Born to a noble Basque family, he studied law in
Madrid and
Salamanca. He spent some time living in
Ireland before entering the
Spanish Foreign Service under the protection of the
Count of Aranda and the
Count of Floridablanca. It was in 1792, under the Aranda ministry, that he was named High Officer of the Secretary of State (Secretary of the Cabinet). Of progressive ideas, he translated the
Death of Caesar of
Voltaire, then forbidden by the
Catholic Church. Due to this, he was prosecuted by the
Holy Office. Despite his French sympathies, he was appointed First Secretary of State (Prime Minister) on 12 February 1799 and remained in office until 13 December 1799. While in office, he did all he could to limit the power and influence of
the Inquisition, which brought upon him the enmity of the
Holy See. Taking advantage of the Napoleonic invasion of the
Papal States, he initiated what became known as "Urquijo's Schism" (1799), attempting to reclaim the Spanish Church's powers that had previously been assumed by the Pope, including the authority over matrimonial dispensations. Even though he was supported by some
jansenist-leaning clerics such as the bishop of
Salamanca,
Antonio Tavira, his religious policies caused his fall from power.
Manuel Godoy had resented Urquijo's rising influence at court, which had begun to eclipse his own. Aligning with
Eusebio Bardají y Azara, an influential figure in his own right, and
Napoleon, who feared Urquijo's policies opposing a French intervention in
Portugal, they forced Urquijo's dismissal from office. His brief term also saw several scientific enterprises being initiated: for instance, he helped arrange an audience with Charles IV for
Alexander von Humboldt, enabling Humboldt to gain support for his American expedition. He was instrumental in sending
Valentin de Foronda as General Consul of Spain in
Philadelphia, (1801–1807), and as Spanish Plenipotentiary Minister in the USA 'til the nomination by the "Junta" of
Luis de Onis in 1809. Resenting the conservative and ultra-catholic policies of the Spanish court, he embraced the pro-French government of
Joseph Bonaparte once
Napoleon invaded Spain and replaced Charles IV with his own brother Joseph as King of Spain. After publicly acknowledging Joseph as the lawful King of Spain, Urquijo was called back to court and to become Prime Minister again. He remained in office from 7 July 1808 to 27 June 1813. However, he was unable to carry out any policies apart from assisting French forces during the Peninsular War. Following the French defeat, Urquijo fled with King Joseph across the Pyrenees to France, where he went into exile. He died in Paris in 1817. == References ==