Ignacio De Soroeta
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Ignacio de Soroeta was a Spanish administrator who was a
corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...
in
Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...
and then briefly Governor of Paraguay in 1731. Soroeta's governorship was in name only; he never ruled nor was accepted as governor within colonial Paraguay.


Biography

Soroeta was born in Éibar in Basque Country to noble parents. He left for Spain's overseas empire at some point and became a
corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...
in Cuzco. The Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Castelfuerte, appointed him as the new governor of Paraguay to take over for interim governor
Martín de Barúa Martín de Barúa (d. Buenos Aires, Governorate of the Río de la Plata, August 18, 1739) was a Spanish soldier and administrator in the Spanish Empire. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Santa Fe, Argentina, Santa Fe between 1714–1716 and ...
. Unfortunately for Soroeta, rumors spread in Paraguay that Soroeta was an ally of the hated Jesuits and disliked former governor Diego de los Reyes Balmaseda, while the popular Barúa had been an opponent of the Jesuits during his term as governor. Despite the entreaties of former governor Barúa and Bishop Palos during December 1730, the citizenry wished to deny entry to their new governor; Barúa resigned in frustration, and elections to the cabildo put a new slate of members hostile to Soroeta and the Jesuits. When Soroeta arrived at the outskirts of
Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...
, Paraguay, in January 1731, he was refused entry by the citizenry. He was allowed four days to briefly tour the city, but after being convinced that he would be unable to take up the governorship, he left on January 28, leaving the governorship vacant. Soroeta returned to Lima, the viceregal capital 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 ...
. His report of the troubles in Paraguay led to the execution of disgraced former governor
José de Antequera y Castro José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...
and his advisor Juan de Mena; the Viceroy was convinced that Antequera had sympathizers or allies who were behind the rejection of Soroeta. Soroeta's rejection is considered the beginning of the second phase of the Revolt of the Comuneros of Paraguay.


References

{{Reflist Governors of Paraguay