Francisco Antonio García Carrasco
| Francisco García Carrasco | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Royal Governor of Chile | |
|
In office April 22, 1808 – July 16, 1810 |
|
| Monarch | Charles IV |
| Preceded by | Juan Rodríguez Ballesteros |
| Succeeded by | Mateo de Toro Zambrano |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
15 December 1742 Ceuta, Spain |
| Died | 10 August 1813 (aged 70) Lima, Peru |
| Profession | Brigadier General |
| Religion | Catholic |
Francisco Antonio García Carrasco Díaz (December 15, 1742 – August 10, 1813) was a Spanish soldier and Royal Governor of Chile. His political relations with Juan Martinez de Rozas and a smuggling scandal involving the frigate Scorpion destroyed what little authority he had, and required that he surrender his post to Mateo de Toro Zambrano. He was the last governor to rule before the Chilean independence movement swept the country.
García Carrasco was born in Ceuta, the son of the Artillery Lieutenant Antonio García Carrasco and of Rosa Díaz. He joined the Royal Spanish Army as an infantry cadet on September 29, 1757. He was promoted regularly, until Lieutenant Colonel of infantry and engineers on July 1, 1784.
In 1785 García Carrasco was sent to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, to supervise the construction of the fortifications of Montevideo. In 1796, he was transferred to Santiago, Chile, as auditor for the construction of the Palacio de La Moneda, and later, as supervisor of the fortifications of the port of Valparaíso, of which he also was named interim Governor.
On February 26, 1802, he was promoted to Colonel of infantry and chief engineer, and on November 29, 1806 to Brigadier and director of the Army engineers corps of the Division of Indias. Governor Luis Muñoz de Guzmán charged him with the inspection of the fortification system in southern Chile, and he was living in Concepción when Gov. Muñoz de Guzmán suddenly died in February 1808.
At the start of 1808, the Captaincy General of Chile—one of the smallest and poorest colonies in the Spanish Empire—was under the administration of Luis Muñoz de Guzmán, an able, respected and well-liked Royal Governor. In May 1808 the overthrow of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII, their replacement by Joseph Bonaparte and the start of the Peninsular War plunged the empire into a state of agitation.
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Wikipedia