Agustin de Jáuregui

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Agustín the Jáuregui

Agustín de Jáuregui y Aldecoa (born May 17, 1711 in Lecároz , Navarra , Spain , † April 29, 1784 in Lima , Peru ) was a Spanish officer and politician . From 1773 to 1780 he was governor of the General Capitanate of Chile . From 1780 to 1784 he was Viceroy of Peru .

Life

Origin and military career

Jáuregui was born in Navarra, the son of Matías de Jáuregui and his wife Juana María de Aldecoa. He pursued a military career and went to the New World. He was involved in the defense of Cartagena de Indias in what is now Colombia and then served in Honduras , Puerto Rico and Cuba . He rose to the rank of brigadier and marshal and was inducted into the Order of Santiago.

In Cuba he married Luisa de Aróstegui y Basave, who came from Havana . Then he returned to Spain.

Governor of Chile

On June 25, 1772, Jáuregui was appointed governor of Chile at the age of 61. He embarked on October 16 in La Coruña with his son Tomás for Montevideo . He reached Santiago de Chile on March 5, 1773 and took office the following day. His wife had stayed in Spain; she was not to see her husband again and probably died in Pamplona .

Administrative reforms

He banned the carrying of weapons and imposed severe penalties for offenses against public order; He also sought contact with representatives of the Indians ( Parliament of Tapihue ) and set up a Jesuit- run training center for the indigenous population (the Colegio San Pablo ). Under his governorate the construction of the Cathedral of Santiago by the Italian architect Joaquín Toesca began .

The country's first postal service began on April 29, 1775. He also ordered a census that showed a population of almost 260,000 people in the General Capitanate.

Tax reforms

Even before Jáureguis took office in 1772, the tax system had been fundamentally changed. In place of the leasing of tax rights to third parties, there was direct tax and customs duty to the Spanish crown. The reform had to be pushed through against the bitter opposition of the tax farmers who lost their profitable business.

Military reforms

Under Jáuregui, militias were founded in Chile for the first time in 1777 : two cavalry regiments and one infantry regiment formed with a total of around 2,200 men. They should also better protect the more remote regions in the south of the country against bandits. He proposed a salary reform to the king, which was adopted in 1778 and improved the remuneration of the royal soldiers.

Colonial administration reforms

Under Jáureguis Gouvernat, the Spanish administration of South America was fundamentally reformed in 1776. The Cuyo region to the east of the main Andean ridge , which until then belonged to Chile, became part of the newly founded viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata .

Viceroy of Peru

In June 1779 Jáuregui was promoted to lieutenant general and then viceroy of Peru. Successor as Chilean governor was interim the regent of the Real Audiencia of Chile , Tomás Álvarez de Acevedo . Jáuregui took up his new office on July 20, 1780 and was welcomed in Lima by the Peruvian intellectual José Baquíjano with a speech.

Indio uprising

On November 4, 1780, the Indian uprising broke out under José Gabriel Condorcanqui , who called himself Tupac Amaru II . Jáuregui had the uprising put down and Amaru arrested. On May 18, 1781, Amaru was quartered to deter the population , his wife and other leaders of the uprising were also executed. In the years up to 1783, other insurgents were caught, tortured and executed. The trigger of the uprising - the obligation of the Indians to do forced labor (the repartimento ) - persisted and continued to cause considerable displeasure among the locals.

Handover and death

Jáuregui handed over his office on April 4, 1784 to Theodor de Croix . He planned to return to Spain, but suddenly fell ill (presumably suffered a stroke ) and died a few days later on April 29, 1784 at the age of 73.

Web links

• Chilean rulers at a glance (English) - this page states March 1772 when he took office.
• Biography at Icarito (Spanish)
• José Toribio Medina: Diccionario Biográfico Colonial de Chile (Spanish) (PDF; 113 MB), p. 430 f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Manuel de Guirior	Viceroy of Peru 1780–1784	Theodor de Croix