Fernando Márquez de la Plata

Who was Fernando Márquez de la Plata?

Fernando Márquez de la Plata y Orozco was a Spanish colonial functionary, and a member of the First Government Junta of Chile.

He was born in Seville in August 1740, to a very aristocratic family. The son of Rodrigo Márquez de la Plata y García de Celis and of Luisa de Orozco y Martel. His father was a judge, and latter a member of the Council of Indies. He began his studies at the Colegio de Santo Tomás and then obtained his degree in Canon Law at the University of Seville, graduating as a lawyer. He began his career as a member of the Council of Indies.

In 1776, he was sent to America. He lived first in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, becoming an Appeals Judge between 1781 and 1783. In that year he was promoted to Governor of Huancavelica, Peru, a position he held between 1784 and 1789. He was then named Appeals Judge to the city of Lima. In 1786, he married the Chilean María Antonia Calvo de Encalada y Recabarren. The ceremony was held by proxy, since the groom could not leave his position in Lima. In 1798, he was named President of the Appeals Court of Quito. By then, he was famous for his knowledge, equanimity and good sense. In 1803, he travelled to Chile to assume the position of Regent of the Appeals Court of Santiago.