Laureano de Torres y Ayala: Difference between revisions
| Line 29: | Line 29: | ||
Laureano José de Torres Ayala a Duadros Castellanos was born in [[Seville]], [[Spain]], in 1645,<ref name=aa/> but he grew up in [[Madrid]], [[Spain]], where his parents settled when he was still a small child. Ayala came from a noble family,<ref name="HSL">Hampton, Francesca (2000). [http://www.cubangenclub.org/members/del_pasado/del_pasado_hospital_san_lazaro_habana.htm Newspaper De Cuba Genealogy Club of Miami. Del Pasado – Por el Conde San Juan de Jaruco. El Hospital de San Lázaro de La Habana], March 23, 1947.</ref> the son of Tomás de Torres y Ayala and Elvira de Quadros Castellanos.<ref name=aa/> His father was a judge in [[Seville]] in 1649; a mayor, governor and [[Captain General]] of [[Mérida, Mérida|Mérida]] and the [[La Grita]] in [[Venezuela]]. He had three brothers: Pedro Ignacio, Cristóbal and Diego Torres Ayala y Quadros. In his youth he joined the [[Spanish army]].<ref name="HSL"/> |
Laureano José de Torres Ayala a Duadros Castellanos was born in [[Seville]], [[Spain]], in 1645,<ref name=aa/> but he grew up in [[Madrid]], [[Spain]], where his parents settled when he was still a small child. Ayala came from a noble family,<ref name="HSL">Hampton, Francesca (2000). [http://www.cubangenclub.org/members/del_pasado/del_pasado_hospital_san_lazaro_habana.htm Newspaper De Cuba Genealogy Club of Miami. Del Pasado – Por el Conde San Juan de Jaruco. El Hospital de San Lázaro de La Habana], March 23, 1947.</ref> the son of Tomás de Torres y Ayala and Elvira de Quadros Castellanos.<ref name=aa/> His father was a judge in [[Seville]] in 1649; a mayor, governor and [[Captain General]] of [[Mérida, Mérida|Mérida]] and the [[La Grita]] in [[Venezuela]]. He had three brothers: Pedro Ignacio, Cristóbal and Diego Torres Ayala y Quadros. In his youth he joined the [[Spanish army]].<ref name="HSL"/> |
||
In June 1693, while with a Spanish expedition in Florida, he came to [[Okaloosa County, Florida|Okaloosa County]]<ref>[http://genealogytrails.com/fla/countystats.html Florida Counties]. Tallahassee: State of Florida, Dept. of Agriculture, N. Mayo, commissioner. 1944.</ref> and the Chipola at the Natural Bridge Spring. He thus was (one of) the first European(s) to have crossed [[West Florida]] overland. On the 21st of September, 1693, Ayala was appointed [[List of colonial governors of Florida|Governor of Spanish Florida]], replacing [[Diego de Quiroga y Losada]].<ref name="worldstatesmen"> Cahoon, Ben. [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/US_states_F-K.html U.S. States F-K].</ref> |
In June 1693, while with a Spanish expedition in Florida, he came to [[Okaloosa County, Florida|Okaloosa County]]<ref>[http://genealogytrails.com/fla/countystats.html Florida Counties]. Tallahassee: State of Florida, Dept. of Agriculture, N. Mayo, commissioner. 1944.</ref> and the Chipola at the Natural Bridge Spring. He thus was (one of) the first European(s) to have crossed [[West Florida]] overland. On the 21st of September, 1693, Ayala was appointed [[List of colonial governors of Florida|Governor of Spanish Florida]], replacing [[Diego de Quiroga y Losada]].<ref name="worldstatesmen"> Cahoon, Ben. [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/US_states_F-K.html U.S. States F-K].</ref> |
||
Fort San Carlos de Austria.<ref name=NPSfort>"Fort Barrancas" (history), [[National Park Service]], 2006, ''nps.gov'' webpage: [http://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/fort-barrancas.htm NPSft].</ref> He held the post of governor of Florida until 1699, when he returned to Spain, being replaced by [[José de Zúñiga y la Cerda (Governor of La Florida)|José de Zúñiga y la Cerda]].<ref name="worldstatesmen"/> |
|||
Like the previous governors, Torres y Ayala worked in the construction of the [[Castillo de San Marcos]], which it was completed in 1695.<ref name="Publications1993">{{cite book|author=United States. National Park Service. Division of Publications|title=Castillo de San Marcos: a guide to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Florida|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rBp2AAAAMAAJ&q=%221695%22|year=1993|publisher=U.S. Dept. of the Interior|isbn=978-0-912627-59-5|page=22}}</ref> In addition, in 1698, was founded the first European settlement and the first fort at the site of [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]]: the [[Presidio Santa Maria de Galve]] and the Fort San Carlos de Austria.<ref name=NPSfort>"Fort Barrancas" (history), [[National Park Service]], 2006, ''nps.gov'' webpage: [http://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/fort-barrancas.htm NPSft].</ref> He held the post of governor of Florida until 1699, when he returned to Spain, being replaced by [[José de Zúñiga y la Cerda (Governor of La Florida)|José de Zúñiga y la Cerda]].<ref name="worldstatesmen"/> |
|||
[[File:PensacolaFortSanCarlosDeAustria1699.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Spanish plan for Fort San Carlos de Austria, the first fort at the site of Pensacola, Florida, founded 1698.]] |
[[File:PensacolaFortSanCarlosDeAustria1699.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Spanish plan for Fort San Carlos de Austria, the first fort at the site of Pensacola, Florida, founded 1698.]] |
||
Revision as of 14:10, 11 August 2015
Laureano de Torres y Ayala | |
|---|---|
| 30º Governor of La Florida | |
| In office 21 Sep 1693 – 1699 | |
| Preceded by | Diego de Quiroga y Losada |
| Succeeded by | José de Zúñiga y la Cerda |
| 42º Governor of Cuba | |
| In office 18 January 1707/1708 – 18 February 1711 | |
| Preceded by | Pedro Álvarez de Villarín |
| Succeeded by | Vicente de Raja |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1645 [1] Seville, Spain |
| Died | 1722 (aged 77) Havana, Cuba[1] |
| Spouse | Catalina Gertrudis Bayona y Chacón |
| Profession | soldier and governor |
Laureano de Torres y Ayala (1645–1722), Marquis of Casa Torres and Knight of Santiago, was a Spanish soldier and Royal governor of La Florida (1693–1699) and of Cuba (1707–1711 and 1713–1716).
Biography
Laureano José de Torres Ayala a Duadros Castellanos was born in Seville, Spain, in 1645,[1] but he grew up in Madrid, Spain, where his parents settled when he was still a small child. Ayala came from a noble family,[2] the son of Tomás de Torres y Ayala and Elvira de Quadros Castellanos.[1] His father was a judge in Seville in 1649; a mayor, governor and Captain General of Mérida and the La Grita in Venezuela. He had three brothers: Pedro Ignacio, Cristóbal and Diego Torres Ayala y Quadros. In his youth he joined the Spanish army.[2]
In June 1693, while with a Spanish expedition in Florida, he came to Okaloosa County[3] and the Chipola at the Natural Bridge Spring. He thus was (one of) the first European(s) to have crossed West Florida overland. On the 21st of September, 1693, Ayala was appointed Governor of Spanish Florida, replacing Diego de Quiroga y Losada.[4]
Like the previous governors, Torres y Ayala worked in the construction of the Castillo de San Marcos, which it was completed in 1695.[5] In addition, in 1698, was founded the first European settlement and the first fort at the site of Pensacola: the Presidio Santa Maria de Galve and the Fort San Carlos de Austria.[6] He held the post of governor of Florida until 1699, when he returned to Spain, being replaced by José de Zúñiga y la Cerda.[4]
Between 1704 and 1707 Ayala participated in the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe. [7]
On January 18, 1708, Ayala was appointed Governor General of Cuba,[2] mainly working at Fort Havana. While governing Cuba, Ayala principally concerned himself with its economic problems. A Spanish officer and landowner named Orri had thought of the possibility of a local project to sell snuff tobacco for the government of Cuba. This would eliminate the tax evasion problems. Ayala, who was facing with the local 'snuff speculators' - those who sold it to Spain and other parts of America bypassing customs duties –, felt that the idea was immensely beneficial to Spain, so he gave to plan his full support. The business was successful, monopolizing snuff, so which he was appointed Marquis de Casa-Torre, notwithstanding their grave disputes with Lieutenant - auditor Jose Fernandez de Córdoba. [8]
However, he could only maintain his governor position until February 18, 1711,[2] when the auditor Pablo Cavera[8] imprisoned him in the Cuban fortress of El Morro, sending King Philip V an indictment of corruption against the governor after investigation of its administration.[2][8] Two years later, Ayala was acquitted and on February 14, 1713, he was reinstated as Governor of Cuba. His second period of rule was to be of relative peace: he founded several charities, like La Casa de la Beneficiencia, and a home for beggars.[8] On June 9, 1714, he ordered the construction of a hospital for lepers in Havana; after collecting several large donations, he began construction of the Hospital de San Lazaro and its temple in a plot located near the city. In addition, he founded the city of Santiago del Bejucal. The snuff industry came into swing, and the tobacco plant began to be widely cultivated in the district."Vuelta Abajo". [2]
Ayala died in 1722 in Havana, Cuba.[1]
Personal life
Laureano de Torres y Ayala married the Cuban Catalina Gertrudis Bayona y Chacón on August 5, 1687 in Havana.[9] He had three children: Tomasa María, Laureano Antonio José, and Sor Manuela de San Laureano.[2]
In popular culture
Ayala appears in the 2013 Ubisoft action-adventure video game, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, as the main antagonist and a leading member of the Templar Order, Laureano de Torres. Unfamiliar with the Templar-Assassin conflict, the game's protagonist, privateer Edward Kenway, killed an Assassin turncoat named Duncan Walpole, and subsequently impersonated him and continued his trip to Havana to bring a strange artifact to Torres. Eventually, the latter found out about the identity fraud avant-la-lettre and imprisoned Edward. Torres's plan was to find the Observatory in Jamaica, which required the blood of a specific Sage to get in. This would enable the Templars to track people throughout the world – a means of terminating the Assassin Order. He is ultimately killed by Edward Kenway.
References
- ^ a b c d e Laureano de TORRES AYALA Y QUADROS, I marqués de Casa Torres.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hampton, Francesca (2000). Newspaper De Cuba Genealogy Club of Miami. Del Pasado – Por el Conde San Juan de Jaruco. El Hospital de San Lázaro de La Habana, March 23, 1947.
- ^ Florida Counties. Tallahassee: State of Florida, Dept. of Agriculture, N. Mayo, commissioner. 1944.
- ^ a b Cahoon, Ben. U.S. States F-K.
- ^ United States. National Park Service. Division of Publications (1993). Castillo de San Marcos: a guide to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Florida. U.S. Dept. of the Interior. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-912627-59-5.
- ^ "Fort Barrancas" (history), National Park Service, 2006, nps.gov webpage: NPSft.
- ^ The Spanish at Florida Caverns State Park. A Legacy of Soldiers and Priests.
- ^ a b c d Fletcher Johnson, Willis (1920). The History of Cuba (Complete).
- ^ De Cádenas y Vicent, Vicente (1994). "Caballeros de la orden de santiago. siglo XVIII". Hidalguia, Madrid. Retrieved May 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)
External links
- – Governor of Cuba, (in Spanish)