Juan Andrés de Ustariz de Vertizberea

Juan Andrés de Ustariz de Vertizberea (born March 31, 1656 in Narbarte , Navarra , Spain , † May 19, 1718 in Santiago , Chile ) was a Spanish merchant who was governor of Chile.

Life

Youth and origin

Ustariz was born in Navarre to Juánez de Ustariz and his wife Magdalena de Vertizberea. On January 18, 1695 he was inducted into the Order of Santiago . Ustariz had as a merchant, a trading house in Seville set up and a considerable fortune earned that among the distortions of the War of Succession, the Spanish had shrunk, as Ustariz the future King Philip V had supported. He had no military career and no experience in administration when Philip V appointed him governor of Chile with a document dated January 31, 1705.

Taking office

Ustariz first traveled to Lima (April 1707) and from there to Santiago, where he was received on February 27, 1709. He sent messages to Europe to have his wife, Francisca de Ollo, come to the New World. But on the crossing to Buenos Aires, despite a passport from the British Queen, she was captured by Dutch privateers and brought to Portugal .

His tenure began difficult when the city council (Spanish: Cabildo ) of Santiago refused to swear allegiance to him.

Administration and smuggling

José Toribio Medina describes Ustariz as an “on the whole a pious and compassionate person”. In this respect, his role in the smuggling business that led to his dismissal is difficult to assess from today's perspective. The Spanish Crown had imposed high tariffs on all goods imported into the colonies and strictly limited trade to registered ships. Smugglers from Holland, France and England circumvented these regulations and illegally brought goods into Chile. The crown lost considerable income, but the local upper class, especially in Concepción , liked to buy European cloth and other luxury goods at affordable prices. It would have been Ustariz's job to rigorously and severely prevent this smuggling, but as a merchant he was presumably unsuitable for it.

Ustariz not only tolerated smuggling, he even took part in the sale of goods illegally brought into the country, which he had for sale in the main square of Santiago.

He secured the approval of the military through numerous promotions until the army had more officers than soldiers.

Politically, his term of office was fruitful: He also promoted the exchange of goods within the country and kept peace with the Indians. He also had the governor's palace built and a home for fallen women built. The premises of the Real Audiencia of Chile were expanded during his reign.

A curiosity occurred under his government when a privateer under the command of Woodes Rogers on the Juan Fernández Islands took in the shipwrecked Alexander Selkirk , who had survived there alone for several years - the story inspired Daniel Defoe to his novel " Robinson Crusoe " .

Ustariz's unabashed involvement in the smuggling trade led to growing rejection among the Oidores of the Real Audiencia. They intervened with the Viceroy of Peru . The Council of India decided on October 7, 1715 to hold a court case (Spanish: Juez de Residencia ) over the administration of the governor. With this order, the new Viceroy Carmine Nicolao Caracciolo was sent from Spain. When he arrived in Lima on October 7, 1716, he immediately dealt with the events in Chile. According to the standards of the time, his judgment was passed quickly and by order of December 23, 1716, Ustariz was removed from his office. José de Santiago Concha took over the official business on an interim basis .

He died barely a year and a half later in Santiago at the age of 62. His wife returned to Seville, but the sons stayed in Chile.

literature

• Pedro de Cordoba y Figueroa: Historia de Chile [1492-1717] (=  Coleccion de historiadores de Chile . Volume II ). Instituto Chileno de Cultura Hispánica, Academia Chilena de la Historia, 1862 ( books.google.com ).
• Diego Barros Arana : Historia General de Chile . tape 5 . Editorial Universitaria, Santiago de Chile 2001, p. 361–386 (Spanish, memoriachilena.cl [accessed June 24, 2010] First edition: 1886).
• José Toribio Medina : Diccionario Biográfico Colonial de Chile . Imprenta Elziviriana, Santiago de Chile 1906, p. 888–889 (Spanish, memoriachilena.cl [PDF; accessed June 15, 2010]).

Web links

• Biography at Biografia de Chile (spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Medina, p. 889: “ Ustariz dió pruebas de ser una persona sumamente piadosa. »