Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas
| Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas y Ribadeneira | |
|---|---|
| 7th Governor and Captain-General of the Philippines | |
|
In office June 1, 1590 – October 25, 1593 |
|
| Monarch | Philip II of Spain |
| Preceded by | Santiago de Vera |
| Succeeded by | Pedro de Rojas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 1, 1519 Viveiro, Galicia, Spain |
| Died | October 25, 1593 (aged 74) Caca (now Dasmariñas), Philippines |
Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas y Ribadeneira (1 January 1519 – 25 October 1593) was a Spanish politician, diplomat, military officer and colonial official. He was the seventh governor-general of the Philippines from May or June 1, 1590 to October 25, 1593. The city of Dasmariñas, located 24 km south of Manila, was named after him. Dasmariñas was a member of the Order of Santiago.
Pérez Dasmariñas was born in Viveiro,Galicia, Spain. He was named governor of León on January 30, 1579. There he built the meat market and various fountains and streets. His work there was viewed favorably, and he was promoted to corregidor of Murcia, Lorca and Cartagena, Spain on September 27, 1584. He held these positions until January 1, 1587. In 1589 he was named governor and captain general of the Philippines by King Philip II. At the same time, Philip increased the salary of the position to 10,000 Castilian ducados per year and made Pérez Dasmariñas a knight of the Order of Santiago.
His orders included the suppression of the Audiencia of Manila, something that had been requested by the Spanish settlers in the Philippines. He also had instructions to establish a garrison of 400 soldiers, paid at His Majesty's expense, for the defense of the colony.
Pérez Dasmariñas sailed for New Spain (Mexico) on December 8, 1589, on the same ships as Luis de Velasco (hijo), the newly appointed viceroy of New Spain. Continuing his journey, Pérez Dasmariñas left from Acapulco on March 1, 1590 and arrived in Manila in May, or, according to his own account, on June 1.
Upon taking office, he quickly suppressed the Audiencia and established the garrison. He worked diligently to build a stone defensive wall around the city of Manila, so diligently that this project was nearly completed by the time of the governor's death in 1593. He rebuilt Fort Santiago. He also had the cathedral of Manila constructed in stone, and encouraged private citizens to build their dwellings in stone.
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