Félix Berenguer de Marquina
Encyclopedia
Félix Berenguer de Marquina (1736, Alicante
, Spain
—October 10, 1826, Alicante) was a Spanish naval officer, colonial official and, from April 30, 1800 to January 4, 1803, viceroy of New Spain
.
through his father's side and to the ancient Irish House of FitzGerald
through his mother's. He joined the navy at a very young age. On April 30, 1754 he took the midshipman examination. Thereafter he served on ships of war in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. He married María de Ansoátegui y Barrón in 1758, thus becoming, years later, the uncle of one of Venezuela's Libertadores, José Antonio Anzoátegui
.
He was studious, and became a teacher of mathematics and astronomy in the Naval Academy at Cartagena
(1757-69). In 1789 he was named director of the organization of pilots of the fleet.
From July 1, 1788 to September 1, 1793 he was governor of the Philippines
. On August 15, 1789 by royal decree Manila
became an open port to all but European products. He proposed plans for reform of the government.
Berenguer returned to Spain in 1795 to take up a position in the administration of the navy. In 1799 he was promoted to lieutenant general of the navy.
named him viceroy and captain general of New Spain and president of the Audiencia. During the voyage from Cuba
to Veracruz
, he was taken prisoner by the British near Cape Catoche, Yucatán Peninsula
(Quintana Roo
). He was conducted to Jamaica
. He was treated with much courtesy and later allowed to continue on his way in the schooner Kingston, with his secretary.
He accepted the transfer of authority into his offices April 29, 1800, in the Villa de Guadalupe
, and made his formal entry into Mexico City
the following day.
In this period. the British dominated both coasts of New Spain. They smuggled huge amounts of merchandise into the colony from the United States and the islands of the Caribbean and captured the Spanish ships in the coastal trade. Berenguer supplied more resources to Spanish naval forces, but they were unable to do much to improve the situation. He also formed the Regiment of Grenadiers, consisting of twelve companies drawn from six provincial forces. Fearing British raids, he reinforced the garrisons at Veracruz
and ordered that the valuables of the port be moved to Jalapa
and guarded. He also reinforced the presidios in the north, to repulse American encroachment.
On October 1, 1800, Spain retroceded the territory of Louisiana
to France, which soon sold it to the United States.
began an insurrection in the mountains of Tepic
. Mariano, who had many followers, was trying to reestablish the Aztec
empire. The rebels fought under a banner displaing the colors of the Virgin of Guadalupe
. When Fernando Abascal, president of the Audiencia of Guadalajara, took notice of the rebellion, he sent Captain Salvador Hidalgo (or Fidalgo) of the navy and Captain Leonardo Pintado of the militia against them. The rebels were defeated. Many prisoners were taken, and many other Indians were forced up into the mountains, but Mariano escaped. He was never captured by the Spanish. His followers who were taken prisoner were transferred to Guadalajara, but most were soon released.
Also, in January 1801, Francisco Antonio Vázquez, a naval official, was denounced for conspiracy, but nothing could be proven.
In Teocelo, Veracruz, Pedro Martín led another Indian rebellion. There were also attempted rebellions by the indigenous in Nayarit
, Durango
, Guanajuato
, Jalisco
and Sonora
.
in the north of the colony. Nolan was born about 1771, probably in Kentucky. He was a close associate of U.S. general and adventurer James Wilkinson
, a co-conspirator of Aaron Burr
. Beginning after 1791, Nolan began trading/smuggling activities in New Spain. He also imported wild horses from Texas into the United States. He was regarded by the Spaniards as a spy and a rebel. They sent troops to arrest him in 1801. He was killed in battle near the present city of Waco, Texas. His band was taken captive and sent to work the mines in northern New Spain. Nolan County, Texas is named for him. Edward Everett Hale
used his name for the protagonist in his story "The Man Without a Country
".
and Ma. Andrea Lindo whose Chinese name was Xiaoli (meaning morning jasmine) whose ancestors were from southern Fujian
, China
. Xiaoli was given Ma. Andrea as her Roman Catholic name during her Roman Catholic Rite baptism in Old Binondo, Manila
where her pure and affluent Chinese parents settled and owned a clothing and food business in old Binondo, Manila, Philippines as well. The parents of Xiaoli were Meili who was baptized as Ma. Sofia Lindo and Gui Li who was baptized as Honorato Lindo in the Roman Catholic Church in Manila. Honorato and Ma. Sofia were baptized when they were already adult. They took the surname Lindo which means pretty and attractive in Spain and Portugal. In the surname Lindo, Li, their Chinese origin was also included.
Berenguer and Demetria had a daughter named Ysabel, born 19 November 1790 in Cagsawa, Albay
, Philippines
who married Don Santiago Sauza of Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico
and the 22nd gobernadorcillo of Marikina, Philippines. They were the grand ancestors of the Sauza clan in the Philippines.
On October 5, 1801, an earthquake in Oaxaca
destroyed the new church of the Jesuit convent of La Concepción.
In June 1801, Spain made peace with Portugal
, and in 1802 with Britain. (The news of peace with Britain was published in Mexico on September 9, 1802). Thanks to the peace, prices of European goods dropped. In 1802, the payment of tribute to Spain was renewed.
Berenguer was persevering, honorable and valiant, but with little ability to govern. His public works in Mexico City were very limited — one fountain that never gave water, and the completion of Manuel Tolsá
's equestrian statute of Charles IV.
Berenguer, disgusted with the disallowance of some of his measures, resigned. He turned over the government to his successor, José de Iturrigaray
in January 1803. He returned to Spain, where he took part in the war with France. He died in the city of his birth in 1826.
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
—October 10, 1826, Alicante) was a Spanish naval officer, colonial official and, from April 30, 1800 to January 4, 1803, viceroy of New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
.
Origins and early career
Berenguer de Marquina was born in Spain to a family of the minor nobility of Alicante in 1736. His parents being Ignacio Berenguer de Marquina y Pasqual de Riquelme and Mary FitzGerald, he belonged to one of the most influential families in AlicanteAlicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
through his father's side and to the ancient Irish House of FitzGerald
FitzGerald
The surname FitzGerald is a translation of the French-Norman fils de Gérald, or son of Gerald . Variant spellings include Fitz-Gerald and the modern Fitzgerald. The name can also be used as two separate words Fitz Gerald...
through his mother's. He joined the navy at a very young age. On April 30, 1754 he took the midshipman examination. Thereafter he served on ships of war in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. He married María de Ansoátegui y Barrón in 1758, thus becoming, years later, the uncle of one of Venezuela's Libertadores, José Antonio Anzoátegui
José Antonio Anzoátegui
José Antonio Anzoátegui was a Venezuelan Brigadier General in the Battle of Boyacá, helping to lead a republican army of Colombians and Venezuelans against Spanish royalist forces during the Venezuelan War of Independence.-See also:* Anzoátegui...
.
He was studious, and became a teacher of mathematics and astronomy in the Naval Academy at Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
(1757-69). In 1789 he was named director of the organization of pilots of the fleet.
From July 1, 1788 to September 1, 1793 he was governor of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. On August 15, 1789 by royal decree Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
became an open port to all but European products. He proposed plans for reform of the government.
Berenguer returned to Spain in 1795 to take up a position in the administration of the navy. In 1799 he was promoted to lieutenant general of the navy.
As viceroy of New Spain
He was in command of a squadron in the Spanish navy when, on November 8, 1799, King Charles IVCharles IV of Spain
Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...
named him viceroy and captain general of New Spain and president of the Audiencia. During the voyage from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
, he was taken prisoner by the British near Cape Catoche, Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
(Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal....
). He was conducted to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. He was treated with much courtesy and later allowed to continue on his way in the schooner Kingston, with his secretary.
He accepted the transfer of authority into his offices April 29, 1800, in the Villa de Guadalupe
Villa Guadalupe
Villa Guadalupe is a former town near what is now Mexico City which in 1531 was the site of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most renowned Marian apparition in the Americas. She can be venerated in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, located in the villa .Villa de Guadalupe is located in...
, and made his formal entry into Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
the following day.
In this period. the British dominated both coasts of New Spain. They smuggled huge amounts of merchandise into the colony from the United States and the islands of the Caribbean and captured the Spanish ships in the coastal trade. Berenguer supplied more resources to Spanish naval forces, but they were unable to do much to improve the situation. He also formed the Regiment of Grenadiers, consisting of twelve companies drawn from six provincial forces. Fearing British raids, he reinforced the garrisons at Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
and ordered that the valuables of the port be moved to Jalapa
Xalapa
Xalapa-Enríquez, commonly Xalapa or Jalapa, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of...
and guarded. He also reinforced the presidios in the north, to repulse American encroachment.
On October 1, 1800, Spain retroceded the territory of Louisiana
Louisiana (New Spain)
Louisiana was the name of an administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1764 to 1803 that represented territory west of the Mississippi River basin, plus New Orleans...
to France, which soon sold it to the United States.
Conspiracies and Indian rebellions
On January 1, 1801, Indio MarianoIndio Mariano
Indio Mariano was an Indigenous rebel against Spain in 1801 in Tepic, Nueva Galicia, now in the Mexican state of Nayarit.-The background:With the arrival of the Bourbons on the throne of Spain in 1701 came a period of nder Indio Mariano, one of them serious, led by different men. The first of these...
began an insurrection in the mountains of Tepic
Tepic
Tepic is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Nayarit.It is located in the central part of the state, at.It stands at an altitude above sea level of some 915 meters, on the banks of the Río Mololoa and the Río Tepic, approximately 225 kilometers north-west of Guadalajara, Jalisco....
. Mariano, who had many followers, was trying to reestablish the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
empire. The rebels fought under a banner displaing the colors of the Virgin of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
. When Fernando Abascal, president of the Audiencia of Guadalajara, took notice of the rebellion, he sent Captain Salvador Hidalgo (or Fidalgo) of the navy and Captain Leonardo Pintado of the militia against them. The rebels were defeated. Many prisoners were taken, and many other Indians were forced up into the mountains, but Mariano escaped. He was never captured by the Spanish. His followers who were taken prisoner were transferred to Guadalajara, but most were soon released.
Also, in January 1801, Francisco Antonio Vázquez, a naval official, was denounced for conspiracy, but nothing could be proven.
In Teocelo, Veracruz, Pedro Martín led another Indian rebellion. There were also attempted rebellions by the indigenous in Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
, Durango
Durango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
, Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
and Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
.
Suppression of Philip Nolan
Berenguer suppressed the American smugglers under Philip NolanPhilip Nolan
Philip Nolan was a horse-trader and freebooter in Natchez, on the Mississippi River, and the Spanish province of Texas....
in the north of the colony. Nolan was born about 1771, probably in Kentucky. He was a close associate of U.S. general and adventurer James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign...
, a co-conspirator of Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
. Beginning after 1791, Nolan began trading/smuggling activities in New Spain. He also imported wild horses from Texas into the United States. He was regarded by the Spaniards as a spy and a rebel. They sent troops to arrest him in 1801. He was killed in battle near the present city of Waco, Texas. His band was taken captive and sent to work the mines in northern New Spain. Nolan County, Texas is named for him. Edward Everett Hale
Edward Everett Hale
Edward Everett Hale was an American author, historian and Unitarian clergyman. He was a child prodigy who exhibited extraordinary literary skills and at age thirteen was enrolled at Harvard University where he graduated second in his class...
used his name for the protagonist in his story "The Man Without a Country
The Man Without a Country
"The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published anonymously in The Atlantic in December 1863. It is the story of American Army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for treason and is consequently sentenced to spend...
".
Other Life as Philippine Governor-General
He served as the Philippine Governor-General from 1788-1793. While in Old Binondo, Manila, he had a relationship with a Chinese mestiza named Demetria Lindo Sumulong whose parents were Fortunato Sumulong, a Philippine ethnic farmer of AntipoloAntipolo
Antipolo is a city in the Philippines located in the province of Rizal; about 25 kilometers east of Manila. It is the largest city in the Calabarzon Region in terms of population...
and Ma. Andrea Lindo whose Chinese name was Xiaoli (meaning morning jasmine) whose ancestors were from southern Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Xiaoli was given Ma. Andrea as her Roman Catholic name during her Roman Catholic Rite baptism in Old Binondo, Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
where her pure and affluent Chinese parents settled and owned a clothing and food business in old Binondo, Manila, Philippines as well. The parents of Xiaoli were Meili who was baptized as Ma. Sofia Lindo and Gui Li who was baptized as Honorato Lindo in the Roman Catholic Church in Manila. Honorato and Ma. Sofia were baptized when they were already adult. They took the surname Lindo which means pretty and attractive in Spain and Portugal. In the surname Lindo, Li, their Chinese origin was also included.
Berenguer and Demetria had a daughter named Ysabel, born 19 November 1790 in Cagsawa, Albay
Albay
Albay is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Legazpi City and the province borders Camarines Sur to the north and Sorsogon to the south. Also to the northeast is Lagonoy Gulf....
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
who married Don Santiago Sauza of Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the 22nd gobernadorcillo of Marikina, Philippines. They were the grand ancestors of the Sauza clan in the Philippines.
Later administration in New Spain
Berenguer extended to the entire colony the requirement that no one be admitted into meetings of the guilds or confraternities without being decently dressed. He permitted women to work in jobs consistent with decency, even if the ordinances prohibited it.On October 5, 1801, an earthquake in Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
destroyed the new church of the Jesuit convent of La Concepción.
In June 1801, Spain made peace with Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and in 1802 with Britain. (The news of peace with Britain was published in Mexico on September 9, 1802). Thanks to the peace, prices of European goods dropped. In 1802, the payment of tribute to Spain was renewed.
Berenguer was persevering, honorable and valiant, but with little ability to govern. His public works in Mexico City were very limited — one fountain that never gave water, and the completion of Manuel Tolsá
Manuel Tolsá
Manuel Tolsá was a prolific Neoclassical architect and sculptor in Spain and Mexico.-Biography:...
's equestrian statute of Charles IV.
Berenguer, disgusted with the disallowance of some of his measures, resigned. He turned over the government to his successor, José de Iturrigaray
José de Iturrigaray
José de Iturrigaray was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of New Spain, from January 4, 1803 to September 16, 1808, during a period of turbulence....
in January 1803. He returned to Spain, where he took part in the war with France. He died in the city of his birth in 1826.