Bruno Mauricio de Zabala
Bruno Mauricio de Zabala y Gortázar (Durango de Vizcaya, Spain, October 6, 1682 - Paraná River of the Río de la Plata governorate, January 31, 1736) was a Spanish soldier who served as governor of the River Plate from 1717 to 1734 and briefly on an interim basis in 1725, also as governor of Paraguay, the latter position being the one he would occupy again in 1735. He is considered the founder of the city of Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay..
Biography
He was born in the suburb of Zabala, located on the outskirts of the town of Durango (currently integrated into the urban area of this town), in the province of Vizcaya (Basque Autonomous Community, Spain). His birthplace is preserved today and on one of his walls you can see two plaques commemorating his founding work beyond the seas.
He was the son of Nicolás Ibáñez de Zabala, known in Durango as "the Governor", who after having held positions in the colonial administration in the Viceroyalty of Peru had returned to his hometown of Durango, with a good fortune and a prominent social position. Nicolás was mayor of Durango on 2 occasions. At 50 years of age he married Catalina de Gortázar, who was 26 years younger than him and from this marriage two years later, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala was born in 1682. Bruno Mauricio was orphaned by his father at the age of three. and he spent his childhood and adolescence in his hometown.
At 19 years of age he began a brilliant military career. He participated in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) on the side of the claimant Philip V. There were numerous military events in which he participated during this long war: the Flanders Campaigns, the Siege of Gibraltar (1704-1705), the Attack of San Mateo and the taking of Villarreal in the Maestrazgo, etc. In the Siege of Lérida (1707) he lost an arm. In the Battle of Zaragoza (1710), while wounded, he was taken prisoner, but managed to escape.
Once the war was over and in reward for the services rendered, the new monarch Felipe V promoted Bruno Mauricio de Zabala to the position of field marshal, before he had reached the age of 35. In addition to that he was appointed governor and captain general of the Río de la Plata.
Governor of the Río de La Plata (1717-1734)
Bruno Mauricio de Zabala was the governor who remained at the head of the Governorate of the Río de La Plata the longest throughout its history, more than 16 and a half years.
He took possession of his government position in Buenos Aires on July 11, 1717. The situation he found upon his arrival was complicated. The Río de La Plata was a zone of friction between Spanish, English, French and Portuguese interests. Although the Spanish Crown considered all the territory under its sovereignty, it had lost control over the Eastern Band. French pirates had occupied Maldonado and Castillejos in the Banda Oriental and under the Treaty of Utrecht Spain had had to return the Colonia del Sacramento, also in the Banda Oriental, to Portugal. The English, French and Portuguese carried out continuous looting and landings in the area. The Spanish colonial troops that had to repel these attacks showed a high degree of relaxation and indiscipline.
Zabala's first task was to reverse this situation. He first managed to dislodge the French, after fighting with them and capturing two of their ships. To prevent the French from settling in that place again, he ordered the construction of Fort San José. As for the Portuguese, he could not evict them from the Colonia del Sacramento, since the Treaty of Utrecht protected them, but he could prevent his influence from spreading to the rest of the Eastern Band. At the end of 1723, some 300 infantry soldiers of the Portuguese Navy, from Rio de Janeiro, landed in the port of Montevideo and began to fortify the heights surrounding the bay. Aware of this fact, Zabala led a flotilla of three ships that left Buenos Aires for Montevideo with the intention of evicting the Portuguese. The Portuguese, outnumbered, decided to withdraw. Without wasting time Zabala decided to continue with the fortification of Montevideo and left a garrison of ten cannons, twelve Spanish soldiers and a thousand Indians to defend the square. On December 20, 1724, a census of inhabitants was drawn up and, finally, on December 24, a delineation plan was drawn and it was designated San Felipe de Montevideo, a name that would later be abbreviated to Montevideo. It was in honor of the King of Spain Felipe V. Over time, as the festival of San Felipe and Santiago was celebrated, it ended up as if Montevideo had been founded with those two names. According to the official register, it was originally made up of fifty families of Canarian origin. More than 1000 tapes (Guarani) to whom Africans of Bantu origin will later be added as slaves. In December 1726, Montevideo acquired city status. Bruno Mauricio de Zabala is generally considered the founder of the future capital of Uruguay.
In 1717 he was appointed captain general of the Río de la Plata, where he repressed piracy and confronted the Portuguese, who wanted to take over the eastern bank of La Plata. To defend the area from Portuguese attacks, he built a fort in 1723, which became the nucleus that would give rise to the city of San Felipe and Santiago de Montevideo, the future capital of Uruguay. He was also named captain general of Chile in 1731, although he did not take office.
Governor of Paraguay (1725 and 1735-36)
In 1725 the viceroy of Peru, Marquis of Castelfuerte, ordered Zabala to put down the rebellion called the Second Communal Revolution of Paraguay, led by José de Antequera y Castro in Asunción. Zabala was commissioned by the viceroy to go to Asunción, arrest Governor Antequera and appoint a new governor of Paraguay. Zabala formed an army in Misiones with contingents of Tapes Indians and presented himself at its head on April 29, 1725 in Asunción. His mere presence was enough for Antequera to flee and Zabala entered the city without resistance, temporarily assuming the authority of the governorate. On May 4 he appointed Martín de Barúa as the new governor before returning to Buenos Aires.
The community revolution in Paraguay did not end, however, with the intervention of Zabala, since it was fueled again in 1731 when the news reached Asunción that Antequera and Juan de Mena, escaped leaders of the revolt, had been sentenced to death. death and executed in Lima. The community members took up arms again and in an armed confrontation in 1733 they ended the life of the newly appointed governor of Paraguay, Agustín de Ruiloba.
Meanwhile, for his brilliant performance at the front of the Río de La Plata, Zabala had been promoted to lieutenant general of the Royal Armies and Knight of the Order of Calatrava. In 1734 he was rewarded by being named Captain General of the Kingdom of Chile. Miguel de Salcedo replaced him as Governor of the Río de la Plata on March 23, 1734. However, before taking office in Chile, he was entrusted with the task of definitively ending the Paraguayan communal uprising.
Zabala had to go from Buenos Aires to Paraguay for the second time to quell a rebellion. This time the campaign was much harder and more painful. He assumed the government of Paraguay for the second time and in 1735 Zabala finally defeated the commoners at Tavapy. Zabala managed to pacify the province but not without implementing extreme measures such as the execution or exile of several community leaders, the repeal of the Royal Provision of 1538, the prohibition of any meeting in the province, etc.
Once his mission was completed, when he returned to Buenos Aires by boat, to travel from there (on horseback) to Santiago de Chile, he suffered a stroke that ended his life at the age of 53. This event occurred on January 31, 1736, in the village and port of San José Mí (current town of Ayolas, on the north bank of the Paraná River), in present-day Paraguay.
| Predecessor: Baltazar García Ros |  Governor of the Rio de la Plata 1717 - 1734 | Successor: Miguel de Salcedo |
| Predecessor: José de Antequera and Castro | Governor of Paraguay (internal) 1725 | Successor: Martin de Barúa |
| Predecessor: Cristóbal Domínguez de Ovelar | Governor of Paraguay 1735 - 1736 | Successor: José Martín de Echauri |