Croix, Carlos Francisco de Croix, marqués de [key], 1699–1786, Spanish colonial administrator, b. Lille, France. As viceroy of New Spain (1766–71), he was a genial, honest, and industrious official, but the real ruler was José de Gálvez, the Visitor-General. Many reforms were instituted; the Jesuits were expelled (1767); and the natives of NW Mexico were subdued in order to open the California frontier. His nephew, Teodoro de Croix, 1730–91, was military commander and provincial governor in Mexico before becoming viceroy of Peru (1784–90). He put into operation reforms in the administration of indigenous peoples that resulted indirectly from the revolt of Tupac Amaru.
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