Pedro Álvarez de Toledo y Leiva
Pedro Álvarez de Toledo y Leiva , Marqués de Mancera (* 1585 in Úbeda , Jaén province , Spain ; † March 9, 1654 in Mancera, Salamanca province , Spain) was a Spanish officer and colonial administrator who served as viceroy of Galicia and Peru .
Life
Origin and career in Europe
Toledo came from a noble family. He served in the Spanish Navy in the Mediterranean. In 1607 he defended the Strait of Gibraltar against Arab attacks with five galleys under his command . The Viceroy of Naples (which was then ruled by Spanish) appointed him to the Council of State and made him lieutenant general in the Sicilian galley fleet in 1622.
Toledo married Luisa Feijóo de Novoa y Zamudio, who gave birth to a daughter (Francisca María). After her death in 1621 he married María Luisa de Salazar y Enríquez de Navarra. The couple had a son, Antonio, and a daughter, Antonia.
For his services, King Philip IV made him hereditary marquis in 1623 and appointed him to the council of war at the Spanish court.
In 1631 he took over the post of governor and captain general of the province of Galicia , which he held until 1637. In 1637 he was appointed governor of the Spanish occupation in Oran and the following year Viceroy of Peru.
Term of office as Viceroy of Peru
In May 1639 Toledo embarked for South America and reached Lima in September 1639 . In December 1639 he took over his office. At that time, the Pacific coast of South America was repeatedly the target of privateers flying the Dutch and English flags, but also in particular by the Portuguese who operated from Brazil . Toledo therefore had the fortifications reinforced in some port cities, including Callao , Arica , Valdivia and Valparaíso . Thanks to his experience as a fleet commander, he reorganized the forces of the Spanish Navy on site.
Toledo enriched the social life of Lima with literary evenings in which chocolate was served in special cups, the so-called mancerinas .
The introduction of Papel Sellado - sealed paper, which was supposed to make official documents more forgery-proof - was of importance for the colonial administration of Peru . Toledo brought this innovation from Europe to South America.
In September 1648 Toledo handed over the office to his successor at the end of his tenure. He returned to Europe and died in 1654 at his ancestral home in Mancera.
His son Antonio Sebastián Álvarez de Toledo was later appointed viceroy of New Spain .
literature
- Manuel de Mendiburu (1805-1885): Diccionario histórico-biográfico del Perú . tape 8 . Imprenta de J. Francisco Solis, Lima 1890, p. 72-84 ( Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes [accessed October 14, 2013]).
Web links
- Short biography (Spanish)
- Short biography (Spanish)
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Luis Jerónimo de Cabrera |
Viceroy of Peru 1639–1648 |
García Sarmiento de Sotomayor |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Álvarez de Toledo y Leiva, Pedro |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Marqués de Mancera |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Viceroy of Peru |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1585 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Úbeda |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 9, 1654 |
| Place of death | Mancera, Salamanca Province , Spain |