Enríquez de Almansa, Martín (c. 1508–1583)
Enríquez de Almansa, Martín (c. 1508–1583)
Martín Enríquez de Almansa (b. ca. 1508; d. 1583), viceroy of New Spain (1568–1580) and of Peru (1580–1583). Although from a noble family of Castile, Enríquez did not inherit a title and little is known of his early life. Appointed viceroy of New Spain at the age of sixty, he brought a strong rule to the colony in the aftermath of the Cortés-Ávila conspiracy. He was authoritarian and at times bad tempered, but he was also just and kindly toward the Indians. He refused to grant colonial demands for a total war against the wild Chichimecs of the north. That and his imposition of the detested alcabala (sales tax) made him unpopular. A wise administrator, he is generally credited with having raised the prestige of the viceroy's office. He reluctantly accepted the viceroyalty of Peru in 1580 and died in Lima three years later.
See alsoSpanish Empire .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Antonio F. García-Abásolo González, Martín Enríquez y la reforma de 1568 en Nueva España (1983).
Additional Bibliography
Cañeque, Alejandro. The King's Living Image: The Culture and Politics of Viceregal Power in Colonial Mexico. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Stafford Poole C.M.