Baltasar de Zúñiga y Velasco (1561 – October 1622) was a Spanish royal
favourite
A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...
of
Philip III, his son
Philip IV and a key minister in two Spanish governments. In control of foreign policy from 1618 to 1622, he was responsible for Spain's initially successful entry into the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
(1618–1648) and for the appointment of his nephew, the
Count-Duke of Olivares to the position of prime minister for much of the reign of Philip IV. De Zúñiga was also notable as being one of the very few Spanish royal favourites of the period to die whilst still in favour.
Career
De Zúñiga came from a powerful Spanish noble family; he had taken part in, and survived, the
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...
of 1588, and had gone on to serve Philip III as the Spanish ambassador to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
from 1599 to 1603,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
from 1603 to 1608 and
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
from 1608 to 1617. Philip's government had been dominated by the
Duke of Lerma
Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma, 5th Marquess of Denia, 1st Count of Ampudia (1552/1553 – 17 May 1625), was a favourite of Philip III of Spain, the first of the ''validos'' ('most worthy') through whom the later H ...
, a royal favourite whose excessive, lavish lifestyle had increasingly irritated other Spanish nobility. Lerma's position had become threatened in recent years however, not least by his own son, the
Duke of Uceda
Duke of Uceda ( es, Duque de Uceda) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1610 by Philip III to Cristóbal Gómez de Sandoval, who succeeded his father Francisco Gómez de Sandoval ...
, who had become concerned that his father's spending was threatening both his inheritance and the future political position of the family.
Arriving back in Madrid, de Zúñiga led efforts with Uceda to remove Lerma from power. De Lerma first responded by becoming a Cardinal, a defensive measure to afford him additional protection. In October 1618, one of Lerma's own favourites,
Don Rodrigo Calderón, was successfully arrested for murder; using this as a pretext, de Zúñiga and Uceda made their move. The Duke of Lerma was forced from office and into retirement, his estates placed under administration. De Zúñiga became the key advisor to Philip on matters of foreign policy, using his influence to ensure his nephew, Olivares, was placed in the household of the young
Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
. When Philip III died in 1621, de Zúñiga then successfully replaced Uceda, then effectively prime minister, with Olivares, ensuring his family's dominance of Philip IV's court. He became also
Sumiller de Corps to the King.
De Zúñiga did not have long to enjoy his success. He died in October 1622, leaving his protégé Olivares to rule as Philip's favourite for the next twenty years.
Foreign and domestic policy
De Zúñiga's main interest was in the field of foreign affairs, where his background as an ambassador across Europe became keenly felt. Despite this, he formed a key element of the domestic reform movement that began under Philip IV. De Zúñiga and Olivares presented Philip IV with the concept of restoring the kingdom to its condition under Philip II, undoing the alleged decline that had occurred under the king's father, and in particular under the
Duke of Lerma
Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma, 5th Marquess of Denia, 1st Count of Ampudia (1552/1553 – 17 May 1625), was a favourite of Philip III of Spain, the first of the ''validos'' ('most worthy') through whom the later H ...
. De Zúñiga approved of the austerity measures introduced by Olivares during Philip's first two years.
Internationally, de Zúñiga saw Spain's future as part of a strong alliance with the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
also ruled by the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
family, echoing contemporary ''arbitrista'' Giovanni Botero, who promoted the concept of a Habsburg family-led hegemony across Europe. De Zúñiga was also influenced by the consequences for Spanish controlled northern Italy should the Austrian branch of the family fail in Germany. De Zúñiga persuaded Philip III to send aid the Emperor in
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
in 1619, effectively entering Spain into the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
(1618–48). In 1620, he played a key role in the dispatch of the
Army of Flanders
The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the longe ...
to aid the Imperial cause, leading to the Spanish victory at the
Battle of White Mountain
), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic)
, coordinates =
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, result = Imperial-Spanish victory
, status =
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, combatant1 = Catholic L ...
later that year. De Zúñiga was also responsible for key Spanish decisions over the future of the
conflict in the Netherlands. The armistice since 1609 had become increasingly tense; whilst de Zúñiga was convinced that a straightforward military victory over the Dutch was unlikely, by 1619 he had concluded that a renewal of hostilities could enable negotiations leading to a treaty more favourable to the Spanish.
[Parker, 1984, p.171.] He was largely responsible for the renewal of the war in 1621; as a consequence, the conflict would stretch on for another 27 years until the
peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
of 1648.
References
Bibliography
*Birely, Robert. ''The Jesuits and the Thirty Years War: Kings, Courts and Confessors.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (2003)
*Parker, Geoffrey. ''Europe in Crisis, 1598-1648.'' London: Fontana. (1984)
*Ringrose, David. ''Spain, Europe and the "Spanish Miracle", 1700-1900.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (1998)
*Williams, Patrick. ''The Great Favourite: The Duke of Lerma, and the court and government of King Philip III of Spain, 1598-1621.'' Manchester: Manchester University Press. (2006)
See also
*
History of Spain
The history of Spain dates to contact the pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula made with the Greeks and Phoenicians and the first writing systems known as Paleohispanic scripts were developed. During Classical A ...
*
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
*
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
*
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 ...
*
Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuniga, Baltasar de
1561 births
1622 deaths
Spanish untitled nobility
Government ministers of Spain
Spanish royal favourites
Court of Philip IV of Spain