Jose Moñino

After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain (1767), Moñino was sent to Rome as ambassador to obtain the papal suppression of the Society of Jesus. He was ennobled (1773) for the success of his mission. In 1776 Charles III appointed him chief minister. Under Conde de Floridablanca, as he was simply known in Spain, the Spanish enlightened despotism reached its peak, and his internal reforms, notably in finance, helped centralize the state. This, however, brought him into conflict with especially the Aragonese faction at court who accused him of embezzlement. After serving a three-year sentence he withdrew from public life. At the age of eighty he made a comeback into political life as he accepted the title of President of the Supreme Central and Governmental Junta that led the defense against Napoleon in 1808.