Manuel Arzú y Delgado y Nájera (1775 – 15 February 1835) was a Mexican and Nicaraguan military officer who held the position of interim governor of

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

in 1825.

Biography

Manuel Arzú y Delgado y Nájera was born in 1775 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 ...

. He served for the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

as a military officer. In 1822, while serving for the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...

, Arzú was placed in charge of a military force and was tasked with suppressing Salvadoran resistance to Mexican annexation. His forces captured

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

on 5 April 1822 and forced its defenders to abandon the city. In 1824, while serving for the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

, Arzú commanded federal soldiers to crush a rebellion in

led by

José Anacleto Ordóñez José Anacleto Ordóñez Bermúdez (1778–1839), also known as Cleto Ordóñez, and nicknamed "''El tuerto Ordóñez''" by his detractors, was a liberal Nicaraguan soldier, politician and prominent Central American unionist who served as ''de ...

. After he crushed the rebellion, he was named as Nicaragua's interim governor from 4 January 1825 until 2 April 1825, when he was replaced with Manuel Antonio de la Cerda. He established

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

's first military academy.

References

{{reflist 1775 births 1835 deaths People from New Spain