Juan de Balmaceda

Juan de Balmaceda Zenzano y Beltrán , also: Balmaseda , also: Zensano , Cencano or Cenzano (born April 16, 1702 in Galilea , La Rioja , Spain ; † May 30, 1778 in Santiago de Chile ) was a Spanish lawyer and colonial official who served as governor in the General Capitanate of Chile from 1768 to 1770 on an interim basis .

Balmaceda was born to Pedro José de Balmaceda and his wife Ángela de Zensano y Fernández. The spellings of the names vary in the sources. He studied law and was admitted to the Consejos de España . Although the family came from the old nobility, they were not wealthy and so Juan Balmaceda sought his fortune in the New World. In 1739 he was appointed Oidor at the Real Audiencia of Chile . He took this office on November 28, 1742 in Santiago de Chile .

Balmaceda married Agustina Alvarez de Uceda, the widow of Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, on February 8, 1750.

In the course of time he took over other offices in the judiciary and administration in Chile, so from 1766 he was responsible for tobacco management.

On August 24, 1768 he took over the office of governor when Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga died. At this time, uprisings by the indigenous peoples raged in the south, and Balmaceda made his way to the front, where he was unable to make any progress due to a lack of military experience. On March 3, 1770, he was replaced by the new commander, the experienced soldier Francisco Javier de Morales , and went back to the Audiencia . Due to his advanced age, he was retired in January 1773, which he took up in late 1775.

Balmaceda died on May 30, 1778 at the age of 76 in Santiago.

Web links

• Biography at Icarito (Spanish)
• detailed biography on the website of the city of birth Galilea (Spanish)
• José Toribio Medina: Diccionario Biográfico Colonial de Chile , p. 107 (Spanish) (PDF; 113 MB)