Francisco Coloma
| Francisco Coloma y Maceda | |
|---|---|
| 28th Governor-General of the Philippines | |
|
In office 11 April 1677 – 25 September 1677 |
|
| Preceded by | Manuel de León |
| Succeeded by | Francisco Sotomayor y Mansilla |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1617 |
| Died | 25 September 1677 Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines |
| Resting place | Santo Domingo Church |
| Profession | oidor |
| Awards |
Order of Calatrava Order of Santiago |
Francisco Coloma y Maceda, Marqués of Canales de Chozas (1617-1677) was a Spanish oidor and licentiate who served as the 29th Governor-General of the Philippines. He is the fifth Governor-General of the Philippines from the Real Audiencia of Manila. Prior to being governor, Coloma served as senior auditor (oidor) in charge of military affairs during the administrations of Governor-General Diego de Salcedo to Manuel de León.
Little is known about the early life of Coloma, who was born in the La Rioja branch of the House of Coloma in 1617. He was a licentiate when he arrived in the Philippines on 29 March 1661 to serve as oidor (auditor) in the Real Audiencia. On 22 June 1662, Coloma married María de Cuellar y Cisneros in the Philippines. During the administrations of Governor-General Diego de Salcedo to Manuel de León, Coloma held the position of senior auditor. As senior auditor, Coloma was in charge of military affairs. This position was challenged by Francisco Sotomayor y Mansilla, who was also part of the Real Audiencia, arguing that he was supposed to be the senior auditor. However, in fear of Salcedo, Sotomayor gave in to Coloma and assumed the second highest position.
When a coup replaced Salcedo with Juan Manuel de la Peña Bonifaz on 28 September 1668, the new administration had Sotomayor and the rest of the members of the Real Audiencia locked up outside Manila. The new governor and his associates seized Salcedo's fortune of 14,000 pesos and the situado brought by the Manila galleon amounting to 400,000 pesos for themselves. To circumvent the threat of Sotomayor, he was exiled from Cavite to Oton, Iloilo on 30 December 1668. While Coloma remained in the city, the associates of de la Peña terrorized his wife so that he could not act on the matter. Meanwhile, the governor appointed two licentiates, Juan de Rosales and Eugenio Gutierrez de Mendoza, to decide on the seniority of Coloma and Sotomayor. However, it was beyond the knowledge of de la Peña that King Charles II of Spain already appointed a new governor on 24 June 1668. He arrived in the Philippines by July 1669, and when he took office in Manila on 24 September of the same year, he put all those involved in the coup to trial. In 1670, he presided over the residencia of Salcedo, which was delayed by the coup two years ago. However, a protest was filed to the Council of the Indies regarding this review. Since he was senior auditor during the Salcedo administration, he was also the governor's asesor (legal adviser). All advice on the governor's acts came from Coloma. In essence, he would be reviewing his own acts. In 1671, Coloma's appointment to take the residencia was cancelled and Sotomayor took over Salcedo's residencia. As for Salcedo, he died while being transported to Mexico for trial.
...
Wikipedia