José Antonio de Mendoza, 3rd Marquis of Villagarcía
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Don José Antonio de Mendoza Marqués de Villagarcía Caballero de Santiago |
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| 29th Viceroy of Peru | |
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In office February 4, 1736 – December 15, 1745 |
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| Monarch | Philip V |
| Preceded by | José de Armendáriz |
| Succeeded by | José Manso de Velasco |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1667 Spain |
| Died | December 17, 1746 (aged 78–79) Cape Horn, Chile |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Signature |  |
José Antonio de Mendoza Caamaño y Sotomayor, 3rd Marquis of Villagarcía de Arousa (sometimes marqués de Villa García) (1667, Spain – December 17, 1746, Cape Horn) was a Spanish colonial administrator in the Americas. From February 4, 1736 to December 15, 1745 he was Viceroy of Peru.
José Antonio de Mendoza was a native of Galicia[1] and a knight of the Order of Santiago. He had been ambassador to Venice and viceroy of Catalonia when King Philip V named him Viceroy of Peru in 1735. He took office in Lima, the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru the following year, at the age of 68 in 1736.
During his administration, war between Spain and England again broke out, the War of Jenkins' Ear, 1739–1748. Viceroy Mendoza organized the defense of the Pacific coast and improved the army and the militia. In 1742 he dispatched a fleet from the port of El Callao to go to defend the coast of Chile.
In 1736 Spanish scientists Jorge Juan y Santacilia and Antonio de Ulloa, sent by the French Academy on a French Geodesic Mission to measure a degree of meridian arc at the equator, arrived in the Viceroyalty colony. Jorge Juan y Santacilia had sailed on the same ship as Viceroy Mendoza. On their return, they reported on the disorganization and corruption in the government and smuggling. The report was posthumously published under the title Noticias Secretas de Américas (Secret News From Americas). Smuggling increased again during this period. The practice was so profitable that merchants were willing to accept the risks
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