Francisco Javier de Morales

Francisco Javier de Morales y Castejón (* 1696 in Spain ; † May 17, 1774 in Lima , Peru ) was a Spanish officer and served as governor in the General Capitanate of Chile from 1770 to 1773 .

Morales was born in 1696 to Francisco Javier de Morales y Arroyo and his wife Juliana María Pérez de Castejón. His father was the king's secretary in the Justice Department.

He embarked on a military career. Until his transfer to Peru in October 1768, he served as captain of the infantry guard. His crossing was delayed because the fleet was thrown back to Spain by heavy storms.

By order of January 1770 he was promoted to commander in chief of the land forces and took over from Juan de Balmaseda the task of successfully waging the war against the Mapuche in southern Chile . On March 17, he took over the post of governor of Chile. After the insurgents took over two hundred Spanish soldiers under their control, Morales was forced to sign the Peace of Negrete , which cost the Spaniards 8,000 pesos and several thousand cattle.

After the end of the war, Agustín de Jáuregui was appointed governor. Morales resigned from office in March 1773, traveled back to Lima, and died there soon after.

Web links

Biography (spanish)
Mention in the biography of Balmaseda (Spanish)
José Toribio Medina: Diccionario Biográfico Colonial de Chile (Spanish) (PDF; 113 MB), p. 552 f.

Individual evidence

^ Extract from the Order of Charles III.

personal data
SURNAME	Morales, Francisco Javier de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Morales y Castejón, Francisco Javier de; Morales y Castejón de Arrollo, Francisco Javier de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Governor of Chile
DATE OF BIRTH	1696
PLACE OF BIRTH	Spain
DATE OF DEATH	May 17, 1774
Place of death	Lima , Peru

[1] Extract from the Order of Charles III.