Home
Hugo O'Connor, born in 1732 in Dublin,…

Hugo O'Connor, born in 1732 in Dublin,…

1776 CE

Hugo O'Connor, born in 1732 in Dublin, Ireland, into the Gaelic-Irish aristocratic O'Connor family, is a descendant of king of Ireland Turlough Mor O'Conor.

For political and religious reasons, when he was eighteen years old—like many other Irish aristocrats—O'Connor had left his homeland and moved to Spain where his cousins Alexander and Dominic O'Reilly, were serving as officers in the Spanish Royal Army; he had been established in Aragon.In his youth he had joined the regiment of Volunteers of Aragon, eventually acquiring the title of major.

During his years in the military, he had been sent to Cuba and Mexico City, where he had distinguished himself by his ability as a military strategist and was appointed captain for the Northern Territory to exercise dominion in the region.

He had gone to Texas to investigate a dispute around San Agustín de Ahumada Presidio between Governor Ángel de Martos y Navarrete and Rafael Martínez Pacheco (future governor of Texas).

It was at this time that he obtained the title of inspector general of the Provincias Internas (general inspector of the Interior Provinces).

Later, in 1767, he had been appointed governor of Texas, in replacement of Martos and Navarrete.

On assuming office, he had found that one of its major cities, San Antonio, had been shattered by frequent attacks of several native tribes.

Therefore, the new governor set up a garrison at Los Adaes to protect the city.

In 1771 he had become commander of the Chihuahua frontier and in January 20, 1773 he had been appointed commandant inspector of presidios under the office of colonel.

He and Governor Juan María Vicencio de Ripperdá had rejected the petition of Antonio Gil Y'Barbo that the settlers be allowed to return to their original homes.

To strengthen the protection of Nueva Vizcaya and Coahuila, O'Connor decides to expel the Apaches in the region, making war against these peoples in 1775 and 1776, killing a large number.

The Apaches who survive flee to more western areas.

Locations

Tucson Pima Arizona United States View →

People

Hugo Oconór View →

Groups

Apache (Na-Dené tribe) View → New Spain, Viceroyalty of View → Spain, Habsburg Kingdom of View → Nueva Vizcaya (New Vizcaya) View → Texas, Spanish View → Coahuila (Spanish Colony) View →

Topics

Colonization of the Americas, Spanish View →

Commodities

Land View →

Subjects

Origins View → Labor and Service View → Conflict View → Government View →

Regions

Northern North America

View →

Subregions

Gulf and Western North America

View →

Related Events

Active Filters

No active filters.

Refine Results

Showing 10 events out of 25585 total

Omai had traveled to Europe on Adventure,…

Omai had traveled to Europe on Adventure, arriving at London in October 1774 where he had been introduced into British society by the naturalist Sir Joseph Banks (whom he had also met during Cook's first voyage).

During his two-year stay in England, Omai has become much admired within London high society.

Renowned for his charm, quick wit and exotic good looks, he had quickly become a favorite of the aristocratic elite.

Banks has regularly invited Omai to dine with the Royal Society and arranged meetings with notable celebrities of the time, including Lord Sandwich, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Frances Burney, and Anna Seward, among others.

Richard Holmes, a British author and academic best known for his biographical studies of major figures of British and French Romanticism, remarks that Omai's idiosyncratic behavior and distinctive bow were widely celebrated.

Indeed, during one famed meeting with King George III at Kew, Omai is said to have delivered his bow then grasped the King's hand, declaring, "How do, King Tosh!"

His portrait was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds among others, and his journey to England and subsequent return to Tahiti with Cook on his third voyage in 1776 will become the subject of a theatrical production, written and directed by the dramatist John O'Keefe, entitled Omai – A Voyage ‘round the World that will be performed during the 1785 Christmas season at London’s Theatre Royal in Covent Garden.

View Event

Researchers establish in 1776 that the Chinese…

Researchers establish in 1776 that the Chinese alloy pai-t'ung (now called nickel silver), is composed of copper, nickel, and zinc.

View Event

Timur Shah Durrani, who spends much of…

Timur Shah Durrani, who spends much of his reign in quelling the rebellions of the tribal chiefs, shifts his capital from Qandahar to Kabul in 1776 because of this opposition.

View Event

The Company openly distances itself from Raghunathrao…

The Company openly distances itself from Raghunathrao and asks him to live as their pensioner, but due to the fear of the Baarbhai, Raghunathrao is unhappy to leave Surat and in fact the Company does not insist on it, so he kept on living there.

Later in 1776, Raghunathrao unsuccessfully tries to get help from the Portuguese.

After this he comes to Bombay.

During this period Company gives him fifteen thousand rupees.

View Event

The British Calcutta Council condemns the Treaty…

The British Calcutta Council condemns the Treaty of Surat, sending Colonel Upton to Pune to annul it and make a new treaty with the regency.

The Treaty of Purandhar (March 1, 1776) annuls that of Surat, Raghunathrao is pensioned and his cause abandoned, but the revenues of Salsette and Broach districts are retained by the British.

The Bombay government rejects this new treaty and gives refuge to Raghunathrao.

View Event

The debt incurred by France during the…

The debt incurred by France during the Seven Years' War, still unpaid, is further exacerbated by Vergennes' prodding Louis XVI to get involved in Great Britain's war with its North American colonies, due to France's traditional rivalry with Great Britain.

Holy Roman Emperor Joseph, amid preparations for sending help to France, and in the atmosphere of the first wave of libelles, comes to call on his sister and brother-in-law on April 18, 1777, the subsequent six-week visit in Versailles a part of the attempt to figure out why their marriage has not been consummated.

It is due to Joseph's intervention that, on August 30, 1777, the marriage is officially consummated.

View Event

The credit crisis of 1772 had greatly…

The credit crisis of 1772 had greatly deteriorated debtor-creditor relations between the American colonies and Britain, especially in the South.

The southern colonies, which produce tobacco, rice, and indigo and export them to Britain, had been granted higher credit than the northern colonies, where competitive commodities are produced.

It is estimated that in 1776 the total amount of debt that British merchants claimed from the colonies equaled ￡2,958,390; southern colonies had claims of ￡2,482,763, nearly eighty-five per cent of the total amount.

Before the crisis, the commission system of trading had prevailed in the southern plantation colonies.

The merchants in London had helped the planters sell their crops and had shipped what planters wanted to purchase in London as returns.

The commission equaled the price of the British goods minus the revenue of the crops.

The planters were usually granted credit for twelve months without interest and at five per cent on the unpaid balance after the deadline.

After the outbreak of the crisis, British merchants urgently called for debt repayment, and American planters faced the serious problem of how to pay the debt for several reasons.

First, because of the economic boom before the crisis, planters were not prepared for large-scale debt liquidation.

As the credit system broke down, bills of exchange were rejected and almost all gold was sent to Britain.

Second, without the support of credit, planters were unable to continue producing and selling their goods.

Since the whole market became crippled, the fallen price of their goods also intensified the pressure on planters.

Owing to the crisis, the colonies have endured hard times to maintain the balance of payments.

View Event

Freemasons' Hall, the permanent headquarters of English…

Freemasons' Hall, the permanent headquarters of English Masonry, opens in London in 1776.

View Event

Adam Smith publishes his masterwork, An Inquiry…

Adam Smith publishes his masterwork, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, in 1776.

His major thesis is that, save for such limited functions as defense, justice, and certain public works, the state should not interfere with the economic life of a nation.

He suggests that businessmen and merchants (in whom he places no trust to do anything other than conspire together against the public or raise prices) are guided “as if by an invisible hand” to promote the well-being of society.

An exponent of free trade, he champions competition and sees monopoly, private or state-imposed, as a great evil.

By some readings, Smith is seen as blessing the expansion of Britain's opium trade and nourishing British policy to maintain the American colonies as backward producers of raw materials and consumers of finished goods.

View Event

The Continental Army forces the British to…

The Continental Army forces the British to evacuate Boston in March 1776, with George Washington as the commander of the new army.

The revolutionaries are now in full control of all thirteen colonies and are ready to declare independence.

There still are many Loyalists, but they are no longer in control anywhere by July 1776, and all of the Royal officials have fled.

View Event