Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro

Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro

Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro Andrade y Portugal , 10th conde de Lemos , grandee of Spain, marqués de Sarria y de Gatinara , duque de Taurisano (* 1632 in Madrid , Spain , † December 6, 1672 in Lima , today: Peru ) a colonial administrator who served as Viceroy of Peru .

He was married to Ana Francisca de Borja , a daughter of the 8th Duke of Gandia of the Borgia family .

Origin and youth

Pedro Fernández de Castro came from an old noble family. Despite his high formal rank, he was comparatively poor and heavily in debt. He was able to improve his precarious financial situation by marrying the wealthy widow Ana Francisca de Borja in 1664.

In 1666, under the leadership of Count Peñaranda, chairman of the Council of India , the court appointed him Viceroy of Peru after the incumbent Diego Benavides de la Cueva had died in office.

Term of office as Viceroy of Peru

He reached Lima in November 1667 and formally took over the office of viceroy from his interim predecessor, Bernardo de Iturriaza .

Revolt of the Salcedo brothers

Already at the time of the Viceroy Benavides an internal Spanish conflict had developed among the mine owners. The brothers José and Gaspar Salcedo (born in Andalusia ) had discovered rich silver deposits near Laycacota , which they wanted to exploit as a family business together with their brothers-in-law (born in Peru). In the Spanish colony they were accused of favoring Creoles , Castilians and Andalusians and others and - due to intra-Spanish regional rivalry - not allowing men from Galicia, Catalonia and the Basque Country to enter the business. The conflict quickly escalated and violence erupted.

The Real Audiencia of Lima had already dealt with the allegations and found the Salcedo brothers guilty; but their gunmen repulsed the royal soldiers and denied the colonial administration access to the city. Fernández de Castro, who himself came from Galicia, set out to put down the uprising. José Salcedo and 41 of his colleagues were sentenced to death and executed. The inhabitants of the mining settlement had to settle in Puno , which became the provincial capital. The old settlement was burned down. Gaspar Salcedo had to go into exile for six years and pay a heavy fine.

Later, an appeals court in Spain overturned the judgments and rehabilitated Gaspar Salcedo. A son of José Salcedo, also named Jose was founded by King Philip V later Marqués de Villa Rica levied.

Representation by his wife

Remarkable was the representation regulation that Fernández de Castro ordered for the absence during the campaign: he made his wife the reigning viceroy. The office did not only exercise this pro forma, but actually made all major government decisions.

This was done with the approval of the Audiencia. Ana Francisca de Borja was South America's first female head of government.

Last years and death

In 1670 pirates under Henry Morgan plundered the cities of Chagres and Panama City , which were part of the viceroyalty of Peru . Fernández de Castro sent strong troops when he heard of the attacks, but they came too late to protect the cities.

In December 1672, the Viceroy died in Lima after a brief illness in office.

swell

• Short biography (Spanish)
• Manuel de Mendiburu (1805-1885): Diccionario histórico-biográfico del Perú . 3rd volume. Imprenta de J. Francisco Solis, Lima 1878, p. 223-236 ( cervantesvirtual.com [accessed April 15, 2014]).
• Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, Duque de Alba (1878–1953): El virreinato de don Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro, décimo Conde de Lemos, en el Perú, según los documentos del Archivo de la Casa de Alba, 1667–1672 . In: Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia . 117th volume. Madrid 1945, p. 57-78 ( cervantesvirtual.com [accessed April 15, 2014]).

predecessor	Office	successor
Bernardo de Iturriaza	Viceroy of Peru 1667–1672	Álvaro de Ibarra