Juan José Ruiz de Apodaca y Eliza, 1st Count of Venadito, OIC, OSH, KOC (3 February 1754, Cadiz, Spain – 11 January 1835, Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish naval officer and viceroy of New Spain from 20 September 1816 to 5 July 1821, during Mexico's War of Independence. Military career Ruiz de Apodaca was born in Cádiz into a family of renowned Basque merchants. He began his military career on November 7, 1767 as part of the marine guard, and three years after he was named frigate lieutenant, being continuously promoted until reaching the rank of naval lieutenant on May 23, 1778. At this time he also married Maria Rosa Gaston with whom he had seven children. He sailed as a junior officer throughout the northern and the southern hemisphere on various ships. He was commissioned to go to Tahiti on the friguate Aguila, where he gathered much info about the area, drawing up charts of the island and its ports. He was promoted to frigate captain in 1781, and he was placed in charge of the Asuncion, joining the squadron led by Luis de Córdova y Córdova. Two years later he happened to be the commander who brought news of the end of the Anglo-French War to the Philippines, on the return trip to Spain taking silver and fruit. Upon his arrival in Cádiz, he gave a briefing on copper sheathing, and the Ministry of the Navy approved a project to apply to technique to many Spanish ships. It was this in part which led to his promotion to Captain on February 26, 1788, and shortly after to squadron major general under the command of lieutenant general Félix Ignacio de Tejada. He was tasked with repairs and improvements to the docks of Tarragona, a task which took ten years to complete. He also was tasked with informing the government of the progress of the improvements to the port of Alicante. As viceroy of New Spain During a moment of great turbulence in the Mexican war of independence, he was named viceroy of New Spain at the beginning of 1816 but he did not take over the office from Félix María Calleja del Rey until September 20. As a new viceroy Apodaca offered amnesty to the rebels. Thousands of insurgents accepted, with only Vicente Guerrero in the south and Guadalupe Victoria and Nicolás Bravo in Veracruz remaining in active rebellion.