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O'Donojú, Juan
This last viceroy of New Spain was born in Seville in
1762. He became a soldier and was good enough to be named the Regency's Minister
of War in 1814. When a military mutiny forced King Ferdinand VII to readopt the
liberal Constitution of 1812 in 1820, O'Donojú was named Captain-General
of Andalucía. He was a member of the Liberal Party in Spain and a freemason. In
1821, Agustín Iturbide joined forces with independence guerrillas to declare
independence from liberal Spain. O'Donojú was sent to New Spain (Mexico) as
Captain-General but with the same powers of a viceroy. Landing in Veracruz, he
quickly realized that Iturbide's movement was successful almost everywhere. He
signed the Treaty of Córdoba which was disavowed by the Spanish crown. He
remained in Mexico where he died of lung disease and was buried in the
National Cathedral with full viceregal honors. His widow was given a pension of
12,000 pesos annually by the Mexican government.
Don Mabry
120603
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