Antonio Sebastián de Toledo, 2nd Marquis of Mancera
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Don Antonio Sebastián Álvarez de Toledo Marqués de Mancera Grandee of Spain Caballero de Alcántara |
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| Viceroy of New Spain | |
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In office October 15, 1664 – December 8, 1673 |
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| Monarch | Philip IV |
| Preceded by | Diego Osorio |
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Veragua |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1608 Madrid, Spain |
| Died | 1715 Madrid, Spain |
| Spouse(s) | Leonora María del Carretto Juliana Teresa de Meneses |
| Religion | Catholic |
Antonio Sebastián Álvarez de Toledo Molina y Salazar, 2nd Marquis of Mancera, Grandee of Spain (c. 1608 – Madrid,1715) was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat who served as Viceroy of New Spain from October 15, 1664 to December 8, 1673.
Antonio Sebastián Álvarez de Toledo was born in Spain, but grew up in Peru, where his father, Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Mancera, was viceroy from 1639 to 1648. As a young adult he joined the colonial navy and commanded squads against Dutch pirates. He returned to Spain with his father in 1648, and was subsequently majordomo of the royal palace, and then ambassador in Venice and Germany. On December 30, 1663 King Philip IV of Spain named him viceroy of New Spain, although the Council of the Indies had initially rejected him on grounds of his poor health.
The Marquis arrived in Chapultepec and remained there some days before making his formal entry into Mexico City. While in Chapultepec he gave orders that no celebration was to accompany his arrival, because the treasury of the colony had been exhausted by remittances to Spain and the war against the English. However he also ordered that the 16,000 pesos intended for the celebration be used for a filigreed golden box to be sent as a present to the king. He entered Mexico City October 15, 1664, and took up his office.
The viceroy and his wife, the virreina, became patrons of the seventeenth-century nun and savant, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
In 1668, the English pirate Robert Searle sacked and destroyed the plaza of St. Augustine, Spanish Florida. He stole (among other things) the payroll intended for the garrison there. To guard against a recurrence, Viceroy Álvarez de Toledo reorganized the Armada de Barlovento (coast guard). He ordered the construction of fast, heavily armed ships for the fleet. These expenses and other expenses of the administration nearly ruined the already depleted treasury. Nevertheless, the viceroy continued the reconstruction of the cathedral of Mexico City. Its ornate interior was finally finished in 1666, and the second dedication of the cathedral was held on December 22, 1667.
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