Juan Muñoz de Gadea (born 12 November 1634) was a Spanish soldier who served in Peru, Chile, Mexico and the Philippines.
There he found his older brother, Nicolás Muñoz de Gadea in Havana, who was starting a term as Lieutenant Governor of Cuba.
[1] Muñoz Gadea sailed to New Spain, where on 7 January 1659 he was given a commission by the Viceroy Duque de Albuquerque to recruit and train a company of soldiers in Puebla.
[4] On 12 October 1674 Muñoz Gadea requested a new position in the Americas, and on 25 November 1676 he was appointed Governor of Margarita Province, off the coast of Venezuela.
[4] On 17 December 1676 he was told to travel to his new post on ships Buen Suceso and the Asunción, which were sailing independently of the fleet to Trinidad and Cumaná, and then on to Maracaibo.
[4] Muñoz Gadea quickly antagonized the local people with his demands, including restrictions on trade, and they arranged to suspend him from office.
[4] Juan Fermín was a military engineer and a native of Isla Margarita to whom Muñoz Gadea had given the job of building the Castillo de Santa Rosa in La Asunción.
[15] In response to further complaints from Fermín, the Audiencia sent judge Fernando Araujo y Rivera to Margarita, who arrived on 5 July 1688 with a body of troops.
Araujo arrested Muñoz and wanted to restore Fermín, but was opposed by the people of the island, who had many complaints with his behavior while in office.