Luis de Onís

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Luis de Onís

Luis de Onís González y Vara (* 1762 in Cantalapiedra , Salamanca Province , Spain , † 1827 in Madrid , Spain) was a Spanish politician and diplomat. He was also the author of the famous Ceballo Manifesto.

Life

Early years

Luis de Onís González y Vara was born in 1762 in Cantalapiedra, Salamanca Province, Spain. He studied at the University of Salamanca and entered the embassy service. He was a member of the Spanish Legation in Dresden, where his uncle José acted as envoy. He stayed in Dresden for a few years and married Friederike von Mercklein Grell there. His offices were that of the embassy secretary and the commissioner for trade. During this time he traveled to the courts of Berlin and Vienna as well as various travel destinations in Central Europe. In November 1792 he was transferred to the state administration in Madrid, Spain, as the “Oficial de la Primera Secretaría de Estado”.

Political activity

Luis de Onís González y Vara worked in the Spanish Ministry of State until 1809, when Napoléon Bonaparte invaded the Iberian Peninsula again. The Supreme Junta of Cadiz then appointed him envoy to the United States . However, the President of the United States , James Madison , refused Onís recognition on the grounds that the Spanish crown was in dispute. At the time, the American government did not want to speak out in favor of any of the warring parties. Still, Onís remained in the country, where he was of great service to his government. He kept in touch with Hispanic America and issued orders to the governors and commanders in these countries. After Ferdinand VII's return to Spain in 1814, Onís was finally recognized in Washington, DC in December 1815 . He then renewed the earlier appeals against the American occupation of Pensacola .

Mobile , part of Florida , as well as the accompanying expeditions to the self-employed from South America in Baltimore and other parts of the Union only provided evasive statements and the further complications contained in the order gave no hope for a recovery of Florida. He did his best to secure a favorable treaty for the cession of the territories to the United States in exchange for giving up American claims for severance pay and fixing the Louisiana-Texas border.

At that time he was negotiating the Adams-Onís Treaty with the then Secretary of State of the United States and later President John Quincy Adams , which was signed on February 22, 1819 in Washington, DC. In the treaty, Spain ceded Florida to the United States, but the United States waived claims in relation to Texas west of the newly drawn border on the Sabine River . In addition, the wider New Spain border up to and including the Rocky Mountains and west to the Pacific Ocean was established. In return, the United States took over all existing claims of the residents of the state transferred to them against the Spanish crown up to a total of 5 million dollars.

After the conclusion of the treaty, Onís returned to Spain to promote the ratification of this treaty by his government, but this was delayed by the machinations at court until 1821. Meanwhile, Onís was appointed Spanish Envoy General ( ministro plenipotenciario ) to the Kingdom of Naples-Sicily and then to England, from where he was recalled in 1823 when the unrestricted power of King Ferdinand was restored.

Luis de Onís was known for his liberal attitudes, despite his allegiance to the monarch. Some historians attribute to his personal influence, as well as his political connections, that the revolution broke out in the Kingdom of Naples-Sicily during his tenure.

Luis de Onís González y Vara died in Madrid in 1827.

Being a writer

Between 1810 and 1812 Onís published under the pseudonym "Versus" in the United States, satirical letters in which he attacked the actions of the US government towards Spain. He also wrote the Memorias sobre las negociaciones entre España y los Estados Unidos de America, que causaron elertrado de 1819; conteniendo una estadistica del ultimo pais (Madrid, 1820; English translation, with notes by Tobias Watkins, Baltimore, 1821).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Carlos Marcial de Onís y Sánchez: La Familia Onís. Breves datos biográficos para la Enciclopedia Asturiana . Archivo Onís, Salamanca 1972.
  2. Genealogy of the Wefers y Verástegui de Onís family