Andrés de Pez
Encyclopedia
Andrés de Pez y Malzarraga (Cadiz
, 1657 – Madrid
, May 7, 1723) was a Spanish Naval commander and founder of Pensacola
, Florida
.
In 1676, he fought the French in the Battle of Palermo
, where his brother and father were killed. He then became a company commander in the Caribbean
, guarding Spanish ships and colonies from foreign attackers and pirates. He earned a reputation for outstanding bravery and efficiency, being wounded five times.
He was selected to explore and claim the largely unmapped coasts of the northern Gulf of Mexico
. He participated as second in command on three of these voyages between 1688 and 1689.
Here he saw the opportunities of Pensacola Bay
as a deep-water bay that could be easily defended from approach with land.
Pez sailed to Spain to convince the War Council of the need to establish a stronghold along the shores of Pensacola Bay. After much opposition, he finally received funds for an official reconnaissance of the bay, and a promotion to the rank of admiral. Admiral de Pez returned to New Spain (Mexico) in the fall of 1692 and began plans for the expedition that would lead to the first successful European colonization of Pensacola.
De Pez sailed from Veracruz on March 25, 1693 taking with him the pre-imminent scientist and cartographer Don Carlos de Siguenza y Gongora
. They carried with them 120 sailors and 20 infantrymen in two ships: the frigate, Neustra Senora de Guadalupe, and the sloop, San Jose. The expedition entered the bay on April 7. Siguenza named the bay Bahia Santa Maria de Galve.
De Pez returned to the south and commanded the entire Windward Fleet until 1701.
During the War of the Spanish Succession
, he supported the Bourbon King Philip V of Spain
and fought the British, Dutch and Catalans who supported Charles VI of Austria. He served as captain general of the Indies fleet from 1708 to 1710. Pez became in 1715 a member of Spain's Supreme War Council. In 1717 he was named governor of the Council of the Indies, and was named secretary of state and navy in 1721.
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, 1657 – Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, May 7, 1723) was a Spanish Naval commander and founder of Pensacola
Pensacola
Pensacola is a city in the western part of the U.S. state of Florida.Pensacola may also refer to:* Pensacola people, a group of Native Americans* A number of places in the Florida:** Pensacola Bay** Pensacola Regional Airport...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Life and career
Andrés de Pez was born into a naval tradition. His father and older brother were Spanish Naval captains. By the age of 16, de Pez had also entered the Spanish Navy, sailing to and from the Americas.In 1676, he fought the French in the Battle of Palermo
Battle of Palermo
The naval Battle of Palermo took place on 2 June 1676 during the Franco-Dutch War, between a French force led by Abraham Duquesne and a Spanish force supported by a Dutch maritime expedition force. Largely because the Dutch and Spanish ships were at bay making repairs from earlier a battle, the...
, where his brother and father were killed. He then became a company commander in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, guarding Spanish ships and colonies from foreign attackers and pirates. He earned a reputation for outstanding bravery and efficiency, being wounded five times.
He was selected to explore and claim the largely unmapped coasts of the northern Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. He participated as second in command on three of these voyages between 1688 and 1689.
Here he saw the opportunities of Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle.The bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is located in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, adjacent to the city of Pensacola, Florida, and is about 13 miles long and 2.5 miles ...
as a deep-water bay that could be easily defended from approach with land.
Pez sailed to Spain to convince the War Council of the need to establish a stronghold along the shores of Pensacola Bay. After much opposition, he finally received funds for an official reconnaissance of the bay, and a promotion to the rank of admiral. Admiral de Pez returned to New Spain (Mexico) in the fall of 1692 and began plans for the expedition that would lead to the first successful European colonization of Pensacola.
De Pez sailed from Veracruz on March 25, 1693 taking with him the pre-imminent scientist and cartographer Don Carlos de Siguenza y Gongora
Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora
Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora was one of the first great intellectuals born in the Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. A polymath and writer, he held many colonial government and academic positions.-Early career:...
. They carried with them 120 sailors and 20 infantrymen in two ships: the frigate, Neustra Senora de Guadalupe, and the sloop, San Jose. The expedition entered the bay on April 7. Siguenza named the bay Bahia Santa Maria de Galve.
De Pez returned to the south and commanded the entire Windward Fleet until 1701.
During the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, he supported the Bourbon King Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
and fought the British, Dutch and Catalans who supported Charles VI of Austria. He served as captain general of the Indies fleet from 1708 to 1710. Pez became in 1715 a member of Spain's Supreme War Council. In 1717 he was named governor of the Council of the Indies, and was named secretary of state and navy in 1721.