Pedro Romero de Terreros

Pedro Romero de Terreros, Count of Regla (June 28, 1710 – 1781) was a Spanish merchant and philanthropist.

Early life Pedro Romero de Terreros was born in Cortegana, Spain, on June 28, 1710, the fifth of six children and fourth son of Ana Gómez and José Romero de Terreros. His parents had little land or wealth but were related to the two largest landowners in Cortegana. Pedro and his brothers were all literate, although no documentation has been found as to how they were educated. Pedro showed signs of having a superior intellect, and his parents originally considered having him trained for the priesthood. As a younger son, Romero de Terreros would not have received the same support from his parents as his elder brothers received, and he would have needed to find his own way. Several members of his extended family had previously emigrated to the New World and operated successful businesses there, and his eldest brother Francisco had emigrated in 1723 to work for their uncle Juan Vázquez Terreros;

About 1730, Romero de Terreros traveled to Mexico. According to a contemporary account, Romero de Terreros's trip may originally have been to settle his brother's estate, but he chose to stay and assist his uncle.

On his arrival, Pedro learned that his uncle was almost bankrupt; rather than being trained, Pedro was instead almost immediately given full authority over his uncle's businesses. After his uncle's death in 1735, Romero de Terreros administered the estate. In the will, Vázquez praised Romero de Terreros for his "activity, accuracy, and good work". By 1747, however, he settled his uncle's estate; money from the sale of the businesses was distributed to Vázquez's children.

Career Romero de Terreros showed an affinity for making money and soon brought the businesses back into profitability. As his personal wealth rose, so did his social status. He served as alcalde of Querétaro, and in 1752 was given an honorary knighthood in the Order of Calatrava. Spanish King Ferdinand VI granted Romero de Terreros a special exemption so that he could be inducted into the order from Querétaro rather than have to travel to Spain for the ceremony.

Personal life On June 29, 1756, The Miravalle family was in dire financial straits, so Trebuesto was given no dowry. and, as a wedding present, gave her a large amount of jewelry, including two dresses covered in diamonds, and sponsored dowries for several young women to join convents in the city. The wedding celebration lasted two days and cost over 66,000 pesos, much more than Romero de Terreros would later pay for his home in Mexico City. The ceremony was officiated by the Archbishop of Mexico Manuel Rubio y Salinas.

Romero de Terreros lobbied very hard to be elevated to the nobility. His request was granted in 1768, when he was named the first Count of Regla (Conde de Santa María de Regla).

Colonization, charity, and mission benefaction In the 1740s Romero de Terreros became a patron of the Franciscan order in Mexico. From 1745 through 1781 he gave 41,933 pesos to the Franciscan seminary College of San Fernando de México and another 91,023 pesos to the seminary College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, as well as 100,000 pesos for the monastery in Pachuca.

Romero de Terreros attempted to endow a convent on the grounds of the College of San Fernando de México in 1756, but the head of the seminary refused the request.

After three years, the government would pay mission expenses, and the government would also fund a garrison to protect the missionaries. Unlike most missions, this one would report to the viceroy instead of the governor. Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá was established in 1757. The mission was destroyed, and Father Terreros killed, the following year by Comanche who were angered that the Spanish had allied with the Comanche's traditional enemies, the Apache.

Besides his support for the Catholic Church in Mexico, Romero de Terreros also gave funds to civil authorities. He funded a battleship for the Spanish Navy.

Between 1774 and 1777, Romero de Terreros established the Monte de Piedad, a charitable institution and pawnshop, as an attempt to provide interest-free or low-interest loans to the poor.

Art The destruction of the mission of San Sabá in the province of Texas. Oil on canvas. 237 x 527.5 cm. ca. 1765. Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico. An English translation of the inscription is found on the article on painter José de Páez. In 1762, Romero de Terreros commissioned a painting to honor his cousin who had died in the attack on the San Sabá mission. The resulting The Destruction of Mission San Sabá in the Province of Texas and the Martyrdom of the Fathers Alonso Giraldo de Terreros, Joseph Santiesteban is the earliest painting known to depict a historical event in Texas. According to the Handbook of Texas, the painting is "the only such work executed in Mexico in the mid-1700s that attempted to document a contemporary historical event". It remained in the Terreros family for the next 200 years.

Legacy Beginning in 1750, Romero de Terreros retained every letter addressed to him as well as most of his written business records. His descendants preserved this archive. Some of the records now reside at Washington State University, while the rest remain with the family. According to his biographer Edith Boorstein Couturier, "no equivalent archives exist for other important eighteenth-century figures". In the decades since, Terreros has been written about several times, largely in terms of his impact into labor relations within Mexico.