Ana Francisca de Borja y Doria
Encyclopedia
Ana Francisca Hermenegilda de Borja y Doria, condesa de Lemos (1640–1706) was the wife of Peru
vian Viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro
, conde de Lemos. During his absence from the capital from June 7, 1668 to November 12, 1668, she was governor of the colony. She thus became the first female governor of the Viceroyalty of Peru
.
She was born into the House of Borja (Italian spelling, Borgia). She was a niece of Francisco de Borja y Aragón
, poet and viceroy of Peru from 1615 to 1621, and related to other famous members of the House of Borgia, including Pope Calixtus III, Pope Alexander VI
, and Saint Francis Borgia
.
She was the daughter of Francisco Diego Pascual de Borja y Aragón y Centelles, 8th duque de Gandía, and of Artemisa María Ana Teresa Gertrudis, princesa de Doria de Melfi. Her second marriage, on July 20, 1664, was to her cousin, Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro Andrade y Portugal, 8th conde de Villalba, 10th conde de Lemos, 7th marqués de Sarria. By this marriage she became the condesa (countess) de Lemos. Her husband was named viceroy of Peru on June 12, 1667, under the authority of Mariana of Austria
, regent for her son Charles II of Spain
.
The Count and Countess of Lemos arrived in Peru at the port of Callao
on November 9, 1667. They were received by the Spanish of the colony with much pomp. The viceroy took possession of his office on November 21, 1667.
On June 7, 1668, Viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro sailed from Callao for Islay
, Arequipa
and Puno
, leaving his wife in charge of the government of Peru, as gobernadora (female governor). This was an official appointment. The royal decree by which the count held the position of viceroy provided that in his absence from the capital, the government would be entrusted to his wife. She was not a figurehead; she exercised real authority and ran the business of the colony during her husband's absence, making decisions and issuing decrees. Her authority was recognized by the Audiencia of Lima. She met with them and other officials on July 5, 1668.
News of the July 11, 1668 attack on Portobelo, Panama
by the English pirate Henry Morgan
arrived in Lima on the following August 31st. In response, Countess Lemos sent supplies and military equipment in aid of the defenders and readied the colonial navy to guard against pirates off the Peruvian coast. Pirates did attack the port of Callao during her period in office.
The viceroy returned and resumed his office on November 12, 1668. The countess had been governor of Peru for five months and five days.
She had two children before leaving Spain, and three children in Lima. By virtue of the different locations of birth, the first two were Peninsulares and the later three were Criollos
. Her fourth child, Rosa Francisca, was born September 18, 1669 and named for Blessed Rose of Lima
.
The countess had much influence in the Court of Spain, and because of that, with the papacy. She continued the work of her uncle, Viceroy Francisco de Borja y Aragón, to achieve the beatification and canonization of St. Rose. Beatification was conferred on February 12, 1668. The official celebration was held on April 15 of that year, in the Basilica of San Pedro, and the official communication arrived in Lima on January 18, 1669.
The count and countess sent a sculpture of St. Rose to the Vatican. Melchiorre Cafà was the sculptor. On the occasion of her beatification, her wooden coffin was replaced by one of silver, at the expense of the countess. At the request of Spanish regent Mariana of Austria, on August 11, 1670 Rose was named patron of the Spanish possessions in the Americas and the Philippines. She and Francis Borgia were canonized on April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement X
. Rose was the first native-born American to become a Catholic saint.
Viceroy Count Lemos died December 6, 1672. The countess and her children left Peru on June 11, 1675. She died in 1706.
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian Viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro
Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro
Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro, 10th Count of Lemos was a Spanish nobleman who was Viceroy of Peru from 1667 until his death.-Biography:He was born in Monforte de Lemos, in what is now the province of Lugo....
, conde de Lemos. During his absence from the capital from June 7, 1668 to November 12, 1668, she was governor of the colony. She thus became the first female governor of the Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
.
She was born into the House of Borja (Italian spelling, Borgia). She was a niece of Francisco de Borja y Aragón
Francisco de Borja y Aragón
Francisco de Borja y Aragón, conde de Rebolledo, príncipe de Esquilache was a Spanish writer, official in the court of King Philip III of Spain, and, from December 18, 1615 to December 31, 1621, viceroy of Peru....
, poet and viceroy of Peru from 1615 to 1621, and related to other famous members of the House of Borgia, including Pope Calixtus III, Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
, and Saint Francis Borgia
Francis Borgia
Saint Francis Borgia, 4th duke of Gandía, 3rd Father General of the Jesuit Order, Grandee of Spain, was a Spanish Jesuit and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was canonized on 20 June 1670.-Early life:He was born Francesco Borgia de Candia d'Aragon within the Duchy of Gandía,...
.
She was the daughter of Francisco Diego Pascual de Borja y Aragón y Centelles, 8th duque de Gandía, and of Artemisa María Ana Teresa Gertrudis, princesa de Doria de Melfi. Her second marriage, on July 20, 1664, was to her cousin, Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro Andrade y Portugal, 8th conde de Villalba, 10th conde de Lemos, 7th marqués de Sarria. By this marriage she became the condesa (countess) de Lemos. Her husband was named viceroy of Peru on June 12, 1667, under the authority of Mariana of Austria
Mariana of Austria
Mariana of Austria was Queen consort of Spain as the second wife of King Philip IV, who was also her maternal uncle...
, regent for her son Charles II of Spain
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
.
The Count and Countess of Lemos arrived in Peru at the port of Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
on November 9, 1667. They were received by the Spanish of the colony with much pomp. The viceroy took possession of his office on November 21, 1667.
On June 7, 1668, Viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro sailed from Callao for Islay
Islay Province
Islay Province is the smallest of eight provinces in the Arequipa Region of Peru.-Political division:The province is divided into six districts which are:* Cocachacra * Dean Valdivia * Islay * Mejía...
, Arequipa
Arequipa
Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
and Puno
Puno
Puno is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 100,000. The city was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro as capital of the province of...
, leaving his wife in charge of the government of Peru, as gobernadora (female governor). This was an official appointment. The royal decree by which the count held the position of viceroy provided that in his absence from the capital, the government would be entrusted to his wife. She was not a figurehead; she exercised real authority and ran the business of the colony during her husband's absence, making decisions and issuing decrees. Her authority was recognized by the Audiencia of Lima. She met with them and other officials on July 5, 1668.
News of the July 11, 1668 attack on Portobelo, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
by the English pirate Henry Morgan
Henry Morgan
Admiral Sir Henry Morgan was an Admiral of the Royal Navy, a privateer, and a pirate who made a name for himself during activities in the Caribbean, primarily raiding Spanish settlements...
arrived in Lima on the following August 31st. In response, Countess Lemos sent supplies and military equipment in aid of the defenders and readied the colonial navy to guard against pirates off the Peruvian coast. Pirates did attack the port of Callao during her period in office.
The viceroy returned and resumed his office on November 12, 1668. The countess had been governor of Peru for five months and five days.
She had two children before leaving Spain, and three children in Lima. By virtue of the different locations of birth, the first two were Peninsulares and the later three were Criollos
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
. Her fourth child, Rosa Francisca, was born September 18, 1669 and named for Blessed Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima, , the first Catholic saint of the Americas, was born in Lima, Peru.-Biography:Saint Rose of Lima was born in the city of that name, the daughter of Gaspar Flores, a harquebusier from San German, Puerto Rico, and his wife, Maria de Oliva, who was a native of Lima. She was part of a...
.
The countess had much influence in the Court of Spain, and because of that, with the papacy. She continued the work of her uncle, Viceroy Francisco de Borja y Aragón, to achieve the beatification and canonization of St. Rose. Beatification was conferred on February 12, 1668. The official celebration was held on April 15 of that year, in the Basilica of San Pedro, and the official communication arrived in Lima on January 18, 1669.
The count and countess sent a sculpture of St. Rose to the Vatican. Melchiorre Cafà was the sculptor. On the occasion of her beatification, her wooden coffin was replaced by one of silver, at the expense of the countess. At the request of Spanish regent Mariana of Austria, on August 11, 1670 Rose was named patron of the Spanish possessions in the Americas and the Philippines. She and Francis Borgia were canonized on April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement X
Pope Clement X
Pope Clement X , born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was Pope from 29 April 1670 to 22 July 1676.-Early life:Emilio Altieri was born in Rome, the son of Lorenzo Altieri and Victoria Delphini, a Venetian lady...
. Rose was the first native-born American to become a Catholic saint.
Viceroy Count Lemos died December 6, 1672. The countess and her children left Peru on June 11, 1675. She died in 1706.