Juan de la Cruz Mourgeon y Achet
Juan de la Cruz Mourgeon y Achet (* 1766 in Seville , Spain , † 1822 in Quito , today Ecuador ) was a Spanish officer and colonial administrator who served as captain general of New Granada and was the last candidate for the office of viceroy there.
Life
Origin and military career
In 1790 Juan de la Cruz Mourgeon joined the Royal Spanish Army as a soldier. He served in the First Coalition War against revolutionary France. In fighting in Roussillon and Catalonia , he was injured several times and rose to lieutenant in 1795. In 1798 he was promoted to major and then fought in Portugal . In 1801 he was transferred to his native Andalusia to fight against smugglers and criminals.
In 1804 he was supposed to go to the then Spanish province of Texas as Sargento Mayor . However, he refused, the reasons for this are not known. The refusal was not recognized by Manuel de Godoy , and Cruz faced a military tribunal for insubordination. Only after his revocation was he released in April 1805.
Used in the Napoleonic War
In 1808 Napoleon Bonaparte tried to enthrone his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. King Ferdinand VII was held captive by the French, and resistance grew in Spain, leading to the Napoleonic War .
As a lieutenant colonel, Juan de la Cruz was assigned to the Cadiz Rifle Battalion. He fought at the Battle of Bailén in July 1808 and was promoted to colonel soon after. In October he defended Lerín in Navarre against the French. In doing so, he was taken prisoner by the French. He soon managed to escape from France and reached Cádiz , where he was promoted to Brigadier General in July 1810.
In the following years he was used in Moguer , Gibraltar and the defense of Cádiz. After the battle of La Albuera he was appointed field marshal. He supported General Francisco Ballesteros in Gibraltar against the French. The government council then appointed him general commander of Asturias. In August 1812, under his command, the Spaniards recaptured his hometown of Seville from the French under Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult , where they swore by the new constitution of Cadiz .
With the expulsion of the French, de la Cruz was appointed General Commander of the Reserve Army and received numerous honors. So received the Grand Cross of the Ferdinand Order and the Order of St. Hermenegild .
Term of office in New Granada
In South America, after the victory of the independence movement in the Battle of Boyacá in August 1819, the viceroy Juan de Sámano fled to Panama. The viceroyalty of New Granada was largely in the hands of the independence movement; the royalists only held a few cities.
Juan de la Cruz was appointed captain general and president of Quito by the court in Madrid with the task of retaking the colony for the Spaniards. If two thirds of the country were under Spanish control again, he should also be allowed to use the title of viceroy.
Of course, all the necessary resources were lacking for military success. Cruz landed in Chagres in August 1821 and came to Quito with a small expeditionary army. He suggested that all slaves be freed in exchange for service in the royal militia.
In early 1822, he admitted the failure of the royalist cause in a letter to the leader of the liberation movement, Simón Bolívar . He died in Quito in April 1822. With him ended the attempts of the Spaniards to maintain colonial rule in South America.
Web links
- Biography (spanish)
- Short biography (Spanish)
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Juan de Sámano |
Viceroy of New Granada acting general captain in 1821 |
End of the viceroyalty |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cruz Mourgeon y Achet, Juan de la |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish officer and colonial administrator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1766 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Seville , Spain |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 1822 |
| Place of death | Quito , today Ecuador |