Miguel Gerónimo de Esparza (1678–1767) was a Spanish nobleman, who served during 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 ...

as Attorney and

Regidor A regidor (plural: ''regidores'') is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of ''regedor''. Mexico In Mexico, an ayuntamiento (municipal council) is composed of a municipa ...

of Buenos Aires. He also served as Captain of the Militias and acting Mayor of Buenos Aires for several periods.

Career History

Miguel Gerónimo de Esparza y Rodríguez was born in Buenos Aires, the son of Alejo de Esparza, distinguished Captain and merchant originally from Lumbier,

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, and Escolástica Rodríguez, a Creole belonging to a family of the first settlers. He probably did his elementary studies in Buenos Aires, and the tertiary at the

University of Saint Francis Xavier The Royal and Pontifical Higher University of San Francisco Xavier of Chuquisaca (USFX; ) is a public university in Sucre, Bolivia. It is one of the oldest universities in the New World. In many historical texts, it is also referred to as the Uni ...

, where he graduated in law. He began his political and military career during the end of the period of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. He was present in the

Cabildo of Buenos Aires The Cabildo of Buenos Aires () is the public building in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, that was used as a seat of the cabildo (council), town council during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, colonial era and the government house of t ...

when Buenos Aires was granted the title of Very Noble, and very loyal City, granted by His Majesty King

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

. Esparza bought the title of perpetual regidor of the city of Buenos Aires in 1718, and made his oath before the notary Don Francisco de Merlo, on March 18 of the same year. He participated in the negotiations between the City Council and John Truppe (president

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

), on the sale of 25 thousand bull leathers to the Asiento de Inglaterra. He served as Regidor Perpetuo (dean councilor) of Buenos Aires until 1766, during the viceroyalty of

Manuel de Amat y Junyent Manuel de Amat y Junyent, OSJ, OM () (March 1707 – February 14, 1782) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator. He was the Royal Governor of the Captaincy General of Chile from December 28, 1755, to September 9, 1761, and V ...

. As a member of the city council, Miguel Gerónimo de Esparza, dealt with matters concerning the problems caused by the bullfights held in the Plaza Mayor, prior to the creation of Plaza de Toros de Montserrat and

Plaza de Toros del Retiro Plaza de Toros del Retiro was a bullfighting coliseum of Buenos Aires of the 19th century. This Bullring, Arena was established in the city during the last years of the colonial period. History The Plaza de Toros del Retiro was made by the ar ...

. He also took part in the debates due to the problems arising from the Portuguese settlements 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 ...

the issue of the Guerra del Asiento, between Spain and England, the cobblestone work of the Riachuelo riverbank, the question of the incursions of the

Pampas The Pampas (; from Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all o ...

tribes, and matters related to the death of

Ferdinand VI Ferdinand VI (; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned (''el Prudente'') and the Just (''el Justo''), was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the ...

, and the assumption of his successor

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. He also took part in the request for the foundation of a Bethlehemite Brothers hospital in Buenos Aires. In 1752, he and the other deputies informed his Majesty about the deterioration of the Cathedral of the City, and take part in the contracting of the architect Antonio Masella, who started the reconstruction works of the Cathedral in 1753. He had a long career in legal matters in the Río de la Plata. In 1719, he served as a defensor de pobres ( defender of minors), and like

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

or adviser of Buenos Aires. He also was appointed to the position of conjuez de menores (

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of minors) in 1745. In 1731, Esparza was designated as Fiel Ejecutor, a charge that consisted in the inspection and control of commercial activity in 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 1746, he served temporarily as

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

ordinario of the city of Buenos Aires in substitution of Gaspar de Bustamante, alcalde of second vote. He returned to occupy the post of mayor of second vote in 1760, this time in substitution of Don Joseph de Iturriaga. In 1744, he was appointed by the governor

Domingo Ortiz de Rosas Domingo Ortiz de Rosas y García de Villasuso, 1st Marquis of Poblaciones () (1683–1756) was a Spanish soldier who served as governor of Chile. As Governor of Chile Ortiz de Rosas was Governor from 1746 to 1755, during which time he moved the c ...

, to take charge of the completion of the padron (

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

) of the city of Buenos Aires. Miguel Gerónimo de Esparza was also in charge of providing services in ceremonies and public events in Buenos Aires. For several periods it was designated as Alférez Real, in charge to attend the patronal party in honor of San Martín de Tours, patron of the City and the

archdiocese of Buenos Aires The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Bonaerensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Argentina. It is a metropolitan archdiocese with 13 suffragan sees in ...

. In 1725, he took part in the senses tributes that were made in the city to the Monarch

Louis I of Spain Louis I (; 25 August 1707 – 31 August 1724) was King of Spain from 15 January 1724 until his death in August the same year. His reign is one of the shortest in history, lasting for just over seven months. Infante of Spain (1707–1709) Lou ...

, died on August 18, 1724. In 1733 he participated in the festivities of the city on the occasion of the Conquest of Oran by the Spanish Empire. Like many politicians of the time Esparza, was also dedicated to the military career. He took part in various military campaigns against the incursions of the Pampas, including his actions against the tribes of the Calelián chief in the northern territories of the Province of Buenos Aires. He also served as contador del Ramo de Guerra (Council of War) and as a commander in the

Fuerte de Buenos Aires The Fort of Buenos Aires was a fortress destined to defend Buenos Aires and to be the seat of the Spanish colonial authorities in the city. Its construction began in 1595 and after several refurbishments it was finished only at the beginning of t ...

, the main fortification of the city. He was also dedicated to commerce, he belonged to the select group of neighbors of Basque and Creole origin, who had ties to Cadiz. Among these neighbors was Juan de la Palma y Lobatón,

Domingo de Basavilbaso Domingo de Basavilbaso (1709 – 1775) was a Spanish politician and military, who served during the colonial period of Argentina as alcalde, comandante, procurador and regidor of Buenos Aires. He was the founder of the Basavilbaso family in Bueno ...

, his colleagues in the Ayuntamiento, and Alonso García de Zúñiga, belonging to one of the most powerful families of Río de la Plata. Miguel Gerónimo de Esparza was one of the most veteran politicians and military of the colonial period of Buenos Aires. In 1764 he took oath to his son

Juan Miguel de Esparza Juan Miguel de Esparza (1712–1766) was a Spanish military man, merchant and politician, who had a long career as a colonial official of the Viceroyalty of Peru, where he held the honorary positions of alcalde and regidor. He took part in numerou ...

, who had been elected alcalde of first voto. And two years later (1766) at the age of 87, he was sworn to the alcalde Miguel de la Rocha Rodríguez. That same year, he resigned from the position of Regidor décano of the city of Buenos Aires in favor of

Gregorio Ramos Mexía Gregorio is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Gregorio Aglipay (1860–1940), Filipino revolutionary and first supreme bishop of the Philippine Independent Church * Gregorio Conrado Álvarez (1925–2016), Uruguay ...

Family

He was married on July 2, 1706 in the Buenos Aires Cathedral to Antonia Cabral de Melo, daughter of Antonio Cabral de Melo y Carbajal and Leonor de Morales y Manzanares, belonging to noble families of Portuguese and Spanish roots. Esparza's wife was related to the family of

Amador Vaz de Alpoim Amador Vaz de Alpoim (1568–1617) was a Portuguese nobleman, who served as Officer of the Royal Armies, conquistador, colonizer and explorer of South America in the service of the Spanish Crown. He was the founder of the Cabral de Melo Alpoim fam ...

and Pedro Morales y Mercado. He and his wife were parents of several children including

, a distinguished government official of the city, who served as regidor and alcalde. His brother Joseph de Esparza, was a politician who had an active participation as a colonial official. He was married to María Verdún, a noble woman, relative of Bernardino Verdún de Villayzán. His sisters María de Esparza and Ines de Esparza, were related to distinguished military of Basque origin. María was married to Gabriel Ximénez, born in

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, and Inés with Juan de Zenarro, native of

Pasaia Pasaia () is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community of northern Spain. It is a fishing community, commercial port and the birthplace of the famous admiral Blas de Lezo and of the fashion de ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

. In 1717, Miguel Gerónimo de Esparza attended as a witness in the marriage of his cousin, María Josefa Zenarro Esparza with Pedro Gribeo, (descendant of Domingo Gribeo) who served as Lieutenant governor of

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has ...

in 1728. Miguel Gerónimo de Esparza died on September 10, 1767, receiving the funeral honors on the part of its comrades of the Cabildo, including

Vicente de Azcuénaga Vicente de Azcuénaga Iturbe (January 1706–1787) was a Spanish-born Argentine businessman and politician. From Durango, Vizcaya, Spain, he arrived in Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos ...

and Manuel de Basavilbaso, alcaldes of first and second voto. His wife, Doña Antonia Cabral de Melo, died in 1769. Juan Miguel de Esparza and Antonia Cabral de Melo were owners of a luxurious house, built of

bricks A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building u ...

and tile

roof A roof (: roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of tempera ...

, with a

kitchen A kitchen is a room (architecture), room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a Kitchen stove, stove, a sink ...

, a

bedroom A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterized by its usage for sleeping. A typical Western world, western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds, a clothes closet, and bedsid ...

, a

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

with two bedrooms, a water

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

, an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

, fruit trees. It was located on the streets San Martín and Piedad, current

Calle Reconquista Calle may refer to: Places *Calle-Calle River, southern Chile Film and television *''Calle 7'', a Chilean TV Show *''Calle 54'' (2000), a documentary film Music *Calle 13 (band), a Puerto Rican hip hop band *"Calle Ocho" (2009), a hip hop song ...

and

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of Argentine Civil Wars#National unification, unified Argentina. Mitre i ...

, barrio de San Nicolás, and inherited by his daughters Sebastiana and Leonor de Esparza, who requested in their will that a Chaplaincy be founded on the same site of the house.

References

External links

Matrimonios 1656-1762

Bautismos 1713-1727

Acuerdos del extinguido Cabildo de Buenos Aires
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esparza, Miguel Jeronimo 1678 births 1767 deaths Viceroyalty of Peru people People from Buenos Aires Mayors of Buenos Aires Spanish colonial governors and administrators 18th-century Spanish nobility 18th-century Spanish businesspeople