Diego de Egües y Beaumont
Diego de Egüés y Belmont (
He was the eldest son of
Early life and career
His family being politically connected, in his childhood he was a
In 1643 he began his journey back to Spain, which was interrupted by serious injuries received by Egües in a duel fought in the Captaincy General of Cuba against the governor of Santiago de Cuba, Bartolome de Osuna.[2] Egües won this battle.
He was later a captain in the Carrera de Indias, General Fleet Admiral of the Fleet of New Spain, governor of the Spanish Armada, and Chief of the Council and Treasury Accounting. He was also a Knight of the Order of Santiago.[3]
He suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Admiral Robert Blake at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in April 1657 but did land the crucial treasure ashore even though it would not leave for nearly a year.
In 1661 he became president of the
Death
He died in December 1664 while in office after several days of illness. During the 18 months following, the government was run by the High Court, presided by head judge, Francisco de Leyva.
Family connections
His great-nephew was Martín de Ursúa y Arizmendi, who was responsible for the final conquest of the last independent Maya kingdom.[6]
Notes
- ^ Juan Flores de Ocáriz detalla su ascendencia en Genealogías del Nuevo Reino de Granada[permanent dead link] (1674), ch. LXXXII.
- ^ Jacobo de la Pezuela: Historia de la isla de Cuba, vol. 2, pg. 102.
- ^ Cesáreo Fernández Duro: Bosquejo biográfico del almirante D. Diego de Egües y Beaumont (1892).
- ^ José Antonio de Plaza: Memorias para la historia de la Nueva Granada, pgs. 254–255.
- ^ Pedro Mª Ibáñez: Crónicas de Bogotá Archived April 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (1891), tomo I, ch. XIII.
- ^ Jones 1998, pp. xix, 114.
References
- Jones, Grant D. (1998). The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom. Stanford, California, USA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804735223.