Carlos Benites Franquis de Lugo
Carlos Benites Franquis de Lugo (1691–?), was a Spanish governor of Texas between 1736 and 1737. He was a very critiqued governor. De Lugo favored the total or partial abandonment of several missions and accused the previous governor Manuel de Sandoval of criminal actions, so sent him to prison. Ultimately, his economic mismanagement of Texas led the province to near bankruptcy. However, he favored the distribution of river waters through the "dula". Biography Early years Franquis was born in La Orotava, Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). In 1736, he was chosen to govern Tlaxcala, in the modern Mexico, by Philip V. However, when Franquis reached the province, he learned that the position was not yet vacant, because his predecessor had not yet left his political office. Because Franquis could not take office, the Viceroy became him in interim governor of Texas, since the previous governor, Manuel de Sandoval, had left the government of the province before the king had appointed a new governor. On his trip to Texas, he passed through Monclova, in Coahuila, where he criticized the administration of Clemente de la Garza Falcón. Franquis questioned that Falcón was doing everything possible to defend the Spaniard populations from the Amerindians