Ambrosio de Benavides facts for kids

Ambrosio de Benavides

Ambrosio de Benavides Medina Liñán y Torres (born January 20, 1718 – died April 27, 1787) was an important Spanish leader. He served as a Royal Governor in several places. These included Puerto Rico, Charcas (which is now part of Bolivia), and Chile.

Early Life

Ambrosio de Benavides was born in Granada, Spain. His father, Juan Carlos de Benavides, was a high-ranking official. In 1738, Ambrosio joined the Spanish Army. He served in different cities like Málaga and Ceuta. He quickly moved up the ranks. By 1741, he was an infantry captain. He became a lieutenant colonel in 1760. In 1761, he was a full colonel. On September 25, 1760, King Ferdinand VI of Spain chose him to be the governor of Puerto Rico.

Governor of Chile

Ambrosio de Benavides found out he would be the Captain General of Chile in May 1780. He began a long journey by land. He had to stop for winter in Mendoza. Finally, he arrived in Santiago on December 11. He officially started his new job the next day. However, the difficult trip made him very sick. He never fully got better after that.

The Three Antonios Plot

Soon after Benavides became governor, he faced a secret plot. It was called the "conspiracy of the three Antonios". Two Frenchmen, Antonio Gramusset and Antonio Berney, were involved. A local person, José Antonio de Rojas, also joined them. They were inspired by new ideas from the Age of Enlightenment. Their plan was to make Chile an independent country. They wanted it to be a republic. All three plotters were secretly arrested on January 1, 1781. This stopped any possible trouble before it could begin.

The Great Flood of 1783

The autumn of 1783 was very harsh in Chile. On April 13, a strong earthquake shook Santiago. Then, on June 16, the Mapocho River flooded the city. This happened after nine days of non-stop rain. The river first overflowed its banks to the east. It flowed down the Alameda. Soon, it also broke its dikes. This flooded the entire north side of the city. The whole downtown area became like an island. It was surrounded by water on all sides. Many nuns had to be rescued from their isolated homes. They were saved on horseback. The storm finally stopped on April 17. Luckily, no one died. But there was a lot of damage and money was lost.

Changes by the King

King Charles III of Spain wanted to improve how his empire was run. These changes were called the Bourbon reforms. One big change was dividing large areas into smaller ones called Intendencias. In Chile, two were created in 1786. One was Santiago, covering the area from Copiapó to the Maule river. The other was Concepción, from the Maule river to the Valdivia River. Benavides remained governor of Chile. He was also made the intendant of Santiago. Brigadier Ambrosio O'Higgins became the intendant of Concepción. Benavides chose Alonso de Guzmán y Peralta as his helper. O'Higgins chose Juan Martínez de Rozas. Both helpers were lawyers.

Another change was that the King himself would choose the military governors. This included governors for Valparaíso and Valdivia. Also, Chiloé Island was separated from Chile. It became directly controlled by the Viceroyalty of Perú.

Public Works

During Benavides' time, a famous Italian architect arrived in Chile. His name was Joaquín Toesca. He was put in charge of building many important structures. These included the new Cathedral and the La Moneda Palace. He also worked on the new building for the Cabildo (city council). And he designed the new public jail. Benavides also focused on building the Maipo channel. He also helped rebuild Santiago after the 1783 floods. This included moving La Moneda to its current location.

Death

On March 27, 1787, Ambrosio de Benavides officially named Tomás Álvarez de Acevedo as temporary governor. He then went to Cauquenes to try and get better. He died there on April 27. He was buried in the Cathedral of Santiago.

See Also

• Conspiracy of the three Antonios