Guido de Lavezaris (c. 1512 – d. 1581) was the second Spanish Governor General of the Philippines. He succeeded

Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as '' El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spaniard who, from the age of 26, lived and built a career in Mexico (then the Viceroyalty of New Spain) and, ...

in 1572 as governor, and was succeeded by Francisco de Sande on August 25, 1575.

Early life

Little was known of Governor-General Lavezares. In 1543, he became a member of the Villalobos Expedition that traveled to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He became the royal treasurer of the expedition during the navigation. Later on, he was one of several prisoners who escaped from a prison in

Ambon Island Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories: the city of Ambon to the south and various districts (''kecamatan'') o ...

when Villalobos' crew and ships were captured by the patrolling Portuguese. Morga, Antonio de. (2004). ''The Project Gutenberg Edition Book : History of the Philippine Islands - 1521 to the beginning of the XVII century''. Volume 1 and 2.

Governorship

During his governorship, he directed Legazpi's grandson Juan de Salcedo to go to the northern portion of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

together with some 100 Spanish soldiers and conquer the present-day

Ilocos Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

and establish Villa Fernandina. Lavezaris also conquered the peninsula of Camarines and granted vast

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

s to his loyal generals. In 1574, he defeated the notorious Chinese

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

Limahong when the latter attempted to colonize the Philippines. In 1575, Spanish

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

Martín de Rada filed a complaint to

King Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

against Lavezaris, which led to his removal from office. He was reported for abusing power and imposing higher tributes to the natives.

Post-governorship

He never returned to Spain but retired as a wealthy encomendero. His successor Francisco de Sande issued a decree in 1576 stating the division of his

into smaller lands which were to be distributed to the natives. Sande also filed legal cases like usurpation to him, but this was later absolved by Philip II. The municipality of

Lavezares, Northern Samar Lavezares, officially the Municipality of Lavezares ( war, Bungto han Lavezares; tl, Bayan ng Lavezares), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,390 peo ...

was named after him.

Bibliography

Maura, Juan Francisco. ''La Relación del suceso de la venida del tirano chino del gobernador Guido de Lavezares (1575): Épica española en Asia en el siglo XVI.'' Edición, transcripción y notas (incluye facsimil del manuscrito original), Juan Francisco Maura. Lemir (Departamento de Filología Hispánica de la Universidad de Valencia) 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavezaris, Guido De Captains General of the Philippines Encomenderos 16th-century Spanish people Authors of Spanish ethnographic accounts of the Philippines in the 16th century Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain Burials at San Agustin Church (Manila)