Martín Enríquez de Almanza

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Viceroy of Peru
In office
September 23, 1581 – March 13, 1583
MonarchCharles I of Spain
Preceded byFrancisco de Toledo
Succeeded byFernando Torres de Portugal y Mesía
Personal details
Born
Martín Enríquez de Almanza y Ulloa

Zamora Spain
DiedMarch 13, 1583
Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru
Signature
In this
Spanish name, the first or paternal surname
is Enríquez de Almanza and the second or maternal family name is Ulloa.

Martín Enríquez de Almanza y Ulloa, (died ca. March 13, 1583) was the fourth viceroy of New Spain, who ruled in the name of Philip II from November 5, 1568 until October 3, 1580.

Like many of the early viceroys of New Spain, Almanza was of royal heritage. He was a member of the House of Enríquez, one of the four cadet branches of the House of Burgundy, the ruling dynasty in Castile, yet never inherited a title.

Enríquez was 60 when he was appointed viceroy in New Spain. He brought strength and stability in the wake of the encomenderos' conspiracy of the son of conqueror

viceroy of Peru, from September 23, 1581 until his death in 1583, a post he reluctantly accepted at age 72.[1] He was a very able administrator in Mexico, asserting crown control, and effective in establishing defenses against northern natives who threatened the vital link between the silver mines in north and Mexico's center.[2]

Early years

Born Martín Enríquez de Almanza y Ulloa, his father was Francisco Enríquez de Almanza, 1st Marquess of Alcañices, great-great-grandchild of

Infante Fadrique Alfonso of Castile, an illegitimate child of Alfonso XI of Castile
. His mother was Isabel de Ulloa y Castilla, also a Castilian royal on her mother's side.

Government and actions

Having been chosen by the

Gastón de Peralta, 3rd Marquis of Falces, when a royal disposition stipulated that the administration of the parishes was the responsibility of the secular clergy, obliging friars, nuns and members of the regular clergy
to retreat to convents. The regular clergy refused to obey this disposition, beginning the conflict. The Franciscans threatened to abandon the city, and in fact began a march to Veracruz. They were threatened by Indians and ordered to return by the viceroy. After receiving some concessions, they returned to Mexico City.

In 1570 the viceroy personally led an expedition against the Indian tribes that had been devastating the interior, but he did not give into demand for total war against the Chichimeca.[3] He established presidios at Ojuelos and Portezuelos, on the road to Zacatecas. He founded the Villa de San Felipe (Guanajuato) and many other towns and villages, as well as colleges and convents. In 1573 he began the construction of the Cathedral of Mexico City.

Enríquez brought medical attention to the unprotected and helped those in critical conditions. He established hospitals in the city to treat the victims of a terrible epidemic (thought to be

chicken pox
or varicella) that left 3,000 people dead. He published regulations in which the social protection of the Indians was guaranteed against their Spanish patrons, and a fair salary was assured for those who worked as peasants and farmers.

Establishment of the Inquisition in New Spain

During the government of Enríquez de Almanza, the Holy Office of the Inquisition (Tribunal del Santo Oficio) was formally established in New Spain; it was simultaneously established in Peru. Pedro Moya de Contreras, the first inquisitor in New Spain, arrived in 1571. Composed of a group of high-ranking bishops and sometimes led by the archbishop of Mexico City, the Inquisition had special instructions to oversee and control the religious practices of Spaniards and non-indigenous residents in the territory, and to eradicate any crypto-Jewish communities (judaizantes), as well as any Protestants. Indians were excluded from its jurisdiction.

This religious court became quite active. The first to be tried by the Inquisition in the Indies were two Englishmen and an Irishman, burnt at the stake in Mexico City April 15, 1574 for "Lutheran heresies". An estimated 200 people were tried in 1574, the year in which the first

Autos de Fe were held. Most of these 200 people were burnt alive in public plazas or tortured to death in secret dungeons, both scattered throughout what is now downtown Mexico City.[4] The viceroy was required to attend these ceremonies. [citation needed
]

Portrait of Enríquez de Almanza, c. 1568

Viceroy of Peru

King

Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, 4th conde de la Coruña
.

In Lima people knew him as el Gotoso (The Goutish One) because of his ill health. He was unable to accomplish much as viceroy of Peru and died three years into his term, so that he is thus not counted among the great viceroys. However, in New Spain where he served 12 years as viceroy, he was considered "a wise administrator; he is generally credited with having raised the prestige of the viceroy's office."[5]

References

  1. ^ Stafford Poole, "Martín Enríquez de Almansa" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, vol. 2, p. 500. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.
  2. ^ Parker, Geoffrey. Philip II fourth edition. Chicago: Open Court 2002, pp. 113–114.
  3. ^ Poole, "Martin Enriquez de Almansa", p. 500.
  4. ^ Lea, Henry Charles (1908). The Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies: Silicy – Naples – Sardinia – Milan – the Canaries – Mexico – Peru – New Granada. Macmillan. pp. 205–206.
  5. ^ Poole, "Martin Enriquez de Almansa." p. 500.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martín Enríquez de Almansa.
Government offices
Preceded by
Gastón de Peralta, marqués de Falces
Viceroy of New Spain

1568–1580 		Succeeded by
Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, 4th conde de la Coruña
Preceded by
Francisco de Toledo, Count of Oropesa
Viceroy of Peru

1581–1583 		Succeeded by
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