Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
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Matías de Gálvez
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| 48th Viceroy of New Spain | |
| In office 28 April 1783 – 20 October 1784 |
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| Monarch | Charles III |
| Preceded by | Martín de Mayorga |
| Succeeded by | Bernardo de Gálvez |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo
1717 Macharaviaya, Málaga, Spain |
| Died | November 3, 1784 (aged c. 67) Mexico City, New Spain |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Spain |
| Branch/service | Spanish Army |
| Rank | Captain General |
Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo (born 1717, died 1784) was an important Spanish leader. He was a general in the army. He also served as the Captain General of Guatemala from 1779 to 1783. Later, he became the Viceroy of New Spain from 1783 until his death in 1784.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo was born in Macharaviaya, a small village in Spain. It was located near Málaga in the region of Andalusia. He joined the Spanish army and quickly showed he was a skilled soldier. He rose through the ranks to become a general.
His military success, along with the help of his brother, José de Gálvez, made him well-known. José was a powerful administrator in New Spain. Matías married María Josefa de Madrid, and they had two sons, Bernardo and José. Sadly, young José died at age 8.
Matías de Gálvez was chosen to be the Captain General, governor, and president of the Audiencia of Guatemala in April 1779. An "Audiencia" was like a high court and governing body. This happened just before the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, passed away. However, Matías had not yet arrived in Guatemala. So, the job of Viceroy went to Martín de Mayorga for a short time.
Leading Guatemala
In Guatemala, Gálvez proved to be a very active and organized leader. He worked hard to rebuild Guatemala City after a big earthquake in 1773. He also helped set up a mint, which is a place where coins are made. He also oversaw the building of the city's cathedral.
When Spain joined the war against Great Britain in 1779, Gálvez had to defend the colony. He successfully pushed back the British at San Fernando de Omoa. He also captured some British areas in Belize in 1779.
Because of the long distances and few resources, he couldn't help Fort San Juan in Nicaragua. This fort was captured by a British group led by Horatio Nelson. However, the British had to leave the fort in January 1781. Many of their soldiers got sick from tropical diseases. In March 1782, Gálvez led another group along the Caribbean coast. They captured the island of Roatán and broke up a British settlement at Black River. The British later took Black River back.
Becoming Viceroy of New Spain
Viceroy Mayorga had wanted to resign and go back to Spain for several years. In 1783, King Charles III finally accepted his resignation. The king wanted to reward Gálvez for his great work in Guatemala. So, he named him the new Viceroy of New Spain. This was a very important job, even though Gálvez was getting older and not in the best health.
Gálvez traveled by land to the capital, passing through cities like Oaxaca and Puebla. On April 28, 1783, Matías de Gálvez made his official entry into Mexico City. He was the last viceroy to enter the city on horseback.
Improvements in New Spain
Spain and England had just made peace, so Gálvez could focus on improving Mexico City. During his short time as viceroy, he worked to clean the waterways and drain the lake around the city. He also built bridges and a sewage system. He paved streets like La Palma, Monterilla, and San Francisco with cobblestones.
He divided Mexico City into four main areas and made the police service better. He also supported the San Carlos academy of fine arts, which his predecessor had started. He gave 15,000 pesos each year to this project.
Gálvez also ordered the rebuilding of the palace of Chapultepec. He set up the Banco Nacional de San Carlos, which was a branch of a Spanish bank. He tried to bring mercury from China to use in the silver mines, trading it for furs. He also started a pawn shop. Thanks to his efforts, government income grew to 19 million pesos every year.
In November 1783, he allowed a newspaper called La Gaceta de México to start publishing again. This newspaper had been around before but had stopped. Gálvez made a rule that the newspaper could only publish news that came from the government.
He took a count of all the coaches in Mexico City, finding there were 637. He also created groups to help the local native people. He ordered that more historical papers about New Spain be collected and saved. He wanted these papers to be used for a big history book he planned to write.
Death and Legacy
Matías de Gálvez died on November 3, 1784, in Mexico City. Just before he passed away, on October 20, 1784, he handed over his duties to the Audiencia. This was the governing body that helped the viceroy. There were no special instructions for who should take over after his death. So, the Audiencia gave control to Vicente Herrera until a new viceroy arrived.
In his will, Gálvez asked for a simple funeral. He was buried in the church of the Apostolic College of San Fernando. His son, Bernardo de Gálvez, who was the Spanish governor of Louisiana, later became the next Viceroy of New Spain.
See also
In Spanish: Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo para niños
