Portrait of an American Viceroy: Martín Enríquez, 1568–1583

Extract

In the vast panorama of colonial American government, Martín Enríquez de Almansa, Señor de Valderrábano, must be ranked among the most effective, intelligent, and conscientious governors sent to this hemisphere by Spanish monarchs. As fourth viceroy of Mexico (1568–1580) and sixth of Peru (1581–1583), Enríquez was of that distinguished official company—Mendoza, La Gasca, Toledo—which consolidated the loyalty of Spain’s Indies during a critical period of separatist pressures. Though often damned as a cantankerous character and handicapped by advanced age and poor health, Martín Enríquez firmly grasped and stubbornly held the reins of monarchical prestige, giving a restive Mexico twelve years of solid training in toeing the mark of viceregal authority. His twenty-two months in Lima, with death at his elbow, can be considered, at the least, a valuable “breather” which helped lessen irritations growing out of Toledo’s dynamic performance. And it was no small achievement that Martín Enríquez stayed in viceregal office so long during such critical years; this in itself points to an unusual personality, meriting investigation. But there is, of course, much more in the Enríquez story.