José Fernando Abascal y Sousa

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José Fernando Abascal y Sousa

Don José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa , since 1812 Marqués de la Concordia Española del Perú (born May 30, 1743 in Oviedo , Spain , † June 30, 1821 in Madrid ) was a Spanish politician and military leader. From 1804 to 1816 he was the Spanish viceroy of Peru . The last years of his reign coincided with the initial phase of the South American Wars of Independence, which broke out in 1809 .

Life

Abascal y Sousa studied at the university in his native city of Oviedo. In 1762, at the age of 19, he entered Spanish military service and that year took part in the campaigns against the English and Portuguese. He then attended the expedition against Algiers in 1775 and the conquest of Colonia del Sacramento (in today's Uruguay ) by the Portuguese in 1777 . In 1793 he received the rank of colonel and took part in this position from 1793 to 1796 in Spain's war against the French Republic . In 1796 he became governor of Cuba during the reign of King Charles IV , had Havana fortified and defended this city against an attack by the British navy. In 1799 he became director in Nueva Galicia (German: New Galicia, in today's Mexico ) and president of the Audiencia of Guadalajara. In this capacity he suppressed an Indian revolt .

Finally, in 1804, when Abascal was in Spain, he was made Viceroy of Peru . On the sea voyage there, he fell into the hands of the English, but escaped again, then met in Rio de Janeiro and went from here on a long and arduous land trip to Lima , where he did not arrive until 1806. He assisted Santiago de Liniers in his war against the English in Buenos Aires and supported the Cortes after the occupation of Spain by Napoleon I's troops (1808) in the fight against the French with money and weapons.

Abascal won the affection and trust of the Peruvians by doing away with the previous social barriers in many ways and by being on friendly terms with American families. In addition, he created a regulated administration in the country, founded new towns, promoted industry and trade and took care of educational institutions. In 1810 he founded the San Fernando Medical School. For sanitary reasons, he had a cemetery built outside the walls of Lima and prohibited burials in the city. He also imported steam engines from England which were supposed to remove pit water from the mines.

Abascal, supported by a sufficient army, succeeded in maintaining peace in Peru during the ten years of his administration and in maintaining Spanish rule during the attempts to defeat the South American colonies (from 1809). He made Peru the center of resistance loyal to Spain. and ruled and defended the colony in the midst of the political and military dangers completely independently.

In July 1809, the residents of La Paz deposed the Spanish authorities and installed their own junta as a government. This uprising was suppressed by troops sent by Abascal y Sousa under the command of the Peruvian José Manuel de Goyeneche and by military contingents sent by Baltasar de Cisneros , viceroy of the Rio de la Plata .

On May 25, 1810, insurgents in Buenos Aires forced Cisneros to resign as part of the May Revolution ; and another junta took power there. As a result, Abascal occupied the provinces of Córdoba , Potosí , La Paz and Charcas and reintegrated them into the viceroyalty of Peru, from which they had been separated in 1776. An army led by Goyeneche defeated troops of the rebellious Argentine junta in the battle of Huaqui on June 20, 1811 . There was also further fighting between the two parties.

In early 1813, Abascal ordered troops under the command of Antonio Pareja to Chile , where an independence movement had spread and only recognized formal Spanish supremacy. The military intervention led on May 3, 1814 to the conclusion of the Treaty of Lircay between the leaders of the Chilean independence movement and the Spanish military leader Gabino Gaínza . According to this treaty, Chile should remain an integral part of the Spanish monarchy; however, it was soon broken. After the arrival of a regiment from Talavera of Spain, whose troops could again be deployed to the preservation of the South American colonies after the fall of Napoleon, Abascal was determined to continue fighting. He sent an army under the leadership of Mariano Osorio , who defeated the rebels in the Battle of Rancagua and entered Santiago de Chile on October 8, 1814 triumphantly .

In July 1816, Abascal was recalled by King Ferdinand VII and resigned from his administrative post with expressions of thanks from the Peruvians. He was succeeded by General Joaquín de la Pezuela . On his return to Spain, Abascal became captain general and member of the supreme council of war. He died in Madrid in 1821 at the age of 78. He had been a Knight of the Order of Santiago .

literature

predecessor Office successor
Gabriel de Avilés Viceroy of Peru
1804–1816 		Joaquin de la Pezuela

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Abascal y Sousa, José Fernando
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Abascal y Sousa, José Fernando de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish viceroy in Peru (1804–1816)
DATE OF BIRTH May 30, 1743
PLACE OF BIRTH Oviedo
DATE OF DEATH June 30, 1821
Place of death Madrid