Antonio Álvarez de Toledo y Beaumont, 5th Duke of Alba,
Grandee of Spain
Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...
, (in full, es,
Don
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
Antonio Álvarez de Toledo y Beaumont de Navarra, quinto duque de Alba de Tormes, tercer duque de Huéscar, sexto conde de Lerín y de Salvatierra, quinto marqués de Coria, octavo Condestable de Navarra, señor de los estados de Valdecorneja y Huéscar, y de las baronías de Dicastillo, San Martín, Curton y Guissens), (1568 – 29 January 1639) was a Spanish
nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...
and politician.
Biography
Antonio was the grandson of the Iron Duke
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, pt, Grão Duque de Alba) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke ( or shortly 'Alva') in the Netherlands, was a Sp ...
and became 5th Duke of Alba when his uncle
Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Duke of Alba
Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzmán, 4th Duke of Alba, Grandee of Spain, (in full, ), (21 November 1537 – 11 December 1583), was a commander in the Spanish army during the Eighty Years' War.
Biography
He was the first leg ...
died without an heir. In 1599
Philip III of Spain
Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621.
A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...
awarded him the
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...
.
He was
viceroy of Naples
This is a list of viceroys of the Kingdom of Naples. Following the conquest of Naples by Louis XII of France in 1501, Naples was subject to the rule of the foreign rulers, the Kings of France, Aragon and Spain and the Habsburg Archdukes of Austria ...
between 1622 and 1629. As viceroy, he was confronted with multiple problems: yet another Italian War over the
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...
valley; a bad harvest and high
food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...
in 1624; the
1626 Naples earthquake which killed nearly 10,000 people in the town; frequent attacks by Turkish pirates; and constant requisitions of funds and resources by
Conde-Duque de Olivares, the prime minister of Spain.
In 1629, King
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...
made him his
Mayordomo mayor {{short description, High Steward of Spain
The Mayordomo mayor (High Steward) was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain in charge of the person and rooms of the King of Spain. The Office of “Mayordomo mayor” w ...
, chief of his Royal Household.
He married Mencía de Mendoza, daughter of Don
Íñigo López de Mendoza, Duke del Infantado, and had three children:
* Fernando Álvarez de Toledo (1595–1667), his successor
* María Álvarez de Toledo
* Ana Álvarez de Toledo
Sources
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez De Toledo, Antonio 05
1568 births
1639 deaths
Viceroys of Naples
Dukes of Alba
Dukes of Huéscar
House of Alba
Antonio
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...
Knights of the Golden Fleece
Grandees of Spain
Spanish nobility