- Benito Pérez Brito
Benito Pérez Brito de los Ríos y Fernández Valdelomar (1747,
Barcelona —August 3 ,1813 ,Panama City ) was a Spanish military officer and colonial official. FromMarch 21 ,1812 to November 1812, he was viceroy of New Granada.Background
Pérez entered the military in 1762 as a cadet in the Regiment of Navarre. He rose in rank to field marshal. He held various posts in America, among them lieutenant of the king in
Puerto Rico and inHavana . Thereafter he was named captain general andintendente ofYucatán , a post that he occupied from 1800 to 1811.As viceroy of New Granada
In August 1810 he was named viceroy of New Granada to replace
Francisco Javier Venegas (who had never actually occupied the position). He stopped first inMérida and Havana to gather resources for the reconquest of Cartagena, which was in rebel hands. He made his capital atPortobelo in Panama, because the capital of the viceroyalty, Bogotá, was also held by rebels. He arrived in Portobelo onFebruary 19 ,1812 , without bringing any military reinforcements.He established the "
Audiencia " of Bogotá in Panama (February 21 ,1812 ). The following March 21 he was officially sworn in as viceroy. He tried to aid the royalists ofSanta Marta .Pérez resigned the viceroyalty in November 1812 under pressure from the Spanish government in
Cádiz , which required him to resign nearer to Bogotá. He died in Panama onAugust 3 ,1813 . Four days later rebelSimón Bolívar made his triumphal entry intoCaracas , his native city, reestablishing the Venezuelan Republic.References
*es icon Plantada y Aznar, Jorge, "Biografía genealógica del excmo. señor don Benito Pérez de Valdelomar, mariscal de Campo de los reales ejércitos, del hábito de Santiago, XIV Virrey de Nueva Granada : Ascendencia, consanguinidad y descendencia (1747-1813)". Madrid : Instituto Salazar y Castro, 1962.
External links
*es icon [http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/historia/primera/noticias.htm A chronology]
*es icon [http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/agosto1991/agosto2.htm Very brief biography]
*es icon [http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/p/perez_de_valdelomar.htm Very brief biography]
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