Francisco de Merlo (1693-1758) was a Spanish notary and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who served during the Viceroyalty of Peru as Notary Mayor of the Government of Buenos Aires. He was the founder of the city of Merlo (Buenos Aires Province), and also took part in the foundation of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

in the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), or more fully Banda Oriental del Río Uruguay, was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay, the modern state of Ri ...

Biography

Merlo was born in

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

, son Antonio de Merlo and Juana Gerónima Barbosa, a distinguished Spanish family. He was married twice, first in Spain to María Teresa de Gámiz, daughter of Pedro Gamiz de las Cuevas and Tomasa Álvarez de Lasarte, natives of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. And second on November 30, 1713 in Buenos Aires, with Francisca del Toro, daughter of Damián del Toro and Lucía González de Marquina, belonging to an illustrious family. On September 19, 1716, Francisco de Merlo was appointed as Escribano Mayor de Gobierno of the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. In 1717, he notified the City Council of Buenos Aires about the death of King

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, who had died two years ago in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. Exercising the position of notary of government he participated in the founding act of the city of Montevideo. And on August 28, 1755 he founded the town of Merlo in

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

. Francisco de Merlo and his wife Francisca del Toro, were

godparents Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child's baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, ...

of Antonio Espinosa Barrionuevo, descendant of Baltasar de Barrionuevo, a Spanish conquistador, born in

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipalit ...

References

External links

familysearch.orgfamilysearch.orgHistoria del Partido de Merlo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merlo, Francisco de 1693 births 1758 deaths Viceroyalty of Peru people Spanish colonial governors and administrators Politicians from Seville Military personnel from Seville Politicians from Buenos Aires Spanish notaries