Borja y Aragón, Francisco de (1583–1658)

Francisco de Borja y Aragón (Príncipe de Esquilache; b. 1583; d. 26 September 1658), twelfth viceroy of Peru. The prince of Esquilache, scion of a distinguished Spanish family related to Pope Alexander VI and Saint Francis Borja, was one of the most cultured of royal bureaucrats, an accomplished poet, patron of the arts, and administrator. Esquilache was appointed viceroy in 1614, when he was only thirty-two years old. His rule was marked by its concern with the practice of idolatry among the Indians and with the security of the empire in the face of continuing Dutch threats. His correspondence with the crown was copious and became a model for other viceroys. Nevertheless, there is debate over Esquilache's personal involvement in governing Peru, since it is possible that he left many details to his well-trained staff. Anxious to hurry back to the court to greet the new monarch, Philip IV, he left the viceroyalty in 1621, before his successor arrived. He spent the last thirty years of his life writing poetry.

See alsoPeru: From the Conquest through Independence .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Juan Wyskota Z., El virrey poeta: Seis años de administración de don Francisco de Borja y Aragón en el Perú (1615–1621) (1970).

Additional Bibliography

Jiménez-Belmonte, Javier. "Un príncipe en la república de las letras: Las obras en verso del Príncipe de Esquilache y la formación del campo literario español de la primera mitad del XVII." Ph.D. thesis. Columbia University, 2002.

                                          John F. Schwaller