Gaspar de la Torre y Ayala

Gaspar Antonio de la Torre y Ayala served as the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines from July 1739 until his death on 21 September 1745.

As Governor-General of the Philippines

Gaspar de la Torre arrived in the Philippines with the mission to urge the Sultan of Sulu Azim ud-Din (alternatively spelled as Alimuddin) to fulfill an earlier peace treaty signed in 1737 drawn by the previous Governor-General Fernándo Valdés y Tamon and to allow missionaries to carry out their evangelizing work. To this end, he dispatched the Jesuit friars Francisco Sazi and Tomás de Arrevillaga who obtained guarantees from the Sultan that they would be allowed to safely preach.

There were continued incursions from pirates based from Sulu and Mindanao leading the governor-general to retaliate harshly.

In 1744, he faced a revolt led by Francisco Dagohoy who had several grievances against Spanish authorities and members of the Roman Catholic Church. Dagohoy took up arms on the island of Bohol. Francisco Dagohoy, his followers, and eventually their successors would continue to rebel for 85 years until 1829. The Dagohoy Rebellion became known as the longest rebellion against Spanish authorities in Philippine history.

Gaspar de la Torre died on 21 September 1745. By virtue of a royal decree issued earlier on 15 August 1734, the highest governing person in the Philippine Islands was to take responsibility of running the government in case of death of the incumbent governor-general. By consequence, the position of acting governor-general of the Philippines was occupied by Archbishop Juan de Arechederra, Bishop-elect of Nueva Segovia, upon Gaspar de la Torre's death. In addition to the position of governor-general, the Archbishop also assumed the position as president ad interim of the Real Audiencia on the same day.