Spanish general and colonial administrator
Melchior Aymerich
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Born
| 5 January 1754
Ceuta
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Died
| 11 August 1836
Havana, Cuba
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Allegiance
| Spain
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Rank
| Lieutenant General
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Commands held
| Governor of Cuenca Province
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Battles/wars
| Invasion of Algiers, Second Cevallos expedition, War of the Pyrenees, Quito Revolution, Battle of Pichincha
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Spouse(s)
| Josefa Espinosa de los Monteros
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Relations
| Brigadier Vicente Aymerich (father)
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Other work
| Sub-inspector of the troops of the island of Cuba
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Melchor de Aymerich
Melchior Aymerich
(
Ceuta
, 5 January 1754 –
Havana
,
Cuba
, 11 August 1836) was a Spanish general and provincial administrator, serving as the last president of the
Royal Audience of Quito
from April until May 1822.
Biography
[
edit
]
He was the son of Brigadier Vicente Aymerich and Josefa Villajuana.
On 20 November 1762, he entered the Seville Infantry Regiment as a minor cadet and was promoted to second lieutenant on 17 April 1769.
In 1775 he participated in the
Invasion of Algiers (1775)
, and was promoted to lieutenant on 14 February 1776.
That same year, he took part in the
Second Cevallos expedition
to the
Rio de la Plata
, distinguishing himself in the reconquest of
Colonia del Sacramento
on 30 May 1777.
[1]
He was promoted to captain on 9 August 1788, and served in the garrison of
Ceuta
between 1790 and 1792, assisting in its defense against the
Siege of Ceuta (1790?1791)
by the Moroccans. Having received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 16 April 1792, he was assigned to the army of Roussillon, fighting the French Republicans in the
War of the Pyrenees
. In 1793, he saw action in Palua, Argeles,
Villelongue
and Banyuls-les-Aspres. The following year he participated in the
defense
of Boulou on 30 April, but was taken prisoner when the
Fort de Bellegarde
surrendered on 18 September 1794. After regaining his freedom, he received the rank of Colonel on 4 September 1795 and returned to Ceuta, where he served from 1797 to 1800.
He married Josefa Espinosa de los Monteros in
Algeciras
on 27 September 1802.
[1]
Ecuador
[
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]
On 1 May 1802, he was appointed Governor of the
Cuenca Province
in the
Real Audiencia de Quito
, taking office on 19 November 1803 and where he would remain until 1819. In 1809, he held the interim Presidency of the Real Audiencia de Quito and helped crush the
Quito Revolution (1809-1812)
in 1811-1812.
Promoted to Mariscal de Campo on 20 June 1813, he replaced
Juan de Samano
as Commander of the Northern Army the following year, and defeated
Narino's Southern Campaign
, taking Republican commander
Antonio Narino
prisoner in
Pasto, Colombia
, on 10 May 1814.
[1]
He continued in his government of Cuenca, again temporarily occupying the Presidency of the Real Audiencia de Quito from 1819 to 1821. In that last year he had to face the troops of Patriot General
Antonio Jose de Sucre
, whom he first defeated in the
Second Battle of Huachi
(12 September), but was himself later completely defeated in the
Battle of Pichincha
on 24 May 1822, immediately capitulating.
Representation of the Battle of Pichincha
He was expelled from Ecuador and sent to Cuba, where he was appointed sub-inspector of the troops of the island of Cuba in November 1824, a position he held until his promotion to Lieutenant General on 27 August 1834, when he retired.
[1]
References
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edit
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