Tejano History

Pez Y Malzarraga, Andres De

Tejanos |

       PEZ Y MALZÁRRAGA, ANDRÉS DE (1657–1723). Andrés de Pez, son of Capt. Andrés de Pez y Capetillo and María de Malzárraga, was born in Cádiz, Spain, and christened in the cathedral there on July 10, 1657. At the age of sixteen he entered the naval guard as an ordinary soldier. In the battle of Palermo, on June 2, 1676, he saw his brother and his father, both naval captains, slain by the French, for whom he thereafter held a lifelong enmity. In his early career Pez served on escort vessels to and from the Americas and acquired the skills of draftsman, cartographer, and cosmographer. Rising through the ranks, he became a company commander in the Armada de Barlovento, the “Windward Fleet” charged with guarding Spanish ships and colonies in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. He won a reputation for “outstanding bravery and efficiency” in combatting French pirates. In June 1686 he became captain of the presidio at Veracruz.

 

Full article on the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas Online

   Courtesy of the Texas State Historical Association.