Monarch Ferdinand VI Role Statesman | Name Jose Carvajal | |
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Preceded by The Marquis of Villarias Born 1698
Caceres, Spain ( 1698 ) Died April 9, 1754, Madrid, Spain Succeeded by Fernando de Silva, 12th Duke of Alba | ||
Jose de Carvajal y Lancaster (1698 – 1754) was a Spanish statesman.
He was son of the Duke of Linares and his mother was descendant of infante Jorge de Lancastre, a natural son of King John II of Portugal. After graduating at the University of Salamanca, he was appointed oidor (judge) of the Chancilleria of Valladolid and later councillor of the Council of the Indies. Prime minister Jose del Campillo elected him as his personal secretary. In 1746, he was appointed president of the Junta of Commerce and Money, and promoted the establishment of chartered corporations for the improvement of regional trade and manufacture.
The new king Ferdinand VI appointed him First Secretary of State that same year, and carried out a neutrality policy. In 1750, he signed the agreement between Spain and Portugal that finished the disputes over the borders of Rio de la Plata and Brazil; Colonia del Sacramento returned to Spain in exchange of some Paraguayan territories.
He reformed the royal mail and in 1752 founded definitively the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.