Juan Alaminos y de Vivar (1813–1899) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

general who served as the 96th

Governor-General of the Philippines The Governor-General of the Philippines (Spanish: ''Gobernador y Capitán General de Filipinas''; Filipino: ''Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas/Kapitan Heneral ng Pilipinas''; Japanese: ) was the title of the government executive during the colo ...

Biography

There is not much known about the early career of Alaminos other than that he was from

Cuéllar Cuéllar () is a municipality in the Province of Segovia, within the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. The municipality had a population of 9,730 inhabitants according to the municipal register of inhabitants (INE) as of 1 Jan ...

, and that he was born on 27 October 1813. His military career began with his participation in the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Spanish monarchy: the conservative and devolutionist ...

(1833–1839). He then served under General Juan Prim, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos during the

Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–60) {{Spanish-Moroccan conflicts There have been several Hispano-Moroccan wars: *Conquest of Melilla (1497) *Conquest of Mehdya (1681) *Siege of Larache (1689) *Siege of Melilla (1774) *Siege of Ceuta (1790-1791) * Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860) * ...

. In 1871, he was elected as Senator of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

, and the following year (1872) as Senator of Córdoba. Before the abdication of King Amadeo I of Spain, Alaminos was sent to assume the position of

on 24 January 1873. He was the first Governor-General to arrive and depart from the Philippines on a steamship. During his term, Alaminos fought against the

Archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...

, Gregorio Melitón Martínez, keeping the conflict between the colonial government and the church ongoing. It was during the administration of former Governor-General Carlos María de la Torre y Navacerrada when the conflict was rekindled. In around 1870, the governor-general appointed Luis Alcala Zamora as Bishop of Cebu but it was not approved by Archbishop Melitón Martínez. Alaminos was replaced by an interim governor in 1874, during the administration of President

Francisco Serrano, 1st Duke of la Torre Francisco Serrano Domínguez Cuenca y Pérez de Vargas, 1st Duke of la Torre, Grandee of Spain, Count of San Antonio (17 December 1810 – 25 November 1885) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He was Prime Minister of Spain in 1868–69 ...

. He died in 1899. During his administration in the Philippines, Alaminos, Pangasinan and Alaminos, Laguna were named in his honor.

Family

Alaminos hails from a 17th-century noble family from

Úbeda Úbeda (; from Iberian ''Ibiut'') is a town in the province of Jaén in Spain's autonomous community of Andalusia, with 34,733 (data 2017) inhabitants. Both this city and the neighbouring city of Baeza benefited from extensive patronage in the ...

. Juan's brother, Francisco Alaminos y Vivar, was a lawyer. He served as mayor of

Rute Rute is a municipality in the province of Córdoba, Spain. It lies between Iznájar to the South East, and Lucena to the North West. Its primary economy centres on the extensive production of foodstuffs including dozens of different makes of ...

in 1828, and of Cabra in 1834. Meanwhile, Juan's nephew, Francisco Alaminos y Chacon, served as his adjutant, and later as Governor of Luzon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaminos y Vivar, Juan Spanish generals Captains General of the Philippines Members of the Senate of Spain People from New Spain 1831 births 1899 deaths People from the Province of Segovia