Manuel Muñoz (Governor of Spanish Texas)
| Manuel Muñoz | |
|---|---|
| 28ºGovernor of the Spanish Colony of Texas | |
|
In office 1790–1798 | |
| Preceded by | Rafael Martínez Pacheco |
| Succeeded by | José Irigoyen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 19, 1730 Matamoros (Castile-La Mancha), Spain |
| Died |
July 28, 1798 San Antonio, Texas |
| Spouse(s) | María Gertrudis de Cipiran |
| Profession | Colonel and Political |
| Religion | Christian |
Manuel Muñoz (1730– July 27, 1798) was a soldier, colonel and governor of Texas between 1790 and 1798.
Biography
Early life
Manuel Muñoz was born in 1730, probably in Matamoros, a city of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. Manuel joined the Royal Spanish Army in his youth where he ascended the ranks, serving as the Captain of the Spanish Army. In 1759, Manuel temporarily settled in Texas as the first commander of the newly formed "Presidio del Norte". The following year, when the Presidio was attacked by Apache Native Americans, Muñoz aided in the repelling of the attack. Later, in 1775, Manuel participated the war between the troops of Colonel Hugo Oconór and the American Indians, commanding the troops of Nueva Vizcaya. Due to his leadership during the war, Muñoz was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in 1777 and was promoted to Colonel in 1780. In the 1770s and 1780s, Muñoz won several stalls along the Rio Grande and also did businesses with the Mescalero Apaches, and carried out several campaigns against the renegades of the border.[1]
Governor of Texas
In 1790, Muñoz took the post of governor of Texas. In 1792, at the same time that the Count of Sierra investigated his management, Muñoz served as Acting governor.[1] The following year, Munoz fulfilled the Decree of Secularization of the Mission San Antonio de Valero and in 1792 he did the same with the decree of "partial secularization" directed to the other four Spanish missions that were carried out in San Antonio.[1][2]
Muñoz supervised the trade developed among the settlers and the Native Americans and investigated the illicit trade among the Spanish and French of Louisiana that existed in the years before his term. In addition, he regulated the work of the Amerindians in the builds and reparations that they made in the churches and quarters priests and ordered that these works could only be done with permission from the commander general. He also "checked the mission and presidio accounts".[3]
Native Americans gained greater autonomy: Munoz converted Native Americans who had acquired the Christian religion in independent owners of lands, changing social structure based on race that had been established by the Spanish. In addition, now the sacred ministry was the only one institution in the missionaries which could work "and placed the common property of the mission Indians". This property "was supervised by the alcalde", a Spanish politician figure who administrated the Spanish municipalities. In 1793, he founded the mission Refugio.[1]
In 1795, Muñoz obtained the Colonel grade of the Spanish Army, as the asked[3] and the Spanish Crown ordered him to try to avoid the entrance of people of the then United States (East of the modern United States) to Texas, because, according to news were received, the government of United States wants to send people to Spain and try to promote the rebellion who against the government.[4]
However, in 1796, Muñoz fell ill and asked the King of Spain for permission to leave the charge of being the governor. While Muñoz awaited the king's decision, Juan Bautista Elguézabal was selected to help Muñoz. In January 1797, Muñoz had news that the governor of Coahuila, (Mexico), Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante, had been chosen by the king as his successor. However, in that moment, Bustamante was commanding a war against the Apaches and he could not attend to his duties as governor, so Munoz had to continue governing Texas "until further notice".[1][3] In March of that year, Cordero sent a letter saying that he had been appointed lieutenant governor of Nuevo Santander, and that therefore he could not govern Texas.[1] Finally, a year and a half later, in June 1798 José Irigoyen was appointed to interim governor of Texas (though, because he not served, he was Juan Bautista Elguézabal who took his place). Muñoz died on July 27, 1798, San Antonio.[1][3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Handbook of Texas Online – Muñoz, Manuel. Posted by Marion A. Habig, O.F.M., on November 26, 2008. Accessed on October 9, 2010
- ↑ Bremer, Thomas S. (2004). Blessed with Tourists: The Borderlands of Religion and Tourism in San Antonio. University of North Carolina Press.
- 1 2 3 4 Phares, Ross (1976). The Governors of Texas. Pages 41 - 42. Firebird Press.
- ↑ Campbell, Randolph B. (2003). Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State. Oxford University Press, New York.
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