Pedro Sánchez de Mathos

Pedro Sánchez de Mathos[lower-alpha 1] (c. 1635[6] - c. 1705) was the first municipal magistrate of Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1692.[7] He was appointed mayor by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Robles de Lorenzana.[8] He had been regidor (a type of municipal councilman) in San German in 1676 and was its mayor in 1688.[9]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is De Mathos and the second or maternal family name is Sanchez.

Pedro Sánchez de Mathos
1st Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
In office
1692–1701
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byDámaso de Toro
Personal details
Bornc. 1635[1]
San German, Puerto Rico[2]
Diedc. 1705
Coamo, Puerto Rico
NationalityPuerto Rican
Spouse(s)(1st) Juana de Gracia (m. d. unknown)
(2nd) Ana Benitez de Luyando (m. 26 July 1662)
(3rd) Maria Colon[3]
RelationsJuan Lorenzo de Mathos (father)
Catalina Sanchez (mother)[4]
ChildrenJuan Blas[5]
ResidencePonce, Puerto Rico
OccupationTeniente a guerra
ProfessionMilitary

He was born around 1635 in San German, Puerto Rico. His parents were Juan Lorenzo de Matos and Catalina Sanchez.[lower-alpha 2][10] In 1686, Sánchez de Mathos owned six slaves, making it likely he was a landowner or cattle rancher and used slave labor to tend to the land or his cattle.[11]

Background

The difficulty of crossing the Cordillera Central, sometimes taking as long as 37 days,[12] created unique challenges for the Spanish-appointed authorities in San Juan to govern over the entire island. As a result, the island was divided into two political regions—one based in San Juan and a second one based in San German. As years went by the political influence of the partido de San German grew to the point that it challenged that of San Juan. To reign in the growing influence from San German and maintain control over the entire island, in 1678-1683, Governor Juan Robles de Lorenzana attempted to establish additional administrative units, called partidos, carving some of them, including the one for Ponce, out of the San German jurisdiction. The plan was unsuccessful, as the governor's term came to a close and no one was interested in serving as the head of such new Partido de Ponce.[13] In 1690, a new governor, Gaspar de Arredondo y Valle, sent a letter the Real Audiencia of the Indies in Santo Domingo where he proposed the creation of five new administrative units, including one in Ponce. As the letter went unanswered, in 1692 the governor proceeded to create, not five administrative units, but five military units, which would be headed by a military officer who would function as mayor and have powers for civilian oversight as well. In 1692, during the governorship of Gaspar de Arredondo y Valle, the Spanish Crown officially gave its blessing to the creation of the Partido de Ponce, but Ponce was already operating with a military commander functioning as a mayor, Pedro Sánchez de Mathos.[14]

Mayoral term

Given that Sánchez de Mathos was already functioning as Teniente a guerra in the jurisdiction of Ponce since December 1685, the creation of the Partido de Ponce was more of an official confirmation of his position than an appointment to a newly created position.[15] Pedro Sánchez de Mathos functioned as mayor until 1701. He received no payment of his service as mayor.[16]

See also

References
  1. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Page 103.
  2. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Page 103.
  3. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Pages 103-104.
  4. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Pages 103-104.
  5. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Pages 103-104.
  6. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Page 103.
  7. Ponce. Puerto Rico Encyclopedia. Archived 7 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Ponce: Notas para su Historia (Second Edition). Archived 18 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservacion Historica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 17. Accessed 19 February 2018.
  9. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De criadero a partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Page 31.
  10. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Page 103.
  11. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. "De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810." Editorial Akelarre. 2015. Page 23.
  12. Ponce: Notas para su Historia (Second Edition). Archived 18 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservación Histórica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 10. Accessed 19 February 2018.
  13. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. "De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810." Editorial Akelarre. 2015. Page 18.)
  14. Ponce: Notas para su Historia (Second Edition). Archived 18 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservación Histórica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 17. Accessed 19 February 2018.
  15. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Orígenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Page 37.
  16. Eduardo Neumann Gandia. Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. 1913. p. 43.

Footnotes
  1. Also, "Pedro Sánchez de Matos" and "Pedro Sánchez Matos". See Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez, De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. Editorial Akelarre, 2015, pages 22,23.
  2. At the time, it was common to use the mother's last name as the first last name followed by the father's last name as the second last name. See Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada de la Historia de los Origenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. First Edition. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CEISO). Editorial Akelarre. 2015. ISBN 1516895487. Page 103.

Further reading
  • Luis Caldera Ortiz. Nuevos Hallazgos Sobre el Origen de Ponce. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico. 2019. pp. 129-136. ISBN 9781075058325</ref>
Political offices
Preceded by
Position established		 Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
1692-1701		 Succeeded by
Dámaso de Toro
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