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Martín de Mayorga Ferrer (12 September 1721 in
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– 28 July 1783 in
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) was a Spanish military officer, governor of the
Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala (), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala (), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America, including present-day Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras ...
(from June 1773 to 1779), and interim 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 23 August 1779 to 28 April 1783).


Career

Martín de Mayorga Ferrer was a field marshal in the royal army of Spain, and a knight of the military Order of Alcántara. He was governor, president of the Audiencia and captain general of Guatemala at the time of the devastating
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
on 29 July 1773. He was still serving in those positions at the time of the death of New Spain Viceroy Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
. When the Audiencia of Mexico opened the sealed instructions in the event of the death of Bucareli, they found that the captain general of Guatemala was named as replacement. When the instructions had been written, this was expected to be Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo, brother of
José de Gálvez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...
, minister of the Indies. However, Gálvez, although appointed to the position, had not yet arrived to fill it. The Audiencia of Mexico, therefore, named
Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
Martín de Mayorga, who still held the position, viceroy of New Spain. On 23 August 1779, Mayorga arrived in Mexico City and took up his new position. Of immediate concern were preparations for defense in the war that France and Spain had recently declared on Britain. He greatly reinforced
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.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 ...
, and sent an expedition under
Bernardo de Gálvez Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New S ...
to Florida to aid the rebelling American colonists. There was also conflict with the British in
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
. In 1779 there was an epidemic of smallpox that spread to many cities of the colony and caused many deaths. Viceroy Mayorga spent considerable sums to aid the sick and dying. He offered his resignation (the first of several times), but it was not accepted. In January 1780, the indigenous community of Izúcar, (
Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
), rose in rebellion because of mistreatment. Captains José Antonio de Urízar and Tomás Pontón were sent to suppress the rebellion. A large number of captured rebels were sent to Havana to serve as sailors in the fleet. Mayorga did much to improve the capital, paving many streets with stones and cleaning the waterways and aqueducts in an effort to prevent another epidemic. In 1780 he directed the governor of Puebla to assemble documents related to the history of New Spain, beginning with the ''Historia Antigua de la Nueva España'' of historian Mariano Veytia and papers collected by Lorenzo Boturini Bernaducci. This project probably saved numerous documents that would otherwise have been lost. In 1783, the viceroy once again submitted his resignation. This time it was accepted. He turned over the government of the colony to his replacement, Matías de Gálvez, on 28 April 1783 and left for Spain. He died just before or just after reaching port at
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 ...
. Some said he was poisoned by his successor. (The two were enemies and Gálvez had never forgiven him for occupying the viceroyalty in his stead.) However, this was never substantiated.


Descendants

Outside of Spain, Mayorga's descendants are also found in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Armando Mayorga (Spain) Claudio Ernesto Mayorga (Nicaragua)


References

* 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, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayorga, Martin de 1720s births 1783 deaths Politicians from Barcelona Viceroys of New Spain Governors of Guatemala Spanish generals Knights of the Order of Alcántara