Fernando de Alencastre, 1st Duke of Linares

Mexican politician

Fernando de Alencastre Noroña y Silva, 1st Duke of Linares, GE (April 15, 1662 in Madrid, Spain – June 3, 1717 in Mexico City) was a Spanish nobleman and military officer. He also served as Viceroy of New Spain (colonial México), from January 15, 1711 to August 15, 1716.

Alencastre Noroña y Silva was a descendant of Fernando de Noroña, Duke of Linares, and thus from a distinguished Spanish family with origins in the Portuguese nobility. In addition to the two titles he inherited, he was knight commander of the Order of Santiago, lord of the bedchamber of the king, and lieutenant general in the army. He was also knight commander of the royal arms in the Kingdom of Naples, honorary viceroy of Sardinia, and vicar general of La Toscana. Alencastre was an early donor to the Jesuit missions in Baja California, providing 5,000 reales as seed money in 1697.

In 1711 Fernando de Alencastre became the colonial viceroy and captain general of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and president of the Audiencia Real. On August 16, 1711 there was a strong earthquake that damaged many buildings and resulted in significant loss of life. The earthquake was said to last half an hour. The viceroy is said to have paid from his own funds to help the poor and to restore some of the buildings. In 1713, Mexico City experienced a snowfall unlike any earlier recorded. The harvest failed, and a severe famine resulted. The streets were filled with people begging for bread. Perhaps as a result of the famine, a severe plague broke out, continuing into the following year. Many sick people were abandoned on the streets. Many people died and were buried in common graves. Both the viceroy and the archbishop of Mexico, José Lanziego, reportedly paid from their own funds to help the poor during these catastrophes. Alencastre ordered the construction of four well armed, light warships at Coatzacoalcos to reinforce the Armada de Barlovento (coast guard). He bought 600 new muskets in Cantabria for the militia, and sent money for the repair of fortifications at Cumaná.

Spanish involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, which involved transporting enslaved Africans to New Spain, had been authorized by the Spanish Crown since 1501. As part of the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, the Spanish Crown granted the Asiento de Negros, a monopoly contract granting the recipient the right to sell African slaves in Spanish America, to the South Sea Company for 30 years. This contract had the unintended effect of allowing British merchants to trade large quantities of unauthorized goods and merchandise directly with the Spanish colonies as well. The longstanding British settlement at Laguna de Términos was another issue, which continued to illegally harvest tropical woods, especially logwood trees, which were then exported to Europe.

The pueblo of San Felipe de Linares was founded by Sebastián Villegas Cumplido in September 1711, and named in honor of the Viceroy. It is located in present day state of Nuevo León. The viceroy authorized expeditions in 1716 and in 1718, to reoccupy the Spanish Texas territory after its abandonment in 1690, and establish missions and a settlement there. The pueblo of San Antonio was founded in 1718. He also authorized establishing missions in Nuevo Mexico, present day New Mexico. The indigenous and sophisticated Pueblo peoples continued in revolt against the occupation of their homeland, taken by the Spanish in 1598 as the Province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. In 1711 Father Eusebio Kino, renowned explorer and missionary in Sonora, Baja California and Alta California, died in Magdelena, Sonora. Alencastre constructed the aqueduct of Arcos de Belén to Salto de Agua in Mexico City. He continued and expanded La , a special tribunal dedicated to fighting robbery in the cities and on the highways. He prohibited the manufacture of the alcoholic beverage aguardiente from sugar cane, and made attempts to suppress immorality among the regular clergy. The Crown fixed the annual contribution of New Spain to the mother country at one million pesos. To raise this money required some ingenuity on the part of the viceroy. On October 28, 1715 an insurrection broke out among the garrison at San Juan de Ulúa, near Veracruz. For two years the soldiers had received only partial pay. The rebels were tried, convicted, and pardoned. Afterwards they continued to press their grievances. Alencastre founded the first public library and the first natural history museum in New Spain. King Philip V of Spain directed that the museum send to Spain samples of rocks, plants, fruits, animals and other things found in Mexico but unknown in Spain. The viceroy complied, copiously.

In 1716 he turned over the office to his successor, Baltasar de Zúñiga, 1st Duke of Arión. He left for Zúñiga a written Instrucción, in which he detailed the sad social and economic conditions of the colony. He died the following year in Mexico City, and was interred in the church of the Discalced Carmelites. He left many charitable donations in his will, including an addition 5,000 for the Jesuit missions of Baja California.