Pedro Messía de la Cerda
Encyclopedia
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, 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...
– 1783, 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...
) was a Spanish naval officer and colonial official. From 1761 to 1773 he was viceroy of New Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
(present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador).
Background and early career
Pedro Messía Corea de la Cerda was a knight of the Gran Cruz de Justicia of the Order of San Juan, gentleman of the king's bedchamber, and knight commander of the Golden Key. He entered the navy, participating in the conquest of SardiniaSardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and the reconquest of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. In 1719 he took part
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1719)
The Battle of Cape St Vincent was a minor naval engagement of the War of the Quadruple Alliance, fought on 21 December of 1719 near Cape St. Vincent between a squadron of three British ships of line under Commodore Philip Cavendish and a squadron of the Spanish ships of line Tolosa, Hermiona and...
in various battles with the English.
He made his first voyage to the Americas in 1720, and in 1721 he was involved in the suppression of smuggling in Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
and Portobelo. In 1726 he was promoted to lieutenant of a frigate, and in 1745 he was made captain.
In 1747 de la Cerda was Captain of the ship of the line Glorioso, during this time occurred the famous Voyage of the Glorioso
Voyage of the Glorioso
The voyage of the Glorioso involved four naval engagements fought in 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession between the Spanish 70-gun ship of the line Glorioso and several British squadrons of ships of the line and frigates which tried to capture it...
or the battles of the Glorioso, this were four naval engagements fought during the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
between the Spanish 70-gun ship of the line Glorioso and several British squadrons of ships of the line and frigates which tried to capture it. The Glorioso, carrying four million silver dollars from the Americas, was able to repeal two British attacks off the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
, successfully landing her cargo at the port of Corcubión, Spain.
Several days after unloading the cargo, while sailing to Cadiz for repairs, Glorioso was attacked successively near Cape St Vincent by four British privateer frigates and the ships of the line HMS Dartmouth and HMS Russell from Admiral John Byng's fleet. The Dartmouth blew up killing most of the crew, but the 92-gun Russell, finally forced the Glorioso to strike the colours. The British took her to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, where she had to be broken up because of the extensive damage suffered during the last battle. The commander of the ship, Pedro Messia de la Cerda, and his men, were taken to Great Britain as prisoners, but were considered heroes in Spain and gained the admiration of their enemies. Several British officers were court-martialed and expelled from the Navy for their poor performance against the enemy.
In 1753 when he was in Cartagena de Indias
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
in charge of a military force for the suppression of privateers and smugglers, he received and entertained the new viceroy, José Solís Folch de Cardona
José Solís Folch de Cardona
José Solís y Folch de Cardona, grande de España and knight of the Order of Santiago was a Spanish colonial administrator and viceroy of New Granada from November 24, 1753 to February 25, 1761.-Background:...
upon his arrival there. In 1755 he became lieutenant general of the navy, and two years later was named a member of the Supreme Council of War.
As viceroy of New Granada
In March 1760 Messía was named viceroy of New Granada. He arrived at Cartagena in October to take up his office. Arriving with him was the physician and botanist José Celestino MutisJosé Celestino Mutis
-External links:*** at The Catholic Encyclopedia official site...
, later head of the royal botanical expedition that investigated the flora and fauna of the colony. Messía traveled to Bogotá
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...
at the end of February 1761, where he was received with due ceremony. He returned to Cartagena in September 1762, upon receiving news of the British blockade of 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...
. Then he returned to the capital in 1763.
On instructions from the Crown, he imposed a tax on tobacco. He also took steps to stimulate the mineral production in the colony. During his administration a gunpowder factory was established in the capital, and a saltpeter factory in 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...
. He reorganized the treasury, reinforced the fortifications of Cartagena, and promoted public works, such as the road from Bogotá to Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
. He promoted higher education and established a postal monopoly. He also increased the tax on aguardiente. In May 1765 this led to a revolt in Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
.
He aided the governor of Darién
Darién Province
Darién is a province in eastern Panama. It is also the largest province in Panama. It is hot, humid, heavily forested, and sparsely populated, having 48,378 habitants...
in fighting back the invasions of the Cuna
Kuna (people)
Kuna or Cuna is the name of an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. The spelling Kuna is currently preferred. In the Kuna language, the name is Dule or Tule, meaning "people," and the name of the language in Kuna is Dulegaya, meaning "Kuna language" - Location :The Kuna live in three...
Indians. He also carried out campaigns against the Chimila and Guajiro (Wayuu
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
) Indians, who had not yet been subjected by the Spanish. These campaigns were not very successful. He also faced an Indian attack on the town of Coyaima
Coyaima
Coyaima is a town and municipality in the Tolima department of Colombia. The population of the municipality was 24,596 as of the 1993 census....
, where the rebels killed some people, burned some buildings and forced the corregidor to flee. He restored order in Neiva in 1767 after another rebellion.
Messía promoted the missions, also without major results. He began the construction of the cathedral of Santa Marta
Santa Marta
Santa Marta is the capital city of the Colombian department of Magdalena in the Caribbean Region. It was founded in July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, which makes it the oldest remaining city in Colombia...
. The first stone was laid on December 8, 1766.:es:Catedral Basílica de Santa Marta
He carried out the order of King Charles III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
to expel the Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
from New Granada (and all the other Spanish dominions), and he established a mechanism to administer the property confiscated from the Order. Messía de la Cerda was a friend of the Jesuits, and tried to mitigate the harshness of the expulsion order.http://www.jesuitas.org.co/documentos/Att00661.html Nevertheless, it was enforced on July 31, 1767. At the time there were 114 Jesuit priests, 57 students and 56 brothers in the colony. Many of the individuals expelled took up residence in Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
, Italy, where a number of them, through their writings, supplied European scholars with more information about the Americas.
The Guajira Rebellion
The Guajiro Indians (or Wayuu, as they are now known), were unique in having learned the use of firearms and horses.In 1769 the Spanish took 22 Guajiros captive, in order to put them to work building the fortifications of Cartagena. The reaction of the Indians was unexpected. On May 2, 1769 at El Rincón
El Rincón
- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
, near Río de la Hacha
Riohacha
Riohacha, Rio Hacha or Rio de la Hacha , is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean sea, capital city of the La Guajira Department. Founded by conquistador Nikolaus Federmann in 1535, Riohacha was named...
, they set their village afire, burning the church and two Spaniards who had taken refuge in it. They also captured the priest.
The Spanish immediately dispatched an expedition from El Rincón to capture the Indians. At the head of this force was José Antonio de Sierra, a mestizo who had also headed the party that had taken the 22 Guajiro captives. The Guajiros recognized him and forced his party to take refuge in the house of the curate, which they then set afire. Sierra and eight of his men were killed.
This success was soon known in other Guajiro areas, and more men joined the revolt. According to Messía, at the peak there were 20,000 Indians under arms. With their firearms they took nearly all the settlements of the region, which they burned. According to the authorities, more than 100 Spaniards were killed and many others taken prisoner. Many cattle were also taken by the rebels.
The Spaniards who could took refuge in Río de la Hacha and sent urgent messages to Maracaibo
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
, Valle de Upar, Santa Marta and Cartagena. Cartagena send 100 troops. The rebels themselves were not unified. Sierra's relatives among the Indians took up arms against the rebels to avenge his death. A battle between the two groups of Indians was fought at La Soledad. That and the arrival of Spanish reinforcements caused the rebellion to fade away, but not before the Guajiro had regained much territory.
Return to Spain
In 1771 the king approved his request to return to Spain, pending the arrival of his successor, Manuel de GuiriorManuel de Guirior
Manuel de Guirior was a Spanish naval officer and colonial administrator. He was viceroy of New Granada from 1772 to 1776 and of Peru from July 17, 1776 to July 21, 1780.Guirior was born into a noble family of Navarre. He entered the navy in 1733 as a lieutenant...
. On September 14, 1772 he left for Cartagena, and the following month turned over the office of viceroy to Guirior.
He lived ten years in Spain, dying there in 1783.