Francisco Fernández de la Cueva Enríquez

Francisco Fernández de la Cueva

Francisco Fernández de la Cueva Enríquez (also: de la Cueva y de la Cueva ), 10th  Duke (Spanish: duque) of Alburquerque , Count (Spanish: conde) de la Torre , Margrave (Spanish: marqués) of Cuéllar and Cadereyta , Spanish grandee (born November 17, 1666 , † October 23, 1733 in Madrid , Spain) was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Viceroy of New Spain.

Origin and family

Francisco de la Cueva came from a family of the Spanish nobility. His father was Melchor de la Cueva Enríquez de Cabrera , 9th Duke of Alburquerque. His older brother Francisco Fernández de la Cueva , 8th Duke of Alburquerque, was Viceroy of New Spain from 1653 to 1660. His mother, Ana de la Cueva y Diéz de Aux Armendáriz, Countess of de la Torre, was the daughter of the 8th Duke, i.e. his cousin at the same time.

There is conflicting information about the place of birth. Either he was born in Genoa or in Sicily . In 1684 he married Juana de la Cerda y Aragón, daughter of the Duke of Medinaceli.

Careers in Europe

In accordance with his rank in the Spanish aristocratic hierarchy, he soon took over the highest post in state administration. He officiated as captain general in Granada and Andalusia and had the supreme command of the Atlantic coastal fleet.

In the dispute over the Spanish succession after the death of King Charles II , he spoke early on for the side of the Bourbons under Philip of Anjou .

Tenure as Viceroy of New Spain

In April 1702, King Philip V appointed him Viceroy of New Spain. The war delayed his departure for America until a French fleet sailed from La Coruña across the Atlantic at the end of June . In October it reached Veracruz .

Upon arrival, he gave permission for French slave traders to continue to import slaves from Africa to Mexico.

In November 1702 he met his predecessor, Archbishop Juan Ortega y Montañés , in Otumba, according to the ceremony , and was instructed in the official business. After taking his oath of office on November 27th at the Real Audiencia of Mexico , he moved to the Viceroy's Palace on December 8th. As an admirer of the Bourbons, he valued French etiquette and customs, which he brought with him to his court and introduced into the army.

In the course of the War of Succession, in which Spain stood against England and Holland , he ordered the renewal of the Armada de Barlovento , the fleet that was used to protect the Spanish coasts in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. English adventurers and soldiers who were expelled by a punitive expedition of the Spanish in 1705 had settled in what is now Belize and in some places in the Yucatán .

The Spanish court demanded further taxes in Europe and overseas to finance the war. The clergy were supposed to transfer a tenth of their income to the state treasury, which led to conflicts between the archbishop and the secular colonial administration. Government employees also had to accept taxes on their income.

Domestically, the colony's situation deteriorated during de la Cueva's tenure. Street crime and highway robbery spread, the prices of everyday goods rose; the viceroy tried to freeze prices, but had little success.

To get the crime under control , the Viceroy and Audiencia agreed to set up the Tribunál de la Acordada (German: the agreed court), a facility of volunteers to quickly fight and try bandits. The procedure and the sentence were largely left to the "judges", there were numerous attacks and wrong judgments.

During his tenure there were several Indian revolts; a rebellion of the Pima in New Mexico he had crushed with great severity.

Late years in Spain

In 1710 Fernando de Alencastre Noroña y Silva , Duke of Linares, was appointed the new Viceroy of New Spain. Francisco de la Cueva handed over the official business to him in November 1710 and made his way back to Spain. His wife died in 1724.

Francisco de la Cueva died in Madrid in October 1733. His eldest son Francisco (born 1692) inherited the title of Duke and became the 11th Duke of Alburquerque.

literature

• Juana Vázquez Gómez: Dictionary of Mexican Rulers, 1325–1997 . Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport CT 1997, ISBN 0-313-30049-6 , pp. 36-37 ( Google Books ).

Web links

• Biography (spanish)
• History of his tenure (Spanish)

predecessor	Office	successor
Juan Ortega y Montañés	Viceroy of New Spain 1702–1710	Fernando de Alencastre Noroña y Silva