Luis de Unzaga y Amézaga (1717–1793), also known as Louis Unzaga y Amezéga le Conciliateur, Luigi de Unzaga Panizza and Lewis de Onzaga, was governor of

Spanish Louisiana Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of ...

from late 1769 to mid-1777, as well as a Captain General of Venezuela from 1777 to 1782 and Cuba from 1782 to 1785.

Biography

Unzaga was born in Málaga, Spain, the son of a well-known

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

family. He served in the Italian war of 1735 and went to Havana in 1740, where he was appointed lieutenant governor of Puerto Príncipe, Cuba (now

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 321,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by ...

) and later of Santiago de Cuba. During the Seven Years' War he defended Havana against a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

siege, in 1762. Unzaga accompanied

Alejandro O'Reilly Alejandro O'Reilly, 1st Count of O'Reilly, KOA (; October 24, 1723 in Baltrasna, Co. Meath, Ireland – March 23, 1794 in Bonete, Spain), English: Alexander, Count of O'Reilly, Irish: ''Alastar Ó Raghallaigh, ''was an Irish-born military ref ...

to New Orleans in 1769 to put down the

Rebellion of 1768 The Rebellion of 1768, also known as the Revolt of 1768 or the Creole Revolt, was an unsuccessful attempt by the Creole elite of New Orleans, along with nearby German settlers, to reverse the transfer of the French Louisiana Territory to Spain, a ...

by French and German colonists objecting to the cession of Louisiana to Spain via the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762). Following the formal establishment of the

cabildo (council) A cabildo () or ayuntamiento () was a Spanish colonial, and early post-colonial, administrative council which governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected; but they were considered to be representative of all ...

, Unzaga became governor on December 1, 1769. In 1775, he married Elizabeth St. Maxent, the first daughter of Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent, the wealthiest man in Louisiana. In 1776, the year the Declaration of Independence was signed,

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

wrote to his friend Colonel Joseph Reed that he had just received a very flattering letter from Luis de Unzaga y Amézaga, governor of

, who referred to Washington as ''General de Los Estados Unidos Americanos'' (General of the American United States). Washington liked the term United States so much that, from that moment, it began to be used instead of "the 13 colonies", as it was previously called. Luis de Unzaga was one of the driving forces behind the birth of the United States, for which he made use of a robust secret network of family contacts. Unzaga was informed of the arrival of British troops to America and made every effort to help George Washington. Unzaga was noted for allowing open trade. During the summer of 1776, he secretly helped Patrick Henry and the Americans by privately delivering five tons of gunpowder from the king's stores to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

George Gibson and

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Linn of the Virginia Council of Defense. The gunpowder was moved up the Mississippi under the protection of the flag of Spain, and was used to thwart British plans to capture Fort Pitt in Pennsylvania. Unzaga was the first Spanish official to provide direct military aid to the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. After repeated requests from New Orleans merchant

Oliver Pollock Oliver Pollock (1737, Bready, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland – December 17, 1823, Pinckneyville, Mississippi) was a merchant and financier of the American Revolutionary War, of which he has long been considered a historically undervalued ...

, Unzaga approved the secret transfer of a load of gunpowder up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Fort Pitt, where it arrived in May 1777. Later, additional supplies were shipped from New Orleans to Philadelphia. Pollock provided the vessels for both shipments. p. 41. From June 17, 1777, to December 10, 1782, Unzaga served as Captain General of Venezuela. In 1783 he became

governor of Cuba This is a list of colonial heads of Cuba. Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office. For continuation after independence ''see'' List of presidents of Cuba This article lists the heads of state of Cuba from 1902 until t ...

, where one of his first actions was ordering a halt to the unrestrained cutting of cedar trees. As Governor of Cuba and Captain General of Havana, a position he would hold until 1785, in April 1783 he received Prince William of the United Kingdom, the future King William IV, with whom he reached preliminary agreements for the

Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War and overall state of conflict ...

. Later he continued to attend to the requests for help from

and Robert Morris to finally achieve the birth of the United States of America. After his retirement, he returned to his native Málaga, where he occupied as Lieutenant General the General Command of the coasts of Granada. Their residences would serve as the consular agency of the United States of America in Málaga after the port of Málaga started free trade with the United States of America.Cazorla, Frank, Baena, Rosa, Polo, David, Reder Gadow, Marion (2019) The governor Louis de Unzaga (1717-1793) Pioneer in the birth of the United States of America and in Liberalism. Foundation. Malaga

References

* Sources: Cazorla, Frank (Coord.) co-authors Cazorla-Granados, F.J.; G.Baena, Rosa; Polo, J.David: The Governor Luis de Unzaga (1717-1793) Pioneer involved in the birth of the United States of America and of Liberalism. Malaga Foundation, Malaga 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Unzaga, Luis Spanish colonial governors and administrators Governors of Spanish Louisiana Spanish colonial period of Cuba Colonial United States (Spanish) People from Málaga Politicians from New Orleans 1721 births 1790 deaths Spanish West Indies 18th-century Cuban people 18th-century Venezuelan people