Name Ambrosio Benavides | ||
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Died April 27, 1787, Cauquenes, Chile | ||
Ambrosio de Benavides Medina Linan y Torres (January 20, 1718 – April 27, 1787 ) was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Puerto Rico, Royal Governor of Charcas and Royal Governor of Chile.
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Early life
Benavides was born in Granada, the son of Juan Carlos de Benavides Mesia Ponce de Leon, head of the Inquisition in Cordoba, and of his wife, Maria Teresa de Medina Linan y Torres. In 1738, he joined the Spanish Army as a cadet, eventually being posted to Malaga, Ceuta and Melilla. He became an infantry captain in 1741, a sergeant major in 1754, a lieutenant colonel in 1760 and a full colonel in 1761. On September 25, 1760 he was appointed governor of Puerto Rico by King Ferdinand VI of Spain.
As governor of Chile
Benavides was notified of his appointment as Captain General of Chile in May 1780, and immediately started the long trip overland. He had to stop and winter in the city of Mendoza but finally managed to arrive to Santiago on December 11, assuming his position the next day. Nonetheless, the long and arduous journey took a heavy toll on his health from which he never really recovered.
Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios
As soon as Benavides arrived, he was faced with the so-called Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios, where 2 Frenchmen, Antonio Gramusset and Antonio Berney, and a criollo, Jose Antonio de Rojas, inspired by the Enlightenment ideals, had formulated a plan to establish Chile as an independent republic. All three conspirators were secretly arrested on January 1, 1781, putting an end to any possible civil unrest before it even started.
Flood of 1783
The fall of 1783 was one of the harshest on record for Chile. On April 13, a strong earthquake affected Santiago and on June 16, the Mapocho River, after nine days of uninterrupted rain, flooded the city. The river first overran its course to the orient of the city, and came down the Alameda (which itself is a former river branch). Soon it also overrran the dikes flooding all the north side (La Canadilla) of the city. The whole downtown area became an island surrounded by water on all sides. Many nuns, such as the carmelitas de San Rafael had to be rescued on horseback from their isolated monasteries. Finally the storm abated on the 17th, without casualties but with great economic losses.
Bourbon reforms
King Charles III decided to reform the political administration of the empire. Among other reforms he subdivided the General Captaincies into Intendencias. In Chile two were created in 1786: Santiago, covering the area from Copiapo to the Maule river; and Concepcion, from the Maule river to the Valdivia River. Benavides, while remaining governor of Chile, became also the intendant of Santiago, and brigadier Ambrosio O'Higgins became intendant of Concepcion. Benavides named as his assistant Alonso de Guzman y Peralta; while O'Higgins named Juan Martinez de Rozas, both lawyers.
Another consequence of the reforms was that the King reserved for himself the appointment of the military governors of Valparaiso and Valdivia, and while continental Chile remained as a Captaincy-General within the viceroyalty, Chiloe Island was detached and made a direct dependency of the Viceroyalty of Peru.
Public works
During his period, the Italian architect Joaquin Toesca arrived to Chile. He was charged with the construction of the new Cathedral, the La Moneda Palace, the new building for the Cabildo and the new public jail. He paid much attention in the construction of the Maipo channel, and the reconstruction of Santiago after the floods of 1783, including moving the location of La Moneda from his original emplacement next to the river to the current one.
Death
On March 27, 1787, he officially appointed Tomas Alvarez de Acevedo as interim governor and retired to Cauquenes to try to restore his health. There he died on April 27. He was buried in the Cathedral of Santiago.