalions of volunteers, those of Mexico, Nueva España, and Puebla. He refused to share his authority with Francisco Mangino
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...
, who had been named superintendent of New Spain (1787). He sent 50,000 pesos annually to New York, on orders of the Crown, for businesses there.
He intervened in a dispute between missionaries and the military governor of California. He arranged that the sons of the largest landowners of the colony be given high positions in the colonial army. In 1788 he arranged with the Spanish government to bring in 11 German miners from Dresden to teach Mexican miners recent technical advances in metallurgy.
During his administration the Real Estudio Botánico opened. On April 28, 1788, the distinguished Mexican historian and Jesuit Francisco Javier Alegre died in exile in Bologna. On June 4, 1788, the expedition of Esteban José Martínez sailed from San Blas, Nayarit
San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in Nayarit.
City
San Blas is a port and popular tourist destination, located about north of Puerto Vallarta, and west of the state capital Tepic, and th ...
, in the ''Princesa
Princesa may refer to:
* Spanish ship ''Princesa'', various Spanish Navy ships
* Princesa Oliveros (born 1975), Colombian track and field hurdler
* Princesa, Santa Catarina, a municipality of Brazil
* ''Princesa'' (film), a 2001 film directed b ...
'' to explore the North Pacific coast. This expedition sailed as far as the Bering Strait. On August 12, 1788, Lorenzo de Zavala was born in Yucatán. He was later vice-president of the independent Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from M ...
.
King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
died on December 14, 1788, after a long reign. The sumptuous obsequies after his death cost the treasury of New Spain a great deal. Viceroy Flórez was personally very affected, because Charles III had been his protector.
The Audiencia informed the Crown of Flórez's failing health, and he was ordered to step down because of it. He was granted six months' additional pay to cover his expenses on the return to Spain. He returned there on October 16, 1789, where he was awarded the Cross of the Order of Charles III and named honorary captain general of the navy. He died in Madrid on March 20, 1799.
References
* "Flores, Manuel Antonio," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 5. 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:Flórez, Manuel Antonio
Viceroys of New Spain
Viceroys of New Granada
1723 births
1799 deaths
People from Seville
Spanish generals
Spanish history in the Pacific Northwest
1770s in the Viceroyalty of New Granada
1780s in the Viceroyalty of New Granada
1780s in Mexico
1780s in New Spain
18th-century Spanish people