José de Armendáriz, first Marquis of Castelfuerte and XXVIII Viceroy of Peru . He was born in Ribagorza (Navarra) in 1670. Son of Juan de Armendáriz Irisarri and Josefa de Perurena y Muguiro. It is said that he was the most distinguished soldier who came from the peninsula to hold a position in the viceroyalty, because he was the only one who arrived in Peru holding the title of captain general of the army. In fact, he had begun his career as a cavalry captain, participating during the Flanders War in the Fleurus (1690) and Neerwingen (1693) encounters. He later had a notable performance in the War of Succession, serving as field master of the dragoon corps in Catalonia; in this condition he attended the siege of Palamós and the campaign on Barcelona.
Successively promoted to brigadier and field marshal, he participated in the war in Portugal and in the siege of Gibraltar (1704). In the concluding stages of the great contest he led the royal army in the battle of Lagudina (1708) and had decisive action in that of Villaviciosa (1710), which largely defined the triumph of the Bourbon party. These meritorious campaigns earned him the Order of Santiago, possession of the parcels of Montizon and Chiclana, and the title of Marquis of Castelfuerte, which was granted to him in 1711.
During the reign of Felipe V he intervened in the pacification of Aragon, exercised the governorship of Tarragona and took part in the Sicilian war, contributing to the victory of Francavilla (1718) .
José de Armendáriz as Viceroy of Peru
He was serving as Governor and Captain General of Guipúzcoa when, in 1723, he received the dispatches appointing him to the Viceroyalty of Peru. He left the port of Cádiz, and in his transit through the Isthmus of Panama he adopted severe measures to combat the clandestine trade of the English and the raids of the pirates.
In Lima he took official possession of the government on May 14, 1724. Here he had among his main advisers the Creole polygrapher Pedro de Peralta Barnuevo, to whom he later entrusted the writing of his long memoir of viceroy.
The British researcher Adrián Pearce, who has recently studied the political significance of the administration of the Marquis of Castelfuerte, points out that this ruler had the virtue of imposing a program of reforms in line with the style and priorities of the House of Bourbon, thus putting an end to the turbulence and inefficiency that had characterized the viceregal administration of Peru in the preceding decades. Castelfuerte represents the archetype of the officers at the service of the Bourbon dynasty, willing to aggressively execute the principles of regalism and to make the interests of the State prevail. Among other important measures, he strove to restore the fleet system and reduce smuggling (by French and English) in overseas trade. With a convenient assignment of troops and the fortification of Panama, Cartagena and Callao, he preserved the coasts of the viceregal territory. He ordered the execution of the rebel José de Antequera (1731), who having been sent as investigating judge of an accusation against the governor of Paraguay, Diego de los Reyes, imprisoned him and seized the governorship, confronting head-on the authority of the viceroy. . Armendáriz finally left the government in the hands of his successor, the Marquis of Villagarcía, on January 4, 1736 . He embarked on the ship "San Fermín" bound for Acapulco, and from there he continued on his way to Spain. The crown flatteringly rewarded his merits with the Golden Fleece necklace, the highest of Hispanic decorations.