Felipe de Neve

Felipe de Neve (* 1724 or 1728 in Bailén , Andalusia , Spain , † 1784 in northern Mexico ) was a Spanish colonial governor of Upper California .

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The year of birth of Felipe de Neve is given in the sources as 1724 and then as 1728. He was born in Andalusia and became a cadet in the Spanish armed forces in 1744. He initially served in Cantabria , Flanders , Milan and Portugal . In 1764 he came to the Spanish colonies in Central America. There he was stationed as a captain in Querétaro and Zacatecas. By 1774 he had reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He became Governor of Baja California a year later and was also Governor of Upper California from 1777 to 1782. He moved the seat of the administration to the new capital Monterey . Several new missions and cities were established in Upper California during his time as governor. The most important of them was Los Angeles . A mission was initially set up there. After this was established, Governor Felipe de Neve sent eleven families to cultivate the land. On September 4, 1781, the Los Angeles Community was established with 44 settlers on the territory of the Tongva indigenous people. During his tenure as governor, de Neve, like his predecessor Fernando Rivera y Moncada , had problems with the Franciscans and their supreme leader Junípero Serra . In 1781 the governor led a campaign of revenge against the Apaches, who attacked and killed his predecessor Fernando Rivera and some of his companions on July 18 of the same year. After his tenure as governor, de Neve continued his military career. In 1783 he became commander in chief of the Spanish armed forces in the so-called Provincias Internas . The area covered all of northern Mexico, including the areas that later fell to the United States. He held this office until his death in 1784.

Web links

• Felipe de Neve in Encyclopedia.Com
• Felipe de Neve on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine of the University of California (USC)