Juan Ignacio Pérez (July 1761 – 1823) was acting

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

(July 27, 1816 – March 20, 1817). He also excelled as a member of the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

troops in Texas during the

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

War of Independence, and in the war against the American filibusters that had invaded several places of Texas in 1819 and 1821.

Biography

Juan Ignacio Pérez was born to Domingo Pérez and María Concepción de Carvajal and had twelve brothers. Although raised in a military family that participated in the various events that affected Texas, Perez became a wealthy landowner and cattle rancher in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, and in 1809 he was appointed

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the

ranches A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...

located in that region. Perez always maintained a loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy, even during the New Spain War of Independence, which began in 1810. Therefore, when the war of independence broke out, the landowner joined the troops of Gen.

Joaquín de Arredondo Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez), ...

to fight against the independent troops. During the war, he occupied the position of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and participated in the

battle of Medina The Battle of Medina was fought approximately 20 miles south of San Antonio de Bexar (modern-day downtown San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas) on August 18, 1813, as part of the Mexican War of Independence against Spanish authority in Mex ...

. His participation in the war must have been important because he was appointed lieutenant colonel. In 1816 he was appointed interim governor of Texas, a position he held until 1817. During his administration, he fought the

Comanches The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma ...

and freed several prisoners held by this people. It seems that Pérez's economic power was progressively increasing because when Antonio María Martínez governed Texas (1817-1822) he had already become the main cattle raiser in San Antonio. In 1819, following Martinez' orders, Perez led an army of 550 men (later increased to 650 when they were attacked by Native American groups) to fight the American Filibuster that had invaded several places of Texas, capture them and expel them of Texas. His mission, which ended in February 1820, was successful. In 1821, Perez had to face James Long again, who had had a prominent presence among the filibusters in the 1819 conflict, as he had formed a new troop, thus succeeding to besiege La Bahía. Perez captured Log and sent him to a prison in San Antonio. Pérez died in 1823.

Personal life

In 1781, when Pérez was only 20 years old, he married Clemencia Hernández. The couple had several children, three of whom were biological, while the others were adopted. Among the adopted children was a former prisoner of the Comanches, who was adopted by Pérez when he fought against that people. In 1804 Pérez bought the Spanish Governor's Palace for 800 pesos and converted the palace into his family's new residence. In 1814, one of his daughters, María Gertrudis Pérez Cassiano, married Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante (who had been governor of Texas between 1805 and 1808), when she was only twenty-four years old, while Cordero was already sixty-one.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Juan Ignacio Governors of Spanish Texas 1761 births 1823 deaths Ranchers from New Spain