Francisco Merry y Colom
Francisco Merry y Colom | |
|---|---|
Portrayed in La Ilustración Española y Americana, 1905 | |
| Spanish Ambassador to Italy | |
| In office April 10, 1899 – May 4, 1900 | |
| Preceded by | Cipriano del Mazo y Gherardi |
| Succeeded by | Enrique Dupuy de Lôme |
| In office July 10, 1895 – November 16, 1897 | |
| Preceded by | Juan Antonio de Rascón |
| Succeeded by | Cipriano del Mazo y Gherardi |
| In office August 24, 1890 – January 31, 1893 | |
| Preceded by | Cipriano del Mazo y Gherardi |
| Succeeded by | Juan Antonio de Rascón |
| Spanish Ambassador to Germany | |
| In office 1875–1888 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 May 1829 Seville, Spain |
| Died | 4 January 1900 (aged 70) Rome, Italy |
| Relations | Rafael Carlos Merry del Val (cousin) |
| Children | María del Carmen Merry y López de la Torre Ayllón |
Francisco Merry y Colom, 1st Count of Benomar (1 May 1829 – 4 January 1900) was a Spanish diplomat. He served as Spanish representative in Morocco after the Hispano–Moroccan War, travelling to Marrakesh in 1863. Later in his career, he also served as Ambassador in Berlin and Rome. He was the Spanish representative in the Berlin Conference.
Early life
[edit]Merry y Colom was born in Seville on 1 May 1829.[1] He was the son of Antonio Merry y Gayté and Dolores Colom y Osorio. His paternal grandparents were Joseph Merry and Manuela Gayté y Escobar. Through his paternal uncle, Rafael Merry y Gayté, he was a first cousin of fellow diplomat Rafael Carlos Merry del Val (father of the Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alfonso Merry del Val, 1st Marquess of Merry del Val,[2] and Rafael Merry del Val, the Cardinal Secretary of State to Pope Pius X).[3][4]
Career
[edit]He began his diplomatic career in 1849, serving as diplomatic attaché at the Ministry of State and later in Washington.[5] Following the start of the War of Africa (the Hispano–Moroccan War), he was destined near the military leadership in the conflict and was involved in the negotiations of the peace settlements.[5] He was appointed chargé d'affaires and Consul general in Tangier in 1860.[5]
In February 1863, he was summoned by General Serrano, the then Minister of State in the O'Donnell government (and a victor in the War), to lead a diplomatic mission near the Moroccan Sultan.[6] Eventually, the new Foreign minister, Manuel Pando, briefed Merry with the specific goals for his mission.[6] Those included the rehabilitation of Muley El-Abbás, the sultan's hispanophile brother, the fostering of commercial activity in Ceuta and Melilla by means of the creation of a custom, the opening of the Port of Agadir to Spanish ships, facilitating the meat provision to Ceuta, and the improvement on the status of Spaniards in Morocco.[7] Upgraded to the rank of Minister–Resident, Merry thus travelled to Tangier, and then to Marrakesh and back to Tangier from May to July 1863.[6] In his time in the Court of Mohammed IV, Merry helped to establish the basis for peacetime commercial and diplomatic relations with the Sherifian Empire.[8]
Following his time in Africa, Merry was appointed as Minister Plenipotentiary to Berlin, where he was upgraded to the rank of Ambassador.[5] Alfonso XII granted Merry the nobiliary title of Count of Benomar in 1878.[5] He also served two times as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Italy.[5]
Personal life
[edit]Merry y Colom was married to Dame Bernardina López de la Torre Ayllón y Jaspe (1847–1924), a daughter of the Spanish Minister of State, Luis López de la Torre Ayllón and Josefa Jaspe y Macías. Together, they were the parents of:
- María del Carmen Merry y López de la Torre Ayllón (b. 1881), who married Friedrich Johann von Seidler, Baron von Seidler in Rome in 1911.[9][10]
He died in Rome on 4 January 1900.[1] His daughter succeeded him as Countess of Benomar.[1]
Legacy
[edit]While informed of a Euro-centric worldview, his diaries about his experience in 1863 (edited in 1984 in Madrid under the title Mi embajada extraordinaria a Marruecos en 1863) constitutes a source of great historiographical value both for the understanding of the Hispano–Moroccan relations and for observations on geographical, demographic, social, economic, cultural and political features of the country.[8][11]
References
[edit]- Citations
- ^ a b c Moreno y Morrison 1929, p. 257.
- ^ "A. MERRY DEL VAL, 79, SPANISH DIPLOMAT; Marquis Served as Ambassador to London for Thirteen Years". The New York Times. 28 May 1943. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "The Pope's Secretary of State: An Account of Cardinal Raphael Merry Del Val". World's Work. W. Heinemann: 238. 1904. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930), Roman Catholic Cardinal". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Cuenca 1900, p. 23.
- ^ a b c Olábarri Gortázar 2014, p. 255.
- ^ Pérez Beltrán 2016, p. 313.
- ^ a b Pastor Garrigues 2015, p. 335.
- ^ The Titled Nobility of Europe: An International Peerage, Or "Who's Who", of the Sovereigns, Princes and Nobles of Europe. Harrison & Sons. 1914. p. 329. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ Enderle-Burcel, Gertrude (10 October 2022). Heinrich Wildner Tagebücher 1938-1944: "Heute geht es gegen die Juden, morgen kann es gegen die anderen gehen..." (in German). Böhlau Wien. p. 863. ISBN 978-3-205-21454-0. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ Pérez Beltrán 2016, pp. 313–314.
- Bibliography
- Cuenca, Carlos Luis de (15 January 1900). "Excmo. Sr. D. Francisco Merry y Colom". La Ilustración Española y Americana. XLIV (II). Madrid. ISSN 1889-8394.
- Moreno y Morrison, Roberto (1929). "Guía de la nobleza española (continuación.)". Revista de Historia y Genealogía Española. III (15). Madrid: 256–276. ISSN 0211-2280.
- Olábarri Gortázar, Ignacio (2014). "Vilar, María José, Diario del viaje y Misión Diplomática de Francisco Merry y Colom a Marraquech en 1863" (PDF). Memoria y Civilizacin̤. 17. Pamplona: Servicio de publicaciones Universidad de Navarra: 255–257. ISSN 1139-0107.
- Pastor Garrigues, Francisco Manuel (2015). "Vilar, María José, Diario del viaje y misión diplomática de Francisco Merry y Colom a Marraquech en 1863, Murcia, Ediciones de la Universidad de Murcia, 2014, 228 pp" (PDF). Pasado y Memoria. Revista de Historia Contemporánea (14). Universidad de Alicante: 319–364. doi:10.14198/PASADO2015.14.13-6.
- Pérez Beltrán, Carmelo (2016). "Vilar, María José. Diario del viaje y misión diplomática de Francisco Merry y Colom a Marraquech en 1863". Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos. Sección Árabe-Islam. 65. Universidad de Granada. Servicio de Publicaciones: 311–313. ISSN 1696-5868.