Pedro Mendinueta y Múzquiz
Encyclopedia
Pedro Mendinueta y Múzquiz (June 7, 1736, Elizondo, Navarre
—1825) was a Spanish lieutenant general and colonial official. From January 2, 1797 to 1803 he was viceroy of New Granada
. He was a knight of the Order of Santiago
, and he was awarded the Gran Cruz of Carlos III.
and Puerto Rico
. He returned to the New World in 1782; in 1783 he was part of the army in Havana
. The following year he went to New Spain
, where he organized the provincial and urban militias. He returned to Spain in 1789. He fought in the War of the Pyrenees
against the First French Republic during the years 1793-1795. During the Battle of Boulou from 29 April to 1 May 1794, cavalry under his command clashed with French troops under Pierre Augereau.
. He received the office from Ezpeleta on January 2, 1797 in Cartagena de Indias. He entered the capital of Santa Fe
on March 18, 1797.
During his term of office, he provided water to the western part of Santa Fe, taking it from the Río del Arzobispo. He improved communications with Tunja
, Vélez
, Carare and other cities of the north by improving the road towards Venezuela.
He supported scientific investigations in the viceroyalty. In July 1801 he received, with great interest and esteem, the naturalists Baron Alexander von Humboldt
, German, and Aimé Bonpland
, French, who were traveling with the permission of the Spanish Crown to study the flora, fauna and geography of its American possessions. They also intended to produce a map of South America north of the Amazon River
. A map of the viceroyalty was a preoccupation of Mendinueta, who believed that many of the works he wanted to undertake were not possible without a more accurate knowledge of the geography of the colony.
José Celestino Mutis
solicited economic support from the viceroy for an astronomical observatory. The observatory was built under the supervision of architect Fray Domingo de Petrés between 1802 and August 1803. Mendinueta got the Spanish court to send instruments. He ordered the fourth census of the population.
He named Doctor Miguel de Isla to the chair of medicine. Isla taught anatomical theory and dissected corpses in the Hospital San Juan, incorporating this practice into the teaching of medicine. This had not been done before in the viceroyalty. Mendinueta also ordered José Celestino Mutis to reorganize the Faculty of Medicine. This plan was adopted by the colonial government in 1804.
Mendinueta wrote an extensive Memoria Sobre el Nuevo Reino de Granada (1803). He took issue with the negative portrayal of the colony given by one of his predecessor, Archbishop Antonio Caballero y Góngora
. The work, divided into four parts (ecclesiastical affairs, administration, finances and the military), is an important account of the colony at the beginning of the nineteenth century, just before the war of independence. The work has not been published in English, and only recently in Spanish (ISBN 978-0-7734-6566-4, 2003).
He faced an insurrection of French Negroes in Cartagena, who attempted to kill the governor of the city, as well as an insurrection of the natives of Túquerres
and Guaitarilla
. The Indigenous rebelled because of pressure of taxes and tithes. The rebels assassinated the governor and the collector of tithes. Mendinueta also worked to bring unconquered Indigenous tribes under Spanish authority and reorganized the government of Los Llanos.
He proposed the erection of bishoprics of Santa Fe de Antioquia, Vélez and Los Llanos, although his proposals were lost in the bureaucracy. He reported that in the territories formerly administrated by the Jesuits, little progress had been made since the expulsion of that order in 1767. He maintained good relations with the Church, although not with the Audiencia.
He tried to increase the supply of medicines to the poor and reorganized the Hospital San Juan de Dios in Bogotá, providing for a monthly inspection to ensure that the poor were receiving adequate attention there. He took a similar interest in other hospitals in the colony. He founded the pesthouse in Bogotá. In 1801 he took largely successful sanitary measures to avoid a new epidemic of smallpox
.
Mendinueta had a reputation as a hard worker and a man of advanced ideas. He had many plans to improve the colony, some of which he was not able to put into effect. Recent wars with Britain and France had wrecked the economy and stimulated smuggling, and the public treasury was not able to support some of his ideas. Like his predecessor Ezpeleta, he worked hard to combat smuggling, but with little effect.
He supported the foundation of the Sociedad Patriótica de Amigos del País (Patriotic Society of Friends of the Country). The newspaper El Correo Curioso began publishing during his term. Antonio Nariño
, a forerunner of Colombian independence, returned surreptitiously to the colony. Mendinueta had him arrested, violating a promise of amnesty (July 19, 1797).
Elizondo, Navarre
Elizondo is a town located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. It is located on both banks of the Baztan River. The town is the capital of the Baztan valley and where most service establishments are concentrated. Elizondo is one of fifteen settlements in the valley...
—1825) was a Spanish lieutenant general and colonial official. From January 2, 1797 to 1803 he was viceroy of New Granada
New Kingdom of Granada
The New Kingdom of Granada was the name given to a group of 16th century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the president of the Audiencia of Bogotá, an area corresponding mainly to modern day Colombia and parts of Venezuela. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of...
. He was a knight of the Order of Santiago
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
, and he was awarded the Gran Cruz of Carlos III.
Background
Mendinueta began his military career as an infantry cadet in 1756. He arrived in America for the first time in 1763, charged with organizing the militias in CubaCuba
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...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. He returned to the New World in 1782; in 1783 he was part of the army in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. The following year he went to 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...
, where he organized the provincial and urban militias. He returned to Spain in 1789. He fought in the War of the Pyrenees
War of the Pyrenees
War of the Pyrenees refers to the Pyrenees front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. Also known as Great War, War of Roussillon, or War of the Convention, it pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal from March 1793 to July 1795 during the...
against the First French Republic during the years 1793-1795. During the Battle of Boulou from 29 April to 1 May 1794, cavalry under his command clashed with French troops under Pierre Augereau.
As viceroy of New Granada
On January 1, 1796 he was named viceroy of New Granada, in succession to José Manuel de EzpeletaJosé Manuel de Ezpeleta
José Manuel de Ezpeleta y Galdeano, 1st Count of Ezpeleta de Beire was a Spanish military officer and politician, governor of Cuba from 1785 to 1789, and viceroy of New Granada from 1789 to 1797.A knight of the Order of Charles III and of the Royal and...
. He received the office from Ezpeleta on January 2, 1797 in Cartagena de Indias. He entered the capital of Santa Fe
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
on March 18, 1797.
During his term of office, he provided water to the western part of Santa Fe, taking it from the Río del Arzobispo. He improved communications with Tunja
Tunja
Tunja is a city and municipality located in the central part of Colombia, in the region of "Alto Chicomocha". As of the 2005 Census it had 152,419 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Department of Boyacá and part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It is approximately 145 km...
, Vélez
Velez
- Places :* Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Spain* Vélez de Benaudalla, Spain* Vélez Sársfield , Buenos Aires, Argentina* Vélez-Blanco, Spain* Vélez-Málaga, Spain* Vélez-Rubio, Spain* Vélez, Santander, Colombia- Sports clubs :...
, Carare and other cities of the north by improving the road towards Venezuela.
He supported scientific investigations in the viceroyalty. In July 1801 he received, with great interest and esteem, the naturalists Baron Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
, German, and Aimé Bonpland
Aimé Bonpland
Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist.Bonpland's real name was Goujaud, and he was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in France. After serving as a surgeon in the French army, and studying under J. N...
, French, who were traveling with the permission of the Spanish Crown to study the flora, fauna and geography of its American possessions. They also intended to produce a map of South America north of the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
. A map of the viceroyalty was a preoccupation of Mendinueta, who believed that many of the works he wanted to undertake were not possible without a more accurate knowledge of the geography of the colony.
José Celestino Mutis
José Celestino Mutis
-External links:*** at The Catholic Encyclopedia official site...
solicited economic support from the viceroy for an astronomical observatory. The observatory was built under the supervision of architect Fray Domingo de Petrés between 1802 and August 1803. Mendinueta got the Spanish court to send instruments. He ordered the fourth census of the population.
He named Doctor Miguel de Isla to the chair of medicine. Isla taught anatomical theory and dissected corpses in the Hospital San Juan, incorporating this practice into the teaching of medicine. This had not been done before in the viceroyalty. Mendinueta also ordered José Celestino Mutis to reorganize the Faculty of Medicine. This plan was adopted by the colonial government in 1804.
Mendinueta wrote an extensive Memoria Sobre el Nuevo Reino de Granada (1803). He took issue with the negative portrayal of the colony given by one of his predecessor, Archbishop Antonio Caballero y Góngora
Antonio Caballero y Góngora
Antonio Caballero y Góngora was a Spanish Roman Catholic prelate and, from 1782 to 1789, viceroy of New Granada....
. The work, divided into four parts (ecclesiastical affairs, administration, finances and the military), is an important account of the colony at the beginning of the nineteenth century, just before the war of independence. The work has not been published in English, and only recently in Spanish (ISBN 978-0-7734-6566-4, 2003).
He faced an insurrection of French Negroes in Cartagena, who attempted to kill the governor of the city, as well as an insurrection of the natives of Túquerres
Tuquerres
Túquerres is a town and municipality in the Nariño Department, Colombia....
and Guaitarilla
Guaitarilla
Guaitarilla is a town and municipality in the Nariño Department, Colombia. It is located in South America and is touching both the Caribbean and the South Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru. Its main language is Spanish....
. The Indigenous rebelled because of pressure of taxes and tithes. The rebels assassinated the governor and the collector of tithes. Mendinueta also worked to bring unconquered Indigenous tribes under Spanish authority and reorganized the government of Los Llanos.
He proposed the erection of bishoprics of Santa Fe de Antioquia, Vélez and Los Llanos, although his proposals were lost in the bureaucracy. He reported that in the territories formerly administrated by the Jesuits, little progress had been made since the expulsion of that order in 1767. He maintained good relations with the Church, although not with the Audiencia.
He tried to increase the supply of medicines to the poor and reorganized the Hospital San Juan de Dios in Bogotá, providing for a monthly inspection to ensure that the poor were receiving adequate attention there. He took a similar interest in other hospitals in the colony. He founded the pesthouse in Bogotá. In 1801 he took largely successful sanitary measures to avoid a new epidemic of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
.
Mendinueta had a reputation as a hard worker and a man of advanced ideas. He had many plans to improve the colony, some of which he was not able to put into effect. Recent wars with Britain and France had wrecked the economy and stimulated smuggling, and the public treasury was not able to support some of his ideas. Like his predecessor Ezpeleta, he worked hard to combat smuggling, but with little effect.
He supported the foundation of the Sociedad Patriótica de Amigos del País (Patriotic Society of Friends of the Country). The newspaper El Correo Curioso began publishing during his term. Antonio Nariño
Antonio Nariño
Antonio de la Santísima Concepción Nariño y Álvarez was an ideological Colombian precursor and one of the early political and military leaders of the independence movement in the New Granada - Early political activity :Nariño was born to an aristocratic family...
, a forerunner of Colombian independence, returned surreptitiously to the colony. Mendinueta had him arrested, violating a promise of amnesty (July 19, 1797).