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Mariano Luis de Urquijo | |
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.jpg) Portrait byGuillermo Ducker, c. 1800 | |
| Prime Minister of Spain | |
| In office 12 February 1799 – 13 December 1799 | |
| Monarch | Charles IV |
| Preceded by | Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Cevallos |
| In office 7 July 1808 – 27 June 1813 | |
| Monarch | Joseph Bonaparte |
| Preceded by | Pedro Cevallos |
| Succeeded by | Juan O'Donojú |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mariano Luis de Urquijo y Muga 8 September 1769 Bilbao, Spain |
| Died | 3 May 1817 (1817-05-04) (aged 47) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
Mariano Luis de Urquijo y Muga (1769 inBilbao, Spain[1] – 1817 in Paris, France) was Secretary of State (Prime Minister) of Spain in 1799, during the reign ofCharles IV. He later held the position again between 1808 and 1813 underJoseph Bonaparte.
Born to a noble Basque family, he studied law inMadrid andSalamanca. He spent some time living inIreland before entering the Spanish foreign service under the protection of theCount of Aranda and theCount of Floridablanca. It was in 1792, under the Aranda ministry, that he was named High Officer of the Secretary of State (Secretary of the Cabinet). Of progressive ideas, he translated theDeath of Caesar ofVoltaire, then forbidden by theCatholic Church. Due to this, he was prosecuted by theHoly Office.[2]
Despite his French sympathies,[3] he was appointed First Secretary of State (Prime Minister) on 12 February 1799 and remained in office until 13 December 1799. While in office, he did all he could to limit the power and influence ofthe Inquisition, which brought upon him the enmity of theHoly See.[4] Taking advantage of the Napoleonic invasion of thePapal States, he initiated what became known as "Urquijo's Schism" (1799), attempting to reclaim the Spanish Church's powers that had previously been assumed by the Pope, including the authority over matrimonial dispensations.[5]
Even though he was supported by somejansenist-leaning clerics such as the bishop ofSalamanca,Antonio Tavira, his religious policies caused his fall from power.Manuel Godoy had resented Urquijo's rising influence at court, which had begun to eclipse his own. Aligning withEusebio Bardají y Azara, an influential figure in his own right, andNapoleon, who feared Urquijo's policies opposing a French intervention inPortugal, they forced Urquijo's dismissal from office.
His brief term also saw several scientific enterprises being initiated: for instance, he helped arrange an audience with Charles IV forAlexander von Humboldt, enabling Humboldt to gain support for his American expedition.[6] He was instrumental in sendingValentin de Foronda as General Consul of Spain inPhiladelphia, (1801–1807), and as Spanish Plenipotentiary Minister in the USA 'til the nomination by the "Junta" ofLuis de Onis in 1809.
Resenting the conservative and ultra-catholic policies of the Spanish court, he embraced the pro-French government ofJoseph Bonaparte onceNapoleon invaded Spain and replaced Charles IV with his own brother Joseph as King of Spain. After publicly acknowledging Joseph as the lawful King of Spain, Urquijo was called back to court and to become Prime Minister again. He remained in office from 7 July 1808 to 27 June 1813. However, he was unable to carry out any policies apart from assisting French forces during the Peninsular War.
Following the French defeat, Urquijo fled with King Joseph across the Pyrenees to France, where he went into exile. He died in Paris in 1817.
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