José Alfonso Pizarro
Encyclopedia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
—1762, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
) was a Spanish naval officer and colonial administrator. From November 6, 1749 to November 24, 1753 he was viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
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As a youth he entered the naval service of the Knights of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. He was a knight of the Order and gentleman of the bedchamber of the king. Later he served in the Spanish navy, rising to the rank of rear admiral.
When the Spanish government heard of the expedition of British Admiral George Anson
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson
Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC, FRS, RN was a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War...
to the Pacific, a fleet of two ships of the line and four frigates was despatched with a regiment of infantry for Chile. The fleet, under Pizarro's command, left in October 1740, and arrived on January 5, 1741 in the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
. Hearing that Anson was refitting in Santa Catharina for entering the Pacific by the Strait of Le Maire
Le Maire Strait
The Le Maire Strait is a sea passage between Isla de los Estados and the eastern extremity of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego....
(off the southeast tip of Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
), Pizarro sailed at once to intercept him. However, he lost one ship and one frigate in a storm and was obliged to put back for repairs. On the second attempt, with two vessels, he was again dismasted and returned to Montevideo. From there, he despatched the frigate Esperanza to the Pacific, and crossed the Andes to Peru, where for some time he exercised the functions of naval commander-in-chief.
After the peace with England, Pizarro left the frigate on the Pacific station and returned overland to Montevideo, where he found his flagship, the Asia, refitted. He sailed in the Asia for Europe in November 1745. Part of the crew consisted of Indians from the pampas, who one night rose against the Spaniards, killing the watch on deck. They had gained possession of the vessel when Pizarro succeeded in killing the ringleader, and in the confusion drove the mutineers into the sea.
On his arrival at Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
in January 1746, Pizarro was promoted to vice-admiral. In 1749, he was appointed viceroy and captain general
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
of New Granada. He arrived in Cartagena de Indias in the frigate Uaricochea in early November 1749, and was sworn in by his predecessor, Sebastián de Eslava
Sebastián de Eslava
Sebastián de Eslava y Lazaga was a Spanish general and colonial official. From April 24, 1740 to November 6, 1749 he was viceroy of the newly reestablished Viceroyalty of New Granada. He was governing the colony at the time of the defeat of British Admiral Edward Vernon at Cartagena de Indias...
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He formed a monopoly of aguardiente
Aguardiente
Aguardiente , aiguardent , aguardente , and augardente are generic terms for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume...
, which provoked riots. He reorganized the mint. He improved communications with Bogotá. He began the construction of the mortar and stone bridge of San Antonio, over the junction of the Río San Agustín and the Río San Francisco in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
. This latter work was completed by his successor, José Solís Folch de Cardona
José Solís Folch de Cardona
José Solís y Folch de Cardona, grande de España and knight of the Order of Santiago was a Spanish colonial administrator and viceroy of New Granada from November 24, 1753 to February 25, 1761.-Background:...
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Pizarro served until 1753, when he turned over the government to his successor and returned to Spain.