Leopoldo de Gregorio, 1st Marquess of Esquilache
Sicilian-born Spanish statesman
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Leopoldo de Gregorio, 1st Marquess of Esquilache, OWE (Messina, 23 December 1699 – Venice, 15 September 1785), known in Spanish as Marqués de Esquilache and in Italian as Marchese di Squillace, was a Sicilian-born Spanish statesman who was Minister of Finance of Spain between 1759 and 1766.
The Marquess of Esquilache | |
|---|---|
Giuseppe Bonito: Portrait of Leopoldo de Gregorio, marchese di Squillace, Madrid, Museo del Prado. | |
| Secretary of State of the Treasury of Spain | |
| In office 25 December 1759 – 1 April 1766 | |
| Monarch | Charles III |
| First Secretary of State | Ricardo Wall Jerónimo Grimaldi |
| Preceded by | Juan Francisco de Gaona y Portocarrero |
| Succeeded by | Miguel de Múzquiz y Goyeneche |
| Secretary of State for War of Spain | |
| In office 1 September 1763 – 1 April 1766 | |
| Monarch | Charles III |
| First Secretary of State | Ricardo Wall Jerónimo Grimaldi |
| Preceded by | Ricardo Wall |
| Succeeded by | Juan Gregorio Muniáin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 December 1699 |
| Died | 15 September 1785 (aged 85) |
| Spouse(s) | Giuseppa Mauro, Giuseppa Verduga |
| Children | 12 |
Biography
Born in Messina, he was the son of Francesco Maria de Gregorio and his wife Maria Orsola Masnada.[1] De Gregorio was one of Enlightenment Spain's leading statesmen from the arrival of Charles III to the Marquis's death in 1785. His ability as a military supplier for the Neapolitan army impressed the king and raised him to royal prominence.[2] He was created "Marquess of Squillace" in 1755.[3]
Charles III had been introduced to reform by his mentor in Sicily, Bernardo Tanucci. Although Tanucci remained behind in the Two Sicilies to advise Charles's son, King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, as the two thrones could not be united by consequence of the treaty, Charles carried with him a cadre of Italian reformers who saw potential in the Spanish bureaucracy for modernization. De Gregorio was one of them and was the architect of the first phase of Charles' reforms.[3]
His attempt to modernize the apparel of the average Spaniard resulted in the Esquilache Riots and in his dismissal. Charles was forced to make Esquilache ambassador to Venice. It was a move that both Charles and Esquilache lamented. Esquilache felt that his measures in Spain had deserved a statue, and would comment that he had cleaned and paved the city streets and had created boulevards, and had nevertheless been dismissed.[3]
He died in Venice.