Mariano Ricafort Palacin y Abarca
| Mariano Ricafort Palacín | |
|---|---|
| 61st Governor-General of the Philippines | |
|
In office October 14, 1825 – December 23, 1830 |
|
| Preceded by | Juan Antonio Martinez |
| Succeeded by | Pasqual Enrile y Alcedo |
| Governor of Cuba | |
|
In office 1832 – March 1834 |
|
| Preceded by | Francisco Dionisio Vives |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Tacon |
| Intendant of La Paz | |
|
In office 1816–1817 |
|
| Preceded by | José María Laudavere |
| Succeeded by | Juan Sánchez Lima |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 20, 1776 Huesca, Spain |
| Died | October 16, 1846 Madrid, Spain |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Awards | Order of Isabella the Catholic, Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit, Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild, Order of St. Anna |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Spain
|
| Rank |  |
| Battles/wars | Peninsular War |
Mariano Ricafort Palacín y Abarca (1776–1846) was Governor of Cuba, Intendant of La Paz, part of Rio de la Plata, and the 61st Governor-General of the Philippines. He was an able administrator and a governor of judgment and energy.
Born in 1776, Ricafort was the son of José Ricafort y Abarca, Advocate of the Royal Council, and Juana Palacín y Aysa, a member of a noble family in Huesca. He was baptized at the Cathedral of Huesca and was later made regidor of the town for life.
In 1793, he enlisted in the military and served as an infantry cadet during the campaign in Roussillon. In October 1799, he was promoted to first lieutenant. During the War of the Oranges in 1801, he took part in a Spanish expedition against Portugal. He also participated in the Peninsular War, during which he was taken prisoner in October 1811. He was appointed by the Duke of Wellington as military governor of Badajoz in 1812. He was colonel of the reunited Regiment of Extremadura at the end of the war in 1815.
Ricafort was promoted to a brigadier in 1816 after the campaign in Alto Peru. During General Pablo Morillo's expedition to Caracas, Puerto Cabello and Cartagena de Indias (United Provinces of New Granada), he took part in a military campaign to fight Simon Bolívar's revolutionary armies. During this time, Ricafort was seriously wounded by a rifle shot in the bottom of the right leg; the bullet broke his tibia and fibula and left some shrapnel embedded in the skin. He was appointed Minister of the Tribunal Supremo de Guerra y Marina at Cusco, Peru, before becoming the Intendant of La Paz, which was the capital of the intendancies of Rio de la Plata. After he became the perpetual ambassador of the City of Paz in Peru, he returned to Spain and subsequently did not see any more active service until 1825.
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