Manuel Ruiz Urriés de Castilla, I Count of Ruiz de Castilla ( Ortilla (Spain), 23 November 1734 – Quito (Ecuador), June 1812), was a brigadier of the Royal Army of Spain and a public official of the Spain crown in South America. He held the positions of Mayor of the Mines of

Huancavelica Huancavelica () or Wankawillka in Quechua is a city in Peru. It is the capital of the department of Huancavelica and according to the 2017 census had a population of 49,570 people. The city was established on August 5, 1572 by the Vicer ...

, Governor General of Cuzco, and President of the

Real Audiencia of Cusco Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010 ...

(1793–1806) and of the

Real Audiencia of Quito The of Quito (sometimes referred to as or ) was an administrative unit in the Spanish Empire which had political, military, and religious jurisdiction over territories that today include Ecuador, parts of northern Peru, parts of southern C ...

(1807–1812).

Biography

Born in Spain, he moved to the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...

, where he was mayor of

Paruro Paruro is a town in Southern Peru, capital of the province Paruro in the region Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of th ...

and colonel of militias, during the

Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II The Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II (4 November 1780 – 15 March 1783) was an uprising by ''cacique''-led Aymara, Quechua and ''mestizo'' rebels aimed at overthrowing Spanish colonial rule in Peru. The causes of the rebellion included oppositi ...

. He distinguished himself in 1781, commanding one of the columns that attacked the rebels in

Tungasuca Tunka Suka ( Aymara ''tunka'' ten, ''suka'' furrow, "ten furrows", hispanicized spelling ''Tunga Suca'') is a mountain in the Andes of Peru, about high. It is located in the Cusco Region, Canas Province, Tupac Amaru District Tupac Amaru S ...

, receiving the rank of Army colonel on 15 October 1783. In 1787, he became military governor of Cuzco, in 1790 governor of the Huancavelica mines, where he remained four years, and on 28 July 1793 President of the

. He occupied that government until September 1806, when he handed over command to his successor, Francisco Muñoz de San Clemente, and on 14 May 1807, he was named president of the

. During his government in Quito, he was surprised by the Quito Revolution caused by

Criolo Kleber Cavalcante Gomes, or Criolo (São Paulo, September 5, 1975), is a Brazilian singer, rapper, songwriter and actor, four times nominated to the Latin Grammy Awards. With a career starting in 1989, he was originally known in Brazil as the cr ...

elements who deposed him from his command on 10 August 1809, and established a Sovereign Junta chaired by

Juan Pío Montúfar ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

. Faced with the advance of Arredondo's Royalist troops coming from Lima, the Junta returned him to command (28 October 1809) on condition of a total amnesty, an agreement that infuriated Viceroy Abascal and wasn't respected. The advanced age of Ruiz de Castilla (76) made him an easy prey to the intrigues of the Patriots, accepting the position of president of the Second Government Junta of Quito on 22 September 1810. On 11 December 1811, he was deposed and imprisoned, when the Second Government Junta declared its independence from Spain.
He was stabbed to death in the Quito prison, during popular riots in June 1812.

References

Links

Biografias y vidas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz Urriés de Castilla, Manuel 1734 births 1812 deaths Spanish generals Independence of Ecuador People of the Spanish American wars of independence Viceroyalty of Peru people Viceroyalty of New Granada people