Marqués de Rubí
Encyclopedia
Cayetano Pignatelli, 3rd Marquis of Rubí, (12 October 1730 - ?), was a Spanish
nobleman and military figure who played an important role in determining Spanish policy towards Texas and Mexico. He abandoned the east Texas colonies in the 18th century.
. He was the son of Francisco Pignatelli y de Aymerich, a lieutenant general of the Kingdom of Aragon and ambassador to France and María Francisca Rubí Corbera y Saint Climent, 2nd Marchioness of Rubí
and Baronessa of Llinas. The marquis of Rubí was the nephew of His Serene Highness the 6th Prince of Belmonte, Don (Giuseppe) Antonio Pignatelli y Aymerich, and of Doña Marianna, Countess of Althann, lady in waiting to Empress Elizabeth
, consort of Emperor Charles VI
and mother of Empress Maria Theresa
.)
appointed Rubí inspector of frontier presidios and commissioned him to remedy economic abuses and other urgent matters. When notified of his commission, Rubí went to Mexico City in mid-December 1765, and remained in the capital until March 1766, when he received his instructions from Viceroy Cruillas
.
On March 12 Rubí set out on his inspection, traveling first to Querétaro and then to Zacatecas. On April 14 he was joined at Durango by Nicolás de Lafora, his engineer and mapmaker, who kept a diary of the tour, as did Rubí himself. Rubí began his inspection tour in New Mexico, moved to Sonora, and then traveled eastward to Coahuila. He crossed the Rio Grande in July 1767 and proceeded to San Luis de las Amarillas Presidio (San Sabá) by way of the upper Nueces River, where he visited the largely failed missions at El Cañón. He left San Sabá on August 4 and reached San Antonio de Béxar on August 24, 1767. From San Antonio, Rubí traveled to Los Adaes and began his inspection there on September 14. Subsequently, he also inspected the presidios at El Orcoquisac and La Bahía before leaving Texas at Laredo in November 1767. In all, Rubí's inspection of the northern frontier from the Gulf of California to Louisiana occupied him for twenty-three months, during which he traveled an estimated 7,600 miles.
As a result of his inspection, Rubí recommended that Spain reorganize its frontier defenses along a cordon of fifteen presidios, each about 100 miles apart, that would stretch from the Gulf of California to the mouth of the Guadalupe River in Texas. Above this "real" frontier, which closely approximated the present international boundary between the United States and Mexico, Rubí advised that only San Antonio and Santa Fe be maintained, and he urged the complete abandonment of East Texas. Finally, because of their perfidy and duplicity, Rubí recommended a war of extermination against the Lipan Apaches. He was back in Mexico City by February 1768, and he filed his official report on April 10.
The New Regulations had enormous impact on Texas. They called for the abandonment of all missions and presidios in Texas except for those at San Antonio and La Bahía; the strengthening of San Antonio by designating it the new capital of Texas; the removal of soldiers and settlers in East Texas; and the implementation of a new Indian policy aimed at establishing good relations with the northern nations at the expense of the Apaches. With respect to East Texas, Rubí's recommendations were enacted in 1773 but were soon vitiated by the return of settlers to the region and the founding of Nacogdoches in 1779.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
nobleman and military figure who played an important role in determining Spanish policy towards Texas and Mexico. He abandoned the east Texas colonies in the 18th century.
Early life
Rubí was probably born in BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. He was the son of Francisco Pignatelli y de Aymerich, a lieutenant general of the Kingdom of Aragon and ambassador to France and María Francisca Rubí Corbera y Saint Climent, 2nd Marchioness of Rubí
Rubí, Barcelona
Rubí is a municipality in Catalonia , in the comarca of Vallès Occidental and the province of Barcelona, 15 kilometers from Barcelona. It is bordered on the north by Terrassa and Ullastrell, on the south by Sant Cugat del Vallès, on the west by Castellbisbal and on the east by Sant Quirze del...
and Baronessa of Llinas. The marquis of Rubí was the nephew of His Serene Highness the 6th Prince of Belmonte, Don (Giuseppe) Antonio Pignatelli y Aymerich, and of Doña Marianna, Countess of Althann, lady in waiting to Empress Elizabeth
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI. She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress...
, consort of Emperor Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
and mother of Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
.)
Career
Rubí, who had achieved the high rank of field marshal and knight commander in the Order of Alcántara, arrived at Veracruz on 1 November 1764, as part of the expedition of Juan de Villabla, who had been sent to New Spain to organize regular army and colonial militia units. On August 7 of the following year, King Charles IIICharles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
appointed Rubí inspector of frontier presidios and commissioned him to remedy economic abuses and other urgent matters. When notified of his commission, Rubí went to Mexico City in mid-December 1765, and remained in the capital until March 1766, when he received his instructions from Viceroy Cruillas
Joaquín de Montserrat, marqués de Cruillas
Joaquín de Montserrat, marqués de Cruillas was Spanish viceroy of New Spain, from October 6, 1760 to August 24, 1766.-First years as viceroy:Joaquín de Montserrat was named viceroy of New Spain early in 1760...
.
Inspection tour
In the latter half of the eighteenth century frontier conditions in northern New Spain had deteriorated to such an extent as a result of Indian depredations, management of presidios etc., that the Spanish crown found it necessary to order an examination of the entire frontier with the view of relocating presidios and making whatever other adjustments might be necessary to prevent further abandonment of the frontier settlements. The Marques de Rubi was given the assignment of investigating this problem. He began his investigation in 1766. Royal engineers Nicolas de La Fora and Joseph de Urrutia assisted Rubi by drawing plans of presidios and drafting maps of the area traversed.On March 12 Rubí set out on his inspection, traveling first to Querétaro and then to Zacatecas. On April 14 he was joined at Durango by Nicolás de Lafora, his engineer and mapmaker, who kept a diary of the tour, as did Rubí himself. Rubí began his inspection tour in New Mexico, moved to Sonora, and then traveled eastward to Coahuila. He crossed the Rio Grande in July 1767 and proceeded to San Luis de las Amarillas Presidio (San Sabá) by way of the upper Nueces River, where he visited the largely failed missions at El Cañón. He left San Sabá on August 4 and reached San Antonio de Béxar on August 24, 1767. From San Antonio, Rubí traveled to Los Adaes and began his inspection there on September 14. Subsequently, he also inspected the presidios at El Orcoquisac and La Bahía before leaving Texas at Laredo in November 1767. In all, Rubí's inspection of the northern frontier from the Gulf of California to Louisiana occupied him for twenty-three months, during which he traveled an estimated 7,600 miles.
As a result of his inspection, Rubí recommended that Spain reorganize its frontier defenses along a cordon of fifteen presidios, each about 100 miles apart, that would stretch from the Gulf of California to the mouth of the Guadalupe River in Texas. Above this "real" frontier, which closely approximated the present international boundary between the United States and Mexico, Rubí advised that only San Antonio and Santa Fe be maintained, and he urged the complete abandonment of East Texas. Finally, because of their perfidy and duplicity, Rubí recommended a war of extermination against the Lipan Apaches. He was back in Mexico City by February 1768, and he filed his official report on April 10.
New Regulations for Presidios
More than four years passed before a royal order commonly known as the New Regulations for Presidios was issued. As a result of the Rubi recommendations, a new line of defense was established, uniform fortification plans were prescribed, and numerous changes were made in regulations governing military personnel. The new line of fortifications was to be composed of some fifteen presidios situated at about 40 league (or 120 mile) intervals extending from the Gulf of California on the west to the Gulf of Mexico on the east along what is now approximately the northern boundary of Mexico. The order implementing the realignment of the Presidios of the Frontier Line was published on September 10, 1772.The New Regulations had enormous impact on Texas. They called for the abandonment of all missions and presidios in Texas except for those at San Antonio and La Bahía; the strengthening of San Antonio by designating it the new capital of Texas; the removal of soldiers and settlers in East Texas; and the implementation of a new Indian policy aimed at establishing good relations with the northern nations at the expense of the Apaches. With respect to East Texas, Rubí's recommendations were enacted in 1773 but were soon vitiated by the return of settlers to the region and the founding of Nacogdoches in 1779.