José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa

José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa (June 3, 1743 - June 30, 1821) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator in America. During the Spanish American wars of independence, he was viceroy of Peru from August 20, 1806 to July 7, 1816.

He was taken prisoner by the British during his voyage from Spain and was unable to assume the position of viceroy in Lima until 1806. Abascal promoted educational reforms, reorganized the army, and put down local rebellions after taking office. During his presidency, the last cargo of black slaves in Peru was landed in 1806. An adult male slave sold for 600 pesos at the time.

When the revolution in Buenos Aires broke out on May 25, 1810, Abascal reoccupied the provinces of Córdoba, Potosí, La Paz and Charcas (in Alto Per, now Bolivia) and reincorporated them into the Viceroyalty of Peru. (These provinces were separated from Peru when the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata was established in 1776.) In the Battle of Huaqui, Alto Per, a royalist army defeated rebels.

He also reincorporated Chile and Quito (Ecuador) into the Peruvian Viceroyalty. (Quito had been in the Viceroyalty of New Granada since the colony's separation from Peru in 1739.)

Abascal was a devoted and tireless supporter of absolute monarchy; however, he sent money and supplies to the Cortes of Cadiz in their fight against Napoleon. As a result of the Cortes' reforms, the Lima Inquisition was temporarily abolished during his administration. Due to the distance between Peru and Spain, as well as wars in Spain and the Americas, he governed almost independently of his mother country. He fought hard to suppress the independence movements in Spanish America, transforming Peru into a royalist reactionary hotspot. Abascal fought to prevent the liberal Spanish Constitution of 1812 from being implemented in Peru after its proclamation in Spain. This sparked revolts in Cusco, Tacna, and Arequipa, all of which were put down.