Juan Francisco de Güemes y Horcasitas

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Juan Francisco de Güemes y Horcasitas

Juan Francisco de Güemes y Horcasitas , Count (Spanish: conde) of Revillagigedo , (born May 16, 1681 in Reinosa , Province of Cantabria , Spain ; † November 27, 1766 in Madrid , Spain) was a Spanish officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of Cuba and Viceroy of New Spain.

Life

Origin and family

Juan Francisco de Güemes came from a family of Spanish nobility. His father, who died early, was Francisco de Güemes Cordón, his mother Francisca de Horcasitas Sáenz de Villa de Mollinedo.

At the end of 1733 he married Maria Pacheco de Padilla, with whom he had eight children. His two eldest sons inherited his title of count.

Military career in Europe

Juan Francisco de Güemes joined the Spanish army as a cadet in 1699. In March 1702 he took part in the campaign of King Philip V in Naples as part of the War of the Spanish Succession and stayed there until 1704.

From 1704 he was deployed in Galicia and in 1705 was promoted to captain of the infantry. Further missions followed in Portugal and Extremadura . He took part in the capture of Alcántara and Ciudad Rodrigo and had a major share in the successes of the Bourbons in 1710 at the Battle of Villaviciosa . In June 1711 he was promoted to lieutenant general and spent the time of the peace negotiations in Catalonia in 1713/1714 .

In 1717 he fought under José de Patiño y Morales in Sardinia when the Spanish conquered the island from the imperial troops. At the end of 1717 he was appointed Colonel of the Granada Regiment, with whom he had deployments in Sicily and Ceuta . Then the regiment was transferred to Granada , where it remained until 1731 and in the meantime (unsuccessfully) besieged Gibraltar . This campaign brought Juan Francisco Güemes to the position of Infantry Inspector of Aragón , Navarre and Gipuzkoa .

In the summer of 1732 he took part in the campaign and the capture of Oran in Algeria . Here he first met Zenón de Somodevilla y Bengoechea , who later became head of the Spanish government. He has had a deep friendship with him since the campaign.

Term of office as governor of Cuba

José de Patiño appointed him governor of Cuba in February 1733. On December 3, he was promoted to field marshal and married at the end of the year.

At the beginning of January 1734 he embarked from Cádiz in the direction of Havana . The crossing took longer than usual and Güemes was only able to take over his office on March 18, 1734. Havana was an important port in the transatlantic shipping traffic between the motherland and the colonies in America. Güemes had the port of Havana expanded; his proposal to build a city wall on the land side was rejected by the court.

In 1739 England declared the War of Jenkins' Ear . The British sent a fleet under the command of Edward Vernon , which hit the Spaniards badly. Portobelo fell into English hands, but Cartagena (Colombia) , Santiago de Cuba and Havana were also exposed to British attacks. In his early years, Güemes put a lot of energy into increasing the efficiency of the military. So it was possible to repel the English from an invasion.

But the economy and trade also suffered from the long war. In 1741 the Real Compañia de la Habana was founded , a state economic entity that brought additional income to the state treasury with the trade in cloth from Spain, the sale of tobacco, the construction of ships and the slave trade.

In May 1745 Güemes suffered a stroke that forced him to give up his official duties for two months. With a document dated November 23, 1745 he was named Viceroy of New Spain after he had refused the post of Captain General of the Viceroyalty of New Granada .

Tenure as Viceroy of Spain

In July 1746, Güemes made his formal entry into Mexico City . His first tasks included organizing the funeral ceremonies for King Philip V, who had died in Spain, and proclaiming his successor, Ferdinand VI. in the colony.

Foreign policy

The war forced Güemes to request further increases in taxes and duties in Madrid. The War of the Austrian Succession had begun in Europe and led to King George's War between the British and the French on the American continent . The Spaniards feared that the British would again attack Spain, an ally of France. In 1747 it was said that an English fleet had sailed from Portsmouth for the Antilles . Viceroy Güemes therefore exercised special caution with Belize and Campeche : it was forbidden to distribute maps and plans showing fortifications that could fall into the hands of the enemy. The hostilities ended with the Peace of Aachen (1748) . The Armada de Barlovento , which was supposed to protect coastlines and shipping lanes in the Caribbean, was also dissolved.

Despite the alliance with France, Güemes made sure that no French settlers from Louisiana (colony) settled on New Spanish territory. An expedition under José de Escandón established settlements in Nuevo Santander , today's Tamaulipas , as a bulwark .

Economic policy

The high taxes due to the long warfare burdened the colony's economic output. With the Peace of Aachen, production and trade began to flourish again, and the colonial administration supported this development as much as possible, for example by making more ships available for trade between Veracruz and Havana.

In the mining sector, mine yields suffered from rainfall and flooding, as well as inefficiency in work organization. There was also a lack of mercury , which had to be imported and the high price of which drove up mining costs. New silver deposits were discovered in Bolaños (Jalisco) , but these could not offset the overall performance.

Since the colonial administration regularly delivered silver coins as taxes to Spain, there was a lack of coins. Güemes had 150,000 silver pesos pressed, which were only allowed to circulate in New Spain. To improve tax revenue, he again allowed the card game that his predecessor had banned (playing cards were taxed).

The smuggling and black market flourished at that time. Güemes ordered an intensive search of all incoming ships, but the smugglers could easily circumvent these measures by reloading their cargo onto small boats and bringing them ashore in hidden bays.

Domestic politics

In the province of Sonora , the colonial administration had to mediate disputes between missionaries and settlers. In 1752 there was an uprising among the Pima in what is now Arizona ( Pimería Alta ), which was suppressed by military means.

A pioneering reform that Güemes initiated concerned the administration of the colony: He had a distinction between civil and religious documents, while the churches had maintained and administered all documents until then. The separation resulted in the Archivo General de la Nación (the general state archive) being established for non-religious documents .

Late years in Spain

With reference to his old age and poor health, Güemes requested his replacement in 1751. This was granted to him late: in mid-1755 his successor Agustín Ahumada y Villalón arrived in Veracruz. After carefully handing over the official business, Güemes made his way back to Europe. He traveled via Havana and arrived in Cádiz in early August 1756 .

His term of office is widely praised. After completing his reign, he was charged with corruption but not proven.

King Ferdinand VI. in gratitude for his services raised him to the rank of Count of Revillagigedo. First he took over the post of military commander of Madrid in Spain, later he became captain general of the Spanish army and chairman of the Spanish war council. Even with the takeover of the crown by Charles III. he kept his offices.

He died in Madrid in November 1766.

literature

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predecessor Office successor
Pedro Cebrián y Agustín Viceroy of New Spain
1746–1755 		Agustín Ahumada y Villalón
personal data
SURNAME Güemes y Horcasitas, Juan Francisco de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Conde de Revillagigedo; Count of Revillagigedo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Governor of Cuba and Viceroy of New Spain
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1681
PLACE OF BIRTH Reinosa , Spain
DATE OF DEATH November 27, 1766
Place of death Madrid , Spain