Félix María Calleja del Rey | |
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60th Viceroy of New Spain | |
In office 4 March 1813 – 20 September 1816 |
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Monarch | Ferdinand VII of Spain |
Preceded by | Francisco Javier Venegas |
Succeeded by | Juan Ruiz de Apodaca |
Personal details | |
Born |
Félix María Calleja del Rey Bruder Losada Campaño y Montero de Espinosa 1 November 1753 Medina del Campo, Spain |
Died | July 24, 1828 Valencia, Spain |
(aged 74)
Félix María Calleja del Rey Bruder Losada Campaño y Montero de Espinosa (Spanish: Félix María Calleja del Rey, primer conde de Calderón) (November 1, 1753, Medina del Campo, Spain – July 24, 1828, Valencia, Spain) was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of New Spain from March 4, 1813, to September 20, 1816, during Mexico's War of Independence. For his service in New Spain, Calleja was awarded with the title Count of Calderon.
Captain Calleja del Rey accompanied the Count of Revillagigedo to New Spain in 1789, when Revillagigedo took up the position of viceroy. Calleja became commander of an infantry brigade in the intendancy of San Luis Potosí. Under the government of Viceroy Miguel José de Azanza he fought with severity and cruelty to subdue the Indians of the area. He also fought against Anglo-American filibusters who were encroaching on the underpopulated Spanish territory of Texas. Among the officers under his command was Ignacio Allende, who was later to become a hero of Mexican independence. Calleja is famous for his finishing of the biggest insurrections in his time, the 1811 and the 1813 insurrections. He succeeded in killing the three famous leaders of these revolts, Hidalgo, Allende, and Morelos.
Calleja married Francisca de la Gándara, a very rich Criolla and owner of the hacienda of Bledos.