Pascual Madoz Ibáñez (17 May 1806 – 13 December 1870) was a Spanish politician and statistician.
Biography
In early life Madoz was settled in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, as a writer and journalist. He envisioned the construction of the
Vielha tunnel. He joined the Progresista party formed during the
First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...
, 1833–40. He saw some service against the Carlists; was elected deputy to the
Cortes
Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to:
People
* Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name
** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador
Places
* Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
of 1836; took part for
Baldomero Espartero, Count of Luchana, and then against him; was imprisoned in 1843; went into exile and returned. In 1854 after the
Vicalvarada he was appointed governor of Barcelona. He then returned to his seat as a deputy, presided over the Cortes, and on 21 January 1855 was appointed Minister of Finance. In that role, he proposed and had passed the
civil confiscation law of 1855 which sold off communal lands, Church lands, and those of various
confraternities
A confraternity (; ) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most common among Catholics, L ...
, although he left office shortly after its passage.
Beginning in 1859 he was a member of the governing board over the military retention and enlistment funds. In 1860, he founded and directed the real estate and insurance company "La Peninsular". Unfortunately after initial success, the company floundered leaving Madoz in financial distress.
After the
revolution of 1868 he was appointed governor 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 ...
, but soon resigned over disagreements with the
provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
under
Francisco Serrano.
Nonetheless after
Amadeo of Savoy was to be offered the Spanish throne, Madoz went as a commissioner to
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
in 1870 to offer Amadeo the crown.
Unfortunately he became ill and died there in Genoa. He was later interred in the
Montjuïc Cemetery
Montjuïc Cemetery, known in Catalan as Cementiri del Sud-oest or Cementiri de Montjuïc, is located on one of the rocky slopes of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona.
History
It was opened on 17 March 1883 by the city of Barcelona as its main cemeter ...
in Barcelona.
Works
Madoz was distinguished from most of the politicians of his generation by the fact that in mid-life he compiled what is still a book of value: a geographical, statistical and historical
gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or wikt:directory, directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a co ...
or dictionary of localities in Spain and its overseas possessions,
''Diccionario geográfico, estadístico y histórico de España, y sus posesiones de Ultramar'' (Madrid, 1848–1850). It, along with his ''Atlas de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar'', are considered milestones in Spanish geography.
Public recognition
In Pamplona there is a street, ''Calle de Pascual Madoz'', named in his honor.
Further reading
* originally published in 1982.
*
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madoz, Pascual
1806 births
1870 deaths
People from Pamplona
Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain)
Economy and finance ministers of Spain
Prime ministers of Spain
Government ministers of Spain
Spanish statisticians
Civil governors of Madrid