{{family name hatnote, Villalba, Toledo, lang=Spanish
Diego de Villalba y Toledo, marqués de Campo, señor de la Villa de Santacruz de Pinares was a Spanish general of artillery and colonial governor in America. From 1667 to 1671 he was governor of
New Kingdom of Granada
New or NEW may refer to:
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* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
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– ''Nuevo Reino de Granada'' – (greater Colombia), then part of the
Viceroyalty of Peru
The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
.
Villalba y Toledo was a knight of the
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...
and majordomo of Juan José of Austria, son of Spanish King Philip IV. From 1647 to 1653 Villalba was governor of
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
.
In 1667 he became governor of Nuevo Reino de Granada (New Granada). During his administration the Grand Bridge over the
Bogotá River
The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca department of Colombia. A right tributary of the Magdalena River, the Bogotá River crosses the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the wester ...
was completed, and also a bridge over the Río Gualí at
Honda
commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
. These were constructed by Indigenous labor. He traveled to
Cartagena de Indias
Cartagena ( ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Region of Colombia, Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past ...
to inspect its defenses after the English pirate
Henry Morgan
Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports o ...
attacked the Castle of San Felipe in 1668. At the same time, there were reports that the French also planned a landing in New Granada.
Because of a shortage of coinage in New Granada, Villalba ordered the silver bars be melted down to make coins of one quarter and one half real.
There was a variety of complaints to the Crown against Villalba's administration, and Bishop
Melchor Liñán y Cisneros
Melchor Liñán y Cisneros (sometimes ''Melchor de Liñán y Cisneros'') (December 19, 1629, Madrid – June 28, 1708, Lima, Peru) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Lima (1677–1708), Archbishop of La Plata o Charcas ( ...
was appointed ''visitador'' (inspector) to investigate them. The bishop ordered that Villalba be arrested and confined in Villa de Leiva. There were 70 charges against him, and he was convicted of robbing the dead. On 2 June 1671, Liñán y Cisneros replaced him on a temporary basis as governor and captain general of New Granada. Liñán y Cisneros later became viceroy of Peru.
Villalba y Toledo died in
Seville
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...