Luis de Unzaga
Luis de Unzaga le Conciliateur | |
---|---|
Bernardo de Gálvez | |
1st Captain General of Venezuela | |
In office 1777–1782 | |
Monarch | Charles III |
Succeeded by | Pedro de Nava |
69th Governor of Cuba | |
In office 1782–1785 | |
Monarch | Charles III |
Preceded by | Juan Manuel de Cagigal y Monserrat |
Succeeded by | Bernardo Troncoso Martínez del Rincón |
Personal details | |
Born | Luis de Unzaga y Amézaga April 6 1717 Málaga, Spain |
Died | June 21 1793 Málaga, Spain |
Spouse | Marie Elizabeth de St. Maxent La Roche |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Viceroyalty of New Spain Kingdom of Spain |
Branch/service | Spanish Army |
Years of service | 1732–1793 |
Rank | Captain General |
Battles/wars | American Revolution, Seven Years' War, War of Jenkins' Ear, War of the Polish Succession, Spanish conquest of Oran (1732) |
Luis de Unzaga y Amézaga (1717–1793), also known as Louis Unzaga y Amezéga le Conciliateur, Luigi de Unzaga Panizza and Lewis de Onzaga, was governor of Spanish Louisiana from late 1769 to mid-1777, as well as a Captain General of Venezuela from 1777 to 1782 and Cuba from 1782 to 1785.
Biography
Unzaga was born in
Unzaga accompanied
In 1776, the year the Declaration of Independence was signed,
Luis de Unzaga was one of the driving forces behind the birth of the United States, for which he made use of a robust secret network of family contacts. Unzaga was informed of the arrival of British troops to America and made every effort to help George Washington.
Unzaga was noted for allowing open trade. During the summer of 1776, he secretly helped Patrick Henry and the Americans by privately delivering five tons of gunpowder from the king's stores to Captain George Gibson and Lieutenant Linn of the Virginia Council of Defense. The gunpowder was moved up the Mississippi under the protection of the flag of Spain, and was used to thwart British plans to capture Fort Pitt in Pennsylvania.
Unzaga was the first Spanish official to provide direct military aid to the Continental Army during the American Revolution. After repeated requests from New Orleans merchant Oliver Pollock, Unzaga approved the secret transfer of a load of gunpowder up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Fort Pitt, where it arrived in May 1777. Later, additional supplies were shipped from New Orleans to Philadelphia. Pollock provided the vessels for both shipments.[4]
From June 17, 1777, to December 10, 1782, Unzaga served as
Legacy
In 2023, the Spanish postal service, Correos, issued a postage stamp honoring Unzaga.[6]
References
- Sources: Cazorla, Frank (Coord.) co-authors Cazorla-Granados, F.J.; G.Baena, Rosa; Polo, J.David: The Governor Luis de Unzaga (1717-1793) Pioneer involved in the birth of the United States of America and of Liberalism. Malaga Foundation, Malaga 2020. ISBN 9788409124107
- ^ Spanish Governors of Louisiana: Luis Unzaga Y Amezaga Archived 2007-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ISSN 2530-8521.
- ^ "Founders Online: From George Washington to Colonel Joseph Reed, 30 November 1776". founders.archives.gov. Archived from the original on 29 May 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ISBN 9780812981209p. 41.
- ^ Cazorla, Frank, Baena, Rosa, Polo, David, Reder Gadow, Marion (2019) The governor Louis de Unzaga (1717-1793) Pioneer in the birth of the United States of America and in Liberalism. Foundation. Malaga
- ^ Pérez-Bryan, Ana (2023-02-28). "Malaga man who gave the United States of America its name honoured with postage stamp". Sur in English. Retrieved 2023-09-22.