Martín de Ursúa y Arizmendi (; February 22, 1653 – February 4, 1715), Count of
Lizárraga and of
Castillo, was a Spanish
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
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 ...
during the late colonial period 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 ...
. Born in
Olóriz,
Navarre
Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
,
[Jones 1998, p. 113.] he is noted for leading the
1696–97 expeditionary force which resulted in the fall of the last significant independent
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
stronghold,
Nojpetén
Nojpetén (also spelled Noh Petén, and also known as Tayasal) was the capital city of the Itza people, Itza Maya civilization, Maya kingdom of Peten Itza kingdom, Petén Itzá. It was located on an island in Lake Petén Itzá in the modern depa ...
, located on an island in
Lake Petén Itzá in the northern
Petén Basin region of present-day
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 ...
. He served as
governor of the Yucatán until 1708, when he was named
Governor-General of the Philippines
The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...
.
Around the time that he was named to that post, he was made a knight of the
Order of Santiago.
He died in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
in 1715.
[Jones 1998, p. 114.]
Ursúa arrived to Mexico around 1680 and initially served as a lawyer in Mexico City until 1692. He used this period to cement relationships with colonial officials in Yucatán.
[Jones 1998, p. 118.] In 1692 he was appointed to be governor of Yucatán, with his term to begin in 1698. By 1694 he had been appointed as ''
alcalde ordinario
Alcalde ordinario refers to the judicial and administrative officials in the Cabildo (council), cabildos in the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish Viceroyalties in the Americas during the times of the Spanish Empire in the 16th through ...
'' (a Spanish colonial official) of Mexico City.
Ursúa took office in Yucatán four years earlier than planned, becoming acting governor on 17 December 1694.
Family tree
Martín de Ursúa was from a line of distinguished and successful noblemen that was extremely well connected politically and that intermarried with other influential noble families to form a kinship network that was spread across Europe and the Americas:
[Jones 1998, pp. 113–115.]
See also
*
Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa
*
History of the Philippines (1521–1898)
The history of the Philippines dates from the earliest Hominini, hominin activity in the archipelago at least by 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least by 134,000 years ...
*
Spanish conquest of Guatemala
In a protracted conflict during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonisers gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of Guatemala into the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. Before the conquest, this te ...
*
Spanish conquest of Yucatán
The Spanish conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish Empire, Spanish ''conquistadores'' against the Mesoamerican chronology, Late Postclassic Maya civilization, Maya states and polities in the Yucatán Peninsula, a vast ...
Notes
References
*
Spanish conquistadors
17th-century Spanish lawyers
1653 births
1715 deaths
Captains general of the Philippines
Governors of Yucatán (state)
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Spanish colonial officials
People from Tafalla (comarca)
People from the Kingdom of Navarre
People from the Captaincy General of Yucatán
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