Pedro Bravo de Acuña
| Pedro Bravo de Acuña | |
|---|---|
| 11th Governor-General of the Philippines | |
|
In office May 1602 – June 24, 1606 |
|
| Monarch | Philip III of Spain |
| Preceded by | Francisco de Tello de Guzmán |
| Succeeded by | Cristóbal Téllez de Almanza |
| Personal details | |
| Died | June 24, 1606 |
Pedro Bravo de Acuña (died June 24, 1606) was a Spanish military officer and colonial official in the New World and the Philippines. From 1602 to 1606 he was governor of the Philippines.
Bravo de Acuña was recognized for his bravery in the Battle of Lepanto. He became a knight of the Order of St. John, and was named governor of Cartagena de Indias in Tierra Firme on the Caribbean coast in 1593. In 1601 he was named governor of the Philippines.
In May 1602, he arrived in Manila in a convoy of four ships from New Spain, to take up his position as governor of the Philippines and president of the Audiencia of Manila.
Francisco de Tello de Guzmán, his predecessor, was awaiting his juicio de residencia (grievance tribunal), and for that reason he remained in Manila. He died of an illness the following year, in April.
Bravo de Acuña promptly began to construct galleys and other vessels in the shipyard, to defend the sea, which was full of enemies and pirates from other islands, especially from Mindanao. He was much preoccupied with settling matters with the Empire of Japan and with the Sultanate of Sulu, and he also had to see to the ships that were to make the voyage to New Spain.
A few days after his arrival in Manila, Bravo de Acuña received Chiquiro, an envoy from Tokugawa Ieyasu (or Daifu Sama, as he was known to the Spanish), ruler of Japan. Ieyasu wanted to establish trade and friendship with New Spain, and asked for masters and workmen to be sent to Japan to build ships for that purpose and for a navy. Earlier, Viceroy Tello had sent Fray Geronimo de Jesús, a Franciscan, to negotiate a trade and friendship treaty with Ieyasu, and Geronimo had apparently promised Spanish help with these projects. Viceroy Bravo, however, was opposed. To begin with, the greatest security of the Philippines from Japanese attack had been their lack of ships and their ignorance of navigation. As often as the latter had intended to attack Manila, they had been prevented by this obstacle. Secondly, the Philippines had a monopoly on trade between Asia and New Spain (and beyond that, to Spain). The economy of the occupiers was based largely on this trade, and Bravo was not anxious to share it with Japan.
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