José de Ezpeleta
José Manuel de Ezpeleta y Galdeano Dicastillo y Prado , Count (Spanish: conde) of Ezpeleta de Beire , Burgrave (Spanish: vizconde) of the Palacio de Tajonar (* 1742 in Barcelona , Spain ; † November 23, 1823 in Pamplona , Spain) was a Spanish officer and colonial administrator who served as Viceroy of New Granada and Navarre .
Life
Origin and military career
Ezpeleta came from a family of Spanish nobility. He entered Spanish military service at the age of 14 in the La Coruña regiment . Ezpeleta was a knight of the order of Charles III. as well as in the order of St. Hermenegild and judge of the Order of St. John .
In 1763 he was transferred to Cuba . He married María Paz Enríquez y Acledo, daughter of the marquis ( marqués ) of Casa Enrile. By 1781 he rose to the rank of brigadier general. In 1783 he went to Mexico as an army inspector .
In 1785 he was promoted to lieutenant general, and soon after he was posted to Louisiana , Spain, as captain general and governor .
Tenure as Viceroy of New Granada
After being appointed Viceroy of New Granada, he traveled to South America and took office in 1789. Militarily he reached the rank of field marshal.
He strove to increase the falling government revenues from mining.
During his tenure, he founded the first newspaper in New Granada: The Papel Periodico de Santa Fé appeared for the first time. A botanical expedition discovered the fertilizing effect of guano , an antidote against snake bites and nutmeg . Ezpeleta founded the first theater in Bogotá .
The cultivated viceroy promoted literary circles, but took a clear political line against all revolutionary endeavors: When the publisher Antonio Nariño published a Spanish translation of the French "History of the Constitutional Assembly" by Salart de Montjoye, which described the French Revolution and contained the declaration of human rights the viceroy had him captured, sentenced and taken to Spain.
Return to Spain, exile
In 1797 he handed over his office to Pedro Mendinueta y Múzquiz and returned to Spain. King Charles IV gave him the title of Count ( conde ) of Ezpeleta de Beire and Burgrave ( vizconde ) of the Palacio de Tajonar. First he officiated as captain general of New Castile, from 1808 as captain general in Catalonia .
The overthrow of Manuel de Godoy , Minister of State of King Charles IV, by the Aranjuez mutiny also meant the temporary end of Ezpeleta's political career.
At this time the Napoleonic War was raging in Spain and troops under Guillaume Philibert Duhesme had taken Barcelona. Ezepeleta refused the oath of allegiance to Joseph Bonaparte , who was to be installed as king in Spain by his brother Napoleon.
Ezpeleta withdrew to Pamplona, but was captured by Napoleonic troops there and spent the time in exile in France until the return of King Ferdinand VII .
In 1814 he was able to return to Spain. The king made him viceroy of Navarre ; he held this office until 1820.
In 1820 the liberal constitutionalists rose against the absolutist ruling King Ferdinand. In trienio liberal Ezpeleta was deposed and was living in a time in Valladolid .
When King Ferdinand had regained absolutist power in 1823, José de Ezpeleta was also reinstated as Viceroy of Navarre. However, he could only exercise this last term of office for a short time before he died in November 1823.
Web links
- Biography (spanish)
- Short biography (Spanish)
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Francisco Gil de Taboada y Lemos |
Viceroy of New Granada 1789–1797 |
Pedro Mendinueta y Múzquiz |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ezpeleta, José de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ezpeleta y Galdeano Dicastillo y Prado, José Manuel de; Count of Ezpeleta de Beire, conde de Ezpeleta de Beire, Burgrave of the Palacio de Tajonar, vizconde del Palacio de Tajonar |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish officer and colonial administrator, viceroy of New Granada and Navarre |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1742 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Barcelona , Spain |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 23, 1823 |
| Place of death | Pamplona , Spain |