Jerónimo Grimaldi

From Hispanopedia
Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini
Portrait of Jerónimo Grimaldi
Born
Paolo Girolamo Grimaldi

(1710-07-06)July 6, 1710
Genoa, Republic of Genoa
DiedOctober 1, 1789(1789-10-01) (aged 79)
Genoa, Republic of Genoa
OccupationsDiplomat, statesman
Title1st Duke of Grimaldi, Marquis of Grimaldi
Parent(s)Francisco María Grimaldi; María Giovanna Pallavicini

Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini (Genoa, July 6, 1710 – ibidem, October 1, 1789) was a diplomat, politician and statesman of Genoese origin in the service of the Hispanic Monarchy during the reigns of Ferdinand VI and Charles III. A key figure of Bourbon reformism, he played a central role in foreign policy and in the administrative reorganization of 18th-century Spain.

After a long diplomatic career at the principal European courts—among them Versailles, The Hague and Rome—he attained the office of Secretary of State (1763–1777), becoming one of the most influential ministers of Charles III. His tenure is associated with the signing of the Third Family Compact (1761), the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War, and the promotion of the policy of centralization and strengthening of royal power.

As the principal architect of Spanish diplomacy in the second half of the 18th century, he promoted administrative modernization, the strengthening of the navy, and relations with France and the Mediterranean powers. He was created Marquis and later Duke of Grimaldi (1777), with Grandeeship of Spain of the first class, and was also a knight of the Golden Fleece and of the Order of Charles III.

Historiography regards him as one of the most representative figures of enlightened reformism prior to Floridablanca: a pragmatic politician, a defender of centralizing absolutism and of royal authority against the supporters of a pactist monarchy such as the Count of Aranda. His diplomatic work helped place Spain within the framework of the Bourbon alliances, ensuring the recovery of the monarchy's international prestige after the crisis of the mid-century.[1]

Biography

Origins and education

He came from the Genoese aristocracy: he was the son of Francesco María Grimaldi and María Giovanna Pallavicini.[2] His family ties were connected with the lineage of Giovanni Battista Grimaldi, count palatine and Lord of Montaldeo, who obtained from the Emperor Charles V the privilege of enriching the family coat of arms with symbolic elements of the Byzantine Empire.

Although his higher education has not been documented with certainty, his diplomatic career suggests that he had training in the humanities, languages and European protocol.

Diplomatic career

In 1739 he was appointed envoy extraordinary of the Republic of Genoa to the Spanish court in Madrid, which introduced him into the Hispanic diplomatic milieu.[3] During that period, he also assumed the office of Superintendent General of Mails and Posts (domestic and foreign) under the Spanish Crown.

In the following years he represented Spanish interests at multiple European courts: Parma, Vienna, Munich, Sweden (1749–1753), and missions to the Elector of Hanover and in Parma.[4] Between 1753 and 1760 he was ambassador at The Hague, and later at Versailles (1761–1763).

In France he promoted the Third Family Compact (1761) between Spain and France, aligning them against England.[5]

He took a decisive part in the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) and the Treaty of Paris (1763), which redefined Spain's colonial possessions, such as the cession of Florida to the United Kingdom and the acquisition of Louisiana.

Secretary of State

In October 1763 he was appointed First Secretary of State and of the Office, following the fall of Ricardo Wall, and led the Spanish government until 1776 (or early 1777). During that time he headed the so-called "Grimaldi Cabinet," which promoted reforms in the navy, finances and the administration of the overseas territories. The Cabinet included several key figures of Spanish enlightened reformism, such as León de Arroyal, Miguel de Múzquiz (Finance and fiscal reformism), Julián de Arriaga (Navy and the Indies), Pedro Rodríguez Campomanes (Council of Castile and economic policy), José de Gálvez (Overseas administration), and later Floridablanca, who acted as collaborator and natural successor of Grimaldi himself.[6]

In 1766, during the Esquilache Riots, his Madrid residence was sacked in the popular disturbances that broke out in the capital. The uprising, provoked by discontent with the public order and urban reform measures promoted by Esquilache, minister of Charles III, turned into a violent protest against the foreign ministers and the symbols of reformist policy,[7] especially against the circle of ministers regarded as "Italians" and close to the Monarch.[8] However, far from weakening his influence, these events consolidated his position as a trusted figure of the King, who kept him in his post of Secretary of State and entrusted him with reorganizing the cabinet to restore political order. Grimaldi then promoted a policy of stricter control over urban corporations and ecclesiastical bodies, in line with the reformist absolutism of the period.

In 1767 he took an active part in the Junta that decreed the expulsion of the Jesuits from all the dominions of the Crown, a measure of great political and social repercussion.[9] The expulsion entailed the confiscation of their property, the dissolution of their colleges and missions, and the strengthening of state control over education and ecclesiastical finances.[10] Grimaldi played a decisive role in the diplomatic implementation of the measure, securing the cooperation of the Catholic powers and the neutrality of the Holy See.[11]

During his tenure at the head of the Secretariat of State, Grimaldi negotiated and signed several treaties of international scope that consolidated the position of the Spanish monarchy in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Notable among them are the Treaty of Peace and Commerce with Morocco (1767), which established formal diplomatic relations with the Sultanate, the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation with France (1768), a commercial declaration with the Republic of Genoa (1772), and the Convention for the suppression of smuggling (1774).[12][13]

His political prestige was seriously damaged by the failure of the Expedition against Algiers of 1775 in North Africa. The campaign, poorly planned and carried out under adverse logistical conditions, ended in a military debacle that discredited the promoters of the project and the foreign policy of the Cabinet.[14]

The accumulation of tensions and the attrition resulting from the Algerian failure led Charles III to accept his resignation in 1777. He was replaced at the Secretariat of State by his collaborator and natural successor, José Moñino, Count of Floridablanca, who would continue the reformist line under a more rationalized and systematic program.[15]

Last years

After his resignation, Charles III posted him as ambassador to the Holy See, an office he held between 1776 and 1785. In Rome he acted as a key intermediary between the Bourbon monarchy and the papacy, in a context of tensions over the regalist reforms and the ecclesiastical reorganization following the expulsion of the Jesuits.[16]

Although formally retired from the political front line, he continued to exert influence in Spanish and Italian diplomatic circles until the end of his life. He died in Genoa on October 1, 1789, after a prolonged stay in his native city, where he had lived since his return from Rome.[17]

Titles and honors

On February 8, 1777, Charles III granted him the title of Duke of Grimaldi, with Grandeeship of Spain of the first class.

He was also a knight of the Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece, Grandee of Spain, Supernumerary Knight of the Order of Charles III, and Commander of the French orders of Saint Michel and Saint Esprit.

Legacy

The figure of Grimaldi is paradigmatic of the model of the enlightened official of 18th-century Spain: a man of enlightened Europe who reached the administrative summit through diplomacy, implementing modernization projects at a moment of imperial crisis.[18]

His work prepared the ground for the policies of Floridablanca and consolidated the transition toward the reforms of Floridablanca and the consolidation of enlightened absolutism in Spain.[19]

Bibliography

  • Paulino García Diego, Jerónimo Grimaldi: el ministro olvidado. (pdf)[20]
  • "Grimaldi, Girolamo (1710-1789)". Polymath Virtual Library / Larramendi.[21]

References

  1. ↑ Martínez Shaw, Carlos (2018). "Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini". Diccionario Biográfico Español (in español). Real Academia de la Historia.
  2. ↑ "Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini — Historia Hispánica" (in español). Real Academia de la Historia.
  3. ↑ "Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini — Historia Hispánica" (in español). Real Academia de la Historia.
  4. ↑ "Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini — Historia Hispánica" (in español). Real Academia de la Historia.
  5. ↑ "Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini — Historia Hispánica" (in español). Real Academia de la Historia.
  6. ↑ Lynch, John (1989). Bourbon Spain 1700–1808. Basil Blackwell.
  7. ↑ Lynch, John (1989). Bourbon Spain 1700–1808. Basil Blackwell.
  8. ↑ Herr, Richard (1996). España y la revolución del siglo XVIII (in español). Fondo de Cultura Económica.
  9. ↑ Callahan, William J. (1984). Church, Politics, and Society in Spain, 1750–1874. Harvard University Press.
  10. ↑ Martínez Shaw, Carlos (2019). El reformismo borbónico (1759–1789) (in español). Crítica.
  11. ↑ Martínez Shaw, Carlos (2018). "Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini". Diccionario Biográfico Español (in español). Real Academia de la Historia.
  12. ↑ Martínez Shaw, Carlos (2018). "Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini". Diccionario Biográfico Español (in español). Real Academia de la Historia.
  13. ↑ Lynch, John (1989). Bourbon Spain 1700–1808. Basil Blackwell.
  14. ↑ Rodríguez Villa, Antonio (1881). La expedición de Argel de 1775 (in español). Imprenta de Fortanet.
  15. ↑ Martínez Shaw, Carlos (2019). El reformismo borbónico (1759–1789) (in español). Crítica.
  16. ↑ La Parra López, Emilio (2016). Carlos III: Un monarca reformista (in español). Marcial Pons.
  17. ↑ "Pablo Jerónimo Grimaldi y Pallavicini — Historia Hispánica" (in español). Real Academia de la Historia. 2018.
  18. ↑ "Jerónimo Grimaldi: el ministro olvidado" (PDF) (in español). Instituto Jovellanos / Paulino García Diego.
  19. ↑ "Jerónimo Grimaldi: el ministro olvidado" (PDF) (in español). Instituto Jovellanos / Paulino García Diego.
  20. ↑ "Jerónimo Grimaldi: el ministro olvidado" (PDF) (in español). Instituto Jovellanos / Paulino García Diego.
  21. ↑ "Grimaldi, Girolamo (1710-1789)". Polymath Virtual Library.
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