Joaquín del Real Alencaster was a Spanish soldier who served as the governor of New Mexico between 1804 and 1807.
Biography
Early years
Real Alencaster was born in Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain, around 1761, but was raised in Algésiras, where he lived from the age of one. The son of Antonio del Real and María Antonia Alencaster, he also had a brother, Antonio. He began his military career as a cadet on 5 January 1773, obtaining the "subteniente" rank on 5 January 1780. Seven years later, on 16 September 1787, he reached the rank of teniente. Later, on 5 October 1790, he became in "ayudante mayor" and, on 23 April 1794, he became a Captain. On 4 September he was promoted to Teniente Coronel. He served in the Regimiento de Zaragoza, the "Segunda Batallón de Infantería Ligera de Voluntarios de Aragón", and the Santa Fe presidial company. In addition, he also participated in the expedition to Algiers on 8 July 1775 and in the siege of Oran between 8 June and 30 July 1791, among others.
Government of New Mexico
Alencaster was named governor of Santa Fe de New Mexico in 1804 and embarked with his brother from Cádiz to New Mexico on the 2nd of June 1804. During his term as governor, he donated money to restore the church of Santa Fé, and the citizens of New Mexico soon followed his example. The donations financed the construction of a new floor, a new door for the church, and two new side doors. Because New Mexico had only five priests, Alencaster asked the Bishop to prohibit the priests from performing more than one mission, including the military chaplain in Santa Fe, so that the priests could say mass in both churches on the days of mandatory attendance. This situation arose due to New Mexico not having permanent priests in missions or due to vacancies. Because he needed to study the relationships of couples who wanted to marry, the governor asked the Bishop to grant waivers to "prohibited relationships". On the other hand, Alencaster raised taxes and suppressed the smuggling of contraband. The most important event during his administration was a crisis of civil disobedience which he managed to defuse. Outsiders coming from United States were extending their jurisdiction to areas controlled by the Plains Indians. The locals irregularly traded with the Plains Indians, especially the Comanche people. Alencaster established measures to limit this activity. He wanted to limit the range of New Mexican products that could be traded at the annual fair in Chihuahua, Mexico. So, he prohibited the sale of sheep to the Navajo people and harvested the grain of the Río Arriba people in order to sell grain at the Presidio of Santa Fe. However, Miguel de Sandoval promoted the disobedience of the inhabitants of New Mexico and the maintenance of traditional trade with the Comanches to the governor, which caused a revolt that ended only when its participants knew the leaders of the revolt had not been jailed. In midsummer of 1806, Real Alencaster organized the Lewis and Clark search expedition. About five hundred soldiers under LieutenantFacundo Melgares were sent to the Missouri River. After six months of campaign, Melgares reached the Missouri River, but never found Lewis and Clark. He was replaced as governor of New Mexico by Alberto Maynez in 1807.
