Alonso García de Ramón

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alonso García de Ramón

Alonso García de Ramón (* 1552 in Cuenca , Castile , Spain ; † August 5, 1610 ( according to other information: August 25 ) in Concepción , Chile ) was a Spanish officer who served twice (1600/1601 and 1605 to 1610) as Governor of Chile was in office.

Life

Careers in Europe

García is from Castile and joined the Spanish army at the age of 16. He served in various parts of the Spanish kingdom (in the suppression of the Moors uprising in Andalusia , Italy , Sicily and Flanders ). He also took part in the naval battle of Lepanto and served the Spanish crown in North Africa and again in Flanders in 1574.

Career in america

With Governor Alonso de Sotomayor y Valmediano he went to Chile in 1583. García held the office of Maestre de Campo , the military deputy to the governor. In the Arauco War he commanded part of the Spanish troops in the fight against the insurgent Mapuche . In the process, he lost an eye in 1587 when an arrow hit him.

In March 1596 he was appointed corregidor of the silver mining town of Potosí and later promoted to Maestre de Campo in Peru .

First term as interim governor

When Francisco de Quiñónez was governor, the Spanish colony in Chile was in dire straits, as the revolting Mapuche Indians put the scanty and poorly equipped Spanish colonial troops more and more on the defensive. García had the reputation of an experienced and uncompromising knight and enjoyed the trust of the Viceroy of Peru , Luis de Velasco . So he was called to take over the battle as governor and commander in chief. He reached Valparaíso on July 29, 1610 and was in Santiago de Chile the next day .

On site, the situation turned out to be even more precarious than it was in Lima. Around six hundred men had died, well over half of the total troop strength and - also considering the small number of colonists - a considerable loss for the Spaniards. The fortified settlements of Angol and La Imperial had to be abandoned. There was no news of the situation in the outposts of Osorno , Villarrica or on Chiloé .

García immediately prepared to launch a campaign against the Indians. In the middle of the preparations, the news arrived in September 1600 that King Philip III. had sent a new regular governor for Chile from Spain. Alonso de Ribera de Pareja was completely unknown in America and met with skepticism and resistance from the beginning in the state of the viceroy, but also in officer circles in Chile. Despite the prospect of an early recall, García set out on a campaign south with around four hundred men in November 1600 to protect the poorly fortified cities of Concepción and Chillán from the Indians. The Spaniards fought the Mapuche in several skirmishes.

Break with Governor Ribera

Meanwhile, Alonso de Ribera had reached Concepción; García met his successor on February 10, 1601 in Hualqui. Two days later, García presented the new governor with a detailed battle plan for the fight against the Indians. He planned to split the Spanish troops into three parts. One should relieve the fort of Arauco along the coast, which was under Indian siege. The second was planned for a campaign in the Central Valley ( Valle Central ) and there should rush to the aid of the beleaguered cities Villarrica and Osorno and then build a new fortification in La Imperial. He had intended the third part of the army to quickly occupy the settlements of Angol and Santa Cruz as well as to build new fortifications on the banks of the river Laja. García suggested to Ribera that he would take over the most daring partial command, namely the replacement of La Imperial, himself.

Ribera was probably taken by surprise by this initiative; he also hesitated to split up the small Spanish troops and thus run the risk of having the few forces completely wiped out. When three days had passed without Ribera being able to come to a decision, García wrote him a note in which he clearly stated that Ribera should either give the orders in accordance with the battle plan presented or that García should give him his duties may give birth. Ribera responded immediately and dismissed García from his command, acknowledged his commitment with polite words, but sent him to the Viceroy of Peru for further use. He called him to the Corregidor of Quito .

Second term as governor

When King Philip removed Alonso de Ribera from his office in 1604 in the light of the still unfavorable military situation (and in view of numerous accusations against himself and his administration), he appointed Alonso de Sotomayor as governor in his place; but he refused. So the viceroy reappointed the tried and tested warrior García as commander in chief in Chile. He left his wife and children in Lima and set out on the journey at the end of January 1605. He reached Concepción on March 19 and assumed command on April 9, 1605.

The Arauco War dragged on during García's second term in office. Peace negotiations under the auspices of the Jesuit father Luis de Valdivia led to hopes and agreements that were soon dashed again; the Spaniards crushed themselves in campaigns against the guerrilla tactics of the Mapuche, which were favored by the nature of the country and local knowledge. In addition, the Spaniards no longer had the unique position of the cavalry since the Indians also had horses.

Even a massive increase in Spanish forces by a thousand men who had just come from Peru could not change the unfavorable course of the war for the Spaniards. In 1609 the new Real Audiencia of Chile was set up under Garcías Gouvernat .

In the (southern hemisphere) autumn of 1610 García withdrew with his troops after the summer campaigns to Concepción; there he fell seriously ill and died in August 1610. As an interim successor, the oidor of the newly built Audiencia, Luis Merlo de la Fuente , took over the command.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This date of death indicates Medina
personal data
SURNAME García de Ramón, Alonso
ALTERNATIVE NAMES García Ramón, Alonso
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish soldier, twice interim governor of Chile
DATE OF BIRTH 1552
PLACE OF BIRTH Cuenca (Spain)
DATE OF DEATH August 5, 1610
Place of death Concepción (Chile)