Matías de Gálvez there Gallardo

Biography

Matías de Gálvez was born in a small town from Málaga in Spain. He undertakes a military career and is distinguished during various campaigns. He reaches the row of general thanks to his merits and the influence of his brother, Jose de Gálvez, an important administrator of the News-Spain. He marries María Josefa of Madrid, they have two wire, Bernardo and Jose (who dies at the 8 years age).

Governor of Guatemala

Sealed instructions of the Crown having to be open only to dead Vice-roi Antonio María de Bucareli Ursúa specify there that its successor will be the captain-general of Guatemala. These instructions had been inserted there by Jose de Gálvez, Minister of the Indies and previously Visitador (general inspector) in News-Spain, so which can apply to his/her brother, Matías de Gálvez, but no name was given in these instructions. Matías de Gálvez was named captain-general, governor and president of the Audiencia of Guatemala in April 1779, right before the death of the Bucareli viceroy. However, Gálvez had not arrived yet in the colony to take there its functions, it is thus Martín de Mayorga then captain-general of Guatemala which becomes viceroy.

Gálvez, ambitious but little refined and rancorous will never forgive in Mayorga, and later, with its death in 1783 much will suspect Gálvez of having poisoned it.

In Guatemala, Gálvez shows an active administrator and a good organizer. He works with the rebuilding of Guatemala City after the earthquake of 1773, establishing a currency and building the cathedral. He pushes back English with San Fernando de Omoa, in bay of Honduras, but because of the distance and its limited resources, he could not at the height carry helps San Juan to the Nicaragua, which fall to the hands from the British, which were constrained to restore it on January 5th 1781.

Viceroy of News-Spain

The Mayorga viceroy had tried to resign for a few years in order to return to Spain when in 1783 King Charles III accepts his resignation. To reward Gálvez for his administration of Guatemala, the king names it viceroy of News-Spain in spite of his age and his precarious health condition. He travels by overland route to the capital while passing by Oaxaca and Puebla. Matías de Gálvez is the last viceroy to make, with horse, its official entry with Mexico City on April 28th 1783.

Spain and England had just made peace, which makes it possible Gálvez to be devoted to the improvement of the capital. During its short reign it makes undertake the cleaning of the channels and the drainage of the Mexico City Lake, the construction of bridges and of the sewerage system, it makes pave the streets of Palma, Monterilla and San Francisco. It divides Mexico City into four districts and improves the police services. It approves the project of academy of the fine arts of San Carlos initiated by his predecessor and an annual budget of 15,000 pesos allocates to him.

It also orders the construction of the palate of Chapultepec. It organizes the Bank value Nacional de San Carlos, a subsidiary company of the Bank of Spain and creates a Mont of piety. It tries to import mercury since the China (which is used in the money mines) in exchange of furs. He manages to increase the incomes of the government to 19 million pesos per annum.

November 13rd 1783 it authorizes Manuel Antonio Valdés Murguía Saldaña to start again there the publication of the Gaceta of Mexico City . It is about the third incarnation of this newspaper " national" , the first due in 1722 to Juan Ignacio María de Castorena Ursúa there Goyeneche, the following one by Juan Francisco Sahagún de Arévalo there Ladrón de Guevara in 1728, but was suspended since 1742. Valdés is however not authorized to publish information of nongovernmental sources.

It makes count the attachment of Mexico City (one counts 637 of them). It establishes companies of mutual aid of the indigenous populations of Mexico. It orders the collection and the safeguarding of more than document concerning to the history of News-Spain. It for using them for a project of general History of the Indies on which he worked with Madrid and Seville.

Matías de Gálvez dies on November 3rd 1784 in Mexico City. Little time before, on October 20th, it gives its functions governmental are with the Audiencia. There was then no instruction sealed to open after its death, Audiencia thus gave the administration to Vicente Herrera until the arrival of a new viceroy. In its will, Gálvez requires simple funerals. It will be buried with the church of the Apostolic College of San Fernando, with the regards due to its row and to the services which it returned to the colony. His/her son, Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Louisiana, will succeed to him like viceroy.

Sources

"Gálvez, Matías of, " Enciclopedia of Mexico City , v. 6. Mexico City City: 1987.
García Puron, Handbook, Mexico City known there gobernantes , v. 1. Mexico City City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984.
Orozco L., Fernando, Fechas Históricas of Mexico City . Mexico City City: Leading panorama, 1988.
Orozco Linares, Fernando, Gobernantes of Mexico City . Mexico City City: Leading panorama, 1985.

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