Pedro de Melo de Portugal y Vilhena (29 April 1733 in

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

– 15 April 1797 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

) was a Spanish soldier and politician, who served as viceroy in the Rio de la Plata. Coat of Arms of Pedro Melo de Portugal 2

Biography

He was a member of the Melo de Portugal family, a minor branch of the Portuguese

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza (), also known as the Brigantine dynasty (''dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Americas. The hous ...

. Pedro de Melo served in many military roles in Spain before moving to South America in 1770. He was designated as Governor of Paraguay in 1778 and remained Intendant Governor of the Intendency of Paraguay after the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata or Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires ( or Virreinato de Buenos Aires or ) meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was ...

was created. He was member of the Real Audiencia and worked for the creation in 1794 of a Royal Counsel with viceroy Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo. He was designated viceroy after the resignation of Arredondo, on 16 March 1795. He kept the main policies of previous viceroys: improve the streets of Buenos Aires, or fortified defenses for Montevideo, but he had to face Portuguese incursions on the Banda Oriental. He created laws to deal with the shortage of bread, improved the viceroyal residence, and received ships from the Pacific Ocean. Pedro de Melo was interested in expanding the colonization towards the coastline of

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, ordering

Félix de Azara Félix de Azara y Perera (18 May 1742 – 20 October 1821) was a Spanish military officer, naturalist, and engineer. Life Félix de Azara y Perera was born on 18 May 1746 in Barbuñales, Aragon. He joined the army and attended a Spanish milita ...

to design plans for that purpose. However, Pedro de Melo died before being able to futfill them. Pedro de Melo died on 15 April 1797, still being viceroy. The Real Audiencia took power for a brief period, to prevent a power vacuum in the meantime that the news arrived to Spain and a new viceroy was designated. Antonio Olaguer Feliú arrived shortly after.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melo de Portugal, Pedro 1734 births 1797 deaths Knights of Santiago Viceroys of the Río de la Plata Governors of Paraguay Spanish generals