Álvaro Manrique de Zúñiga, marqués de Villamanrique
Encyclopedia
Álvaro Manrique de Zúñiga, 1st marqués de Villamanrique (d. 1590, Spain), Spanish nobleman and the seventh viceroy of New Spain
. He governed from October 17, 1585 to January 26, 1590.
rewarded him in 1575 with the title of Marqués de Villamanrique.
On February 26, 1585 Philip named him viceroy of New Spain to succeed Pedro Moya de Contreras
. At this time Manrique de Zúñiga had lived for several years in Seville
, where he had gained indirect experience with the Indies. In his case, the king made the choice personally, rather than relying on the recommendation of the Council of the Indies, as was the case ordinarily. He remained in Spain for a few months before leaving for the New World. He arrived in San Juan de Ulúa
(Veracruz
) on September 7, 1585, with his wife. Shortly thereafter he made his formal entry into Mexico City
to take up his office.
In 1586 the conflict between the regular clergy
and secular clergy
involving questions of prerogatives and jurisdiction erupted again. This was a continuation of the conflict between those parties during the administration of Viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza
. The friars (regular clergy) had the support of the people, but the regulars were supported by the viceroy and by the nobles. Clergy of the Dominican, Augustinian and Franciscan orders were bitter opponents of this viceroy.
Depredations by pirates continued. On October 18, 1586, Sir Francis Drake
took the Manila galleon
Santa Ana. On August 6, 1587, the port of Huatulco
(Oaxaca) fell to English corsair Thomas Cavendish
, and on September 3, 1587 he sacked Navidad
(Jalisco). Cavendish also captured the Manila galleon
Santa Ana off Baja California
on November 15, 1587. Each Manila galleon was loaded with a year's worth of treasure from the Philippines
en route to Acapulco
for ultimate delivery to Spain.
Manrique de Zúñiga's response included the establishment of a militia of volunteers to defend Pacific ports and the arming of Spanish ships to fight the pirates at sea.
Manrique took important steps toward ending the long-running Chichimeca War
on New Spain's northern frontiers which threatened communications with silver mines near the city of Zacatecas
. The Spanish policy of defeating and enslaving the Chichimeca
s had been unsuccessful. Manrique, following the advice of Churchmen, implemented a new approach to the war. He removed many Spanish soldiers from the frontier as they were considered more a provocation than a remedy. He opened negotiations with Chichimeca leaders and promised them food, clothing, land, priests, and tools to encourage them through “gentle persuasion” to settle down. He forbade military operations to seek out and capture and kill hostile Indians. The results were favorable. By 1590, he declared the roads to Zacatecas safe (for the first time in 40 years) and the war slowly wound down.
The bishop of Puebla, Pedro Romanos, was named visitador (royal inspector) to deal with the crisis. Romanos was an enemy of Manrique, because of their opposite sides in the earlier secular-regular conflict. He worked passionately to oppose the viceroy, and seized his property. This seizure was subsequently lifted by the Council of the Indies, but that ruling was ignored in New Spain, and the viceroy was consigned to poverty.
Manrique continued as viceroy until January, 1590, when his successor, Luis de Velasco, marqués de Salinas
arrived in Mexico City to take over the administration. Manrique was forced to remain a few more years in New Spain, as the subject of a lawsuit. He was still destitute, and also ill. He was finally able to return to Spain and seek restitution, but he died shortly after reaching Madrid, impoverished and bitter.
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...
. He governed from October 17, 1585 to January 26, 1590.
Early life and appointment as viceroy
Born in Spain in the decade of the 1540s, Manrique de Zúñiga was a younger son of the fourth Duke of Béjar, Francisco de Zúñiga y Sotomayor. He served the Spanish Crown with such efficiency and loyalty that King Philip IIPhilip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
rewarded him in 1575 with the title of Marqués de Villamanrique.
On February 26, 1585 Philip named him viceroy of New Spain to succeed Pedro Moya de Contreras
Pedro Moya de Contreras
Pedro Moya de Contreras , prelate and colonial administrator who held the three highest offices in the Spanish colony of New Spain, namely inquisitor general, Archbishop of Mexico, and Viceroy of Mexico, September 25, 1584 - October 17, 1585...
. At this time Manrique de Zúñiga had lived for several years in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, where he had gained indirect experience with the Indies. In his case, the king made the choice personally, rather than relying on the recommendation of the Council of the Indies, as was the case ordinarily. He remained in Spain for a few months before leaving for the New World. He arrived in San Juan de Ulúa
San Juan de Ulúa
San Juan de Ulúa, also known as Castle of San Juan de Ulúa is a large complex of fortresses, prisons and one former palace on an island overlooking the seaport of Veracruz, Mexico.-History:...
(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...
) on September 7, 1585, with his wife. Shortly thereafter he 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...
to take up his office.
Administration
Manrique de Zúñiga began his administration by completing the regulations introduced by the previous viceroy governing the sale of wine in the colony, and the location of taverns.In 1586 the conflict between the regular clergy
Regular clergy
Regular clergy, or just regulars, is applied in the Roman Catholic Church to clerics who follow a "rule" in their life. Strictly, it means those members of religious orders who have made solemn profession. It contrasts with secular clergy.-Terminology and history:The observance of the Rule of St...
and secular clergy
Secular clergy
The term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or members of a religious order.-Catholic Church:In the Catholic Church, the secular clergy are ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious order...
involving questions of prerogatives and jurisdiction erupted again. This was a continuation of the conflict between those parties during the administration of Viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza
Martín Enríquez de Almanza
Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza was the fourth viceroy of New Spain, who ruled from November 5, 1568 until October 3, 1580. He was subsequently viceroy of Peru, from September 23, 1581 until his death in 1583. His birthplace and origins are uncertain...
. The friars (regular clergy) had the support of the people, but the regulars were supported by the viceroy and by the nobles. Clergy of the Dominican, Augustinian and Franciscan orders were bitter opponents of this viceroy.
Depredations by pirates continued. On October 18, 1586, Sir Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
took the Manila galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
Santa Ana. On August 6, 1587, the port of Huatulco
Huatulco
Huatulco , centered on the town of La Crucecita, is a tourist development in Mexico. It is located on the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca. Huatulco's tourism industry is centered on its nine bays thus the name Bahias de Huatulco but has since been unofficially shortened to simply Huatulco...
(Oaxaca) fell to English corsair Thomas Cavendish
Thomas Cavendish
Sir Thomas Cavendish was an English explorer and a privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and return by circumnavigating the globe...
, and on September 3, 1587 he sacked Navidad
Navidad
Navidad is the Spanish Christmas album by Christian pop singer Jaci Velasquez and is essentially a Spanish version of her previous album Christmas.-Tracklist:# Oh Ven, Oh Ven, Emmanuel# La Cancion Del Angel# El Rey De Israel...
(Jalisco). Cavendish also captured the Manila galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
Santa Ana off Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
on November 15, 1587. Each Manila galleon was loaded with a year's worth of treasure from 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...
en route to Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
for ultimate delivery to Spain.
Manrique de Zúñiga's response included the establishment of a militia of volunteers to defend Pacific ports and the arming of Spanish ships to fight the pirates at sea.
Manrique took important steps toward ending the long-running Chichimeca War
Chichimeca War
The Chichimeca War was a military conflict waged between Spanish colonizers and their Indian allies against a confederation of Chichimeca Indians. It was the longest and most expensive conflict between Spaniards and the indigenous peoples of New Spain in the history of the colony.The Chichimeca...
on New Spain's northern frontiers which threatened communications with silver mines near the city of Zacatecas
Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Zacatecas is a city and municipality in Mexico and the capital of the state of Zacatecas. It is located in the north central part of the country. The city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid 16th century. Prior to this, the area's rich deposits in silver and other minerals were known...
. The Spanish policy of defeating and enslaving the Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
s had been unsuccessful. Manrique, following the advice of Churchmen, implemented a new approach to the war. He removed many Spanish soldiers from the frontier as they were considered more a provocation than a remedy. He opened negotiations with Chichimeca leaders and promised them food, clothing, land, priests, and tools to encourage them through “gentle persuasion” to settle down. He forbade military operations to seek out and capture and kill hostile Indians. The results were favorable. By 1590, he declared the roads to Zacatecas safe (for the first time in 40 years) and the war slowly wound down.
His fall
In 1588 the viceroy was involved in a jurisdictional dispute with the Audiencia de Guadalajara. This newly founded Audiencia had been functioning independently of the Audiencia of Mexico City, and virtually independently of the viceroy. Manrique's attempts to asserts his authority were viewed as arbitrary, and were met with considerable hostility. Allegations against him of tyranny, cupidity, nepotism, censorship of letters from New Spain to Spain, and other abuses were made against him with the Council of the Indies. The majority of the charges were false or exaggerated, but the colony seemed to be on the verge of civil war.The bishop of Puebla, Pedro Romanos, was named visitador (royal inspector) to deal with the crisis. Romanos was an enemy of Manrique, because of their opposite sides in the earlier secular-regular conflict. He worked passionately to oppose the viceroy, and seized his property. This seizure was subsequently lifted by the Council of the Indies, but that ruling was ignored in New Spain, and the viceroy was consigned to poverty.
Manrique continued as viceroy until January, 1590, when his successor, Luis de Velasco, marqués de Salinas
Luis de Velasco, marqués de Salinas
Luis de Velasco, marqués de Salinas , Spanish nobleman, son of the second viceroy of New Spain, and himself the eighth viceroy. He governed from January 27, 1590 to November 4, 1595, and again from July 2, 1607 to June 10, 1611...
arrived in Mexico City to take over the administration. Manrique was forced to remain a few more years in New Spain, as the subject of a lawsuit. He was still destitute, and also ill. He was finally able to return to Spain and seek restitution, but he died shortly after reaching Madrid, impoverished and bitter.