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Melchor de Mediavilla y Azcona | |
|---|---|
| 12th Governor of the Spanish Colony of Texas | |
| In office 1727–1731 | |
| Preceded by | Fernando Pérez de Almazán |
| Succeeded by | Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos |
| Personal details | |
| Profession | Political |
Melchor de Mediavilla y Azcona was the acting governor of Texas between 1727 and 1731.
Mediavilla y Azcona was born in the early eighteenth century. He was appointed Captain of the Presidio of Bexar. Later,Governor Fernando Pérez de Almazán became him in lieutenant governor. This office allowed him to occupy the positions of acting governor and interim governor of Texas when Almazán decided to resign from his charge as governor in 1727. [1]
Under his administration,Mediavilla y Azcona promoted the foundation of several missions by friars in a zone located between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers,although these foundations (the San Xavier missions) were carried out in 1748 and 1749,when Azcona had left the office of governor of Texas. [2]
While Mediavilla y Azcona was governor,Inspector Pedro de Rivera y Villalón revised political management of Mediavilla and found several errors in his administration of the presidio. Villalón recommended to the Viceroy to reduce the number of officials of the presidio,as well as the price of the supplies that the garrison needed,and to remove some of their equipment,because not all that was in the garrison was necessary. [1] He also indicated that the Presidio de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores should be removed and the number of military men that formed the garrison of Nuestra Señora del Pilar was too high and should be limited to only 60 people. [3] Mediavilla accepted Rivera's suggestions and these were carried out, [3] despite the fact that the Viceroy of New Spain,Juan de Acuña,had refused to approve its realization. This caused disaffection among Mediavilla and the viceroy. [1]
On 5 March 1731 (and following the Rivera's advice),three missions were renamed in San Antonio: [3]
On the other hand,in March 1731,when a group of Spanish settlers from the Canary Islands came to San Antonio to help populate the place,it was the captain of the presidio of San Antonio,Juan Antonio Perez de Almazan (and not Mediavilla),who was in charge of welcoming them and providing them with accommodation. This was because Mediavilla was never an official governor of Texas,as he never was appointed to the position by the viceroy of New Spain,but only by the previous governor. [1]
He governed the province until 1731,when the Viceroy Acuña appointed a new governor,Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos.
A presidio was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word praesidium meaning protection or defense.
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is a National Historical Park and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio,Texas,USA. These outposts were established by Catholic religious orders to spread Christianity among the local natives. These missions formed part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th,18th,and 19th centuries.
Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created an atmosphere of antagonism with Native Americans (Indians) which would cause endless difficulties for the Spanish in the future. Spain did not attempt to establish a permanent presence until after France established the colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1685. In 1688,the French colony failed due to internal dissention and attacks by the Karankawa Indians. In 1690,responding to fear of French encroachment,Spanish explorer Alonso de León escorted several Catholic missionaries to east Texas,where they established the first mission in Texas. That attempt to establish a Spanish colony failed due to the hostility of the Caddo Indians.
The Spanish Missions in Texas comprise the many Catholic outposts established in New Spain by Dominican,Jesuit,and Franciscan orders to spread their doctrine among Native Americans and to give Spain a toehold in the frontier land. The missions introduced European livestock,fruits,vegetables,and industry into the Texas area. In addition to the presidio and pueblo (town),the misión was one of the three major agencies employed by the Spanish crown to extend its borders and consolidate its colonial territories. In all,twenty-six missions were maintained for different lengths of time within the future boundaries of the state of Texas.
Mission San Francisco de la Espada is a Roman Rite Catholic mission established in 1690 by Spain and relocated in 1731 to present-day San Antonio,Texas,in what was then known as northern New Spain. The mission was built in order to convert local Native Americans to Christianity and solidify Spanish territorial claims in the New World against encroachment from France. Today,the structure is one of four missions that comprise San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
The Spanish missions in Mexico are a series of religious outposts established by Spanish Catholic Franciscans,Jesuits,Augustinians,and Dominicans to spread the Christian doctrine among the local natives. Since 1493,the Kingdom of Spain had maintained a number of missions throughout Nueva España in order to preach the gospel to these lands. In 1533,at the request of Hernán Cortés,Carlos V sent the first Franciscan friars with orders to establish a series of installations throughout the country.
Mission San Joséy San Miguel de Aguayo is an historic Catholic mission in San Antonio,Texas,United States. The mission was named in part for the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo,Joséde Azlor y Virto de Vera. Many buildings on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock,Texas,borrow architectural elements from those found at Mission San José.
Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1731 by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order,on the eastern banks of the San Antonio River in present-day San Antonio,Texas. The new settlement was named for a 15th-century theologian and warrior priest who resided in the Abruzzo region of Italy. The mission San Juan was named after Saint John of Capestrano.
The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio,about 4 miles north of downtown,and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about 10 miles from San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is 240 miles long and crosses five counties:Bexar,Goliad,Karnes,Refugio,and Wilson.
Juan de Acuña y Bejarano,1st Marquess of Casa Fuerte was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of New Spain.
The Forts of Texas include a number of historical and operational military installations. For over 200 years,various groups fought over access to or control over the region that is now Texas. Possession of the region was claimed and disputed by the European powers of Spain and France,and the continental countries of Mexico,the United States,the Republic of Texas,and the Confederate States of America. Ownership of specific lands was claimed and disputed by different ethnic groups,including numerous Native American tribes,Mexican residents,Anglo- and African-American settlers,and European immigrants. Access to and control of resources were claimed and disputed by various economic groups,including indigenous hunter/gatherers,farmers,herders,ranchers,colonists,settlers,buffalo hunters,traders,bandits,smugglers,pirates,and revolutionaries. Over the centuries,claims and disputes were enforced by Native American warriors,Spanish conquistadors,French cavaliers,Texas Rangers,local militias,and uniformed regular army regiments of Spain,Mexico,Texas,the United States,and the Confederacy.
Franciscan Friars established Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña in 1711 as Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de los Hainais in East Texas. The mission was by the Domingo Ramón-St. Denis expedition and was originally meant to be a base for converting the Hasinai to Catholicism and teaching them what they needed to know to become Mexican citizens. The friars moved the mission in 1731 to San Antonio. After its relocation most of the people in the mission were Pajalats who spoke a Coahuiltecan language. Catholic Mass is still held at the mission every Sunday.
Juan Leal Goraz,also called Juan Leal Gonzal,was a Spanish settler and politician who served as the first alcalde of La Villa de San Fernando,which later would become the city of San Antonio,Texas. A native of the Canary Islands,Leal went to San Antonio in 1731 leading a group of settlers from the Canary Islands to populate this municipality,founded by the Spanish government under the sponsorship of King Philip V. Leal had asserted himself as the Canarian emigrants' leader and spokesman since they left the islands. He served as alcade of San Antonio between 1731 and 1732,and again in 1735.
Vicente Álvarez Travieso (1705–1779) was a Spanish judge and politician who served as the first alguacil of San Antonio,Texas,from 1731 until his death. He was a leading spokesperson of the Canary Islands settlers of San Antonio and was noted for his support for the Isleño community there. Through his demands to the leaders of New Spain,Travieso was able to improve the lives of the Isleños. He was instrumental in providing medical care for them,thus ensuring their survival. Travieso became mayor of San Antonio in 1776.
Fernando Pérez de Almazán,was a Spanish emissary who served as the first governor of Texas as a politically independent province from Coahuila (1722–1727).
Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos (Zevallos) was a soldier and politician who served as governor of Province of Texas (1730–1734) and Coahuila,New Spain (1754–1756). He also served as alcalde ordinario in Mexico City.
Pedro de Rivera y Villalón was a brigadier general in the Spanish army,who was sent to New Mexico in 1724 to study the presidios near Louisiana.
The Pajalat were a Native American group who lived in the area just south of San Antonio,Texas,prior to the arrival of the Spanish to the region in the 18th century.
JoséDomingo Ramón was a Spanish military man and explorer who founded several missions and a presidio in East Texas to prevent French expansion in the area.
Gregorio Álvarez Tuñón y Quirós (1683–1728) was a presidio captain and alcalde mayor in New Spain. Historian John L. Kessell describes Tuñón y Quirós as a "provincial entrepreneur",while David Yetman says he was "widely known as the most corrupt official in the region".