Don Baltasar de Marradas et Vique or Maradas (28 November 1560, Valencia – 12 August 1638, Prague) was a Spanish nobleman, imperial field marshal during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

and governor of Bohemia.

Life

:es:Baltasar_de_Marradas_y_Vich, Balthazar was the son of Gaspar de Marradas Soler (d.1569) Baron of Sallent and the Viceroy of Mallorca (1548-1557), and Anna vich Manrique. Both came from large noble families who had performed important services to the king as admirals, ambassadors, generals, and prelates. Anne was the sister of Luis the Viceroy of Mallorca (1573-1584), and of Juan vich Manrique the Bishop of Mallorca and later Archbishop of Tarragona. Baltasar's uncle was Guillen de San Clemente y de Centelles (1530-1608), aka Guillem de Santcliment i de Centelled, a Spanish politician, soldier, diplomat, a knight of Santiago, and Commander of Moratalla. He started young in the art of weapons. After becoming an hospitable knight he left for Malta, where he "gained the opinion of a courageous Soldier and a great knight". As such , he fought in Piedmont, Milan, and Flanders. Marradas, a Knights of Malta, knight of Malta, arrived at the imperial court of Rudolf II in 1599, in the midst of the Long War (1591–1606), Long Turkish War. In 1617 during the Uskok War he fought against the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

in defense of Gradisca. In the war against the Winter King Frederick V in 1619, he commanded a Spanish cavalry regiment. Despite the fact that he could show no great military successes, he was raised in 1621 to the rank of an imperial count and provided with plenty of land. In 1626 he became a field marshal and in 1627 was appointed lieutenant general. Marradas was involved in the negotiations for the dismissal of

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

in 1630 in Regensburg. At Prague in 1631 he retreated without a fight to the advancing troops from Saxony, under

Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg Johann or Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg (1583 in Boitzenburger Land – 28 April 1641, in Dresden) was a German Field Marshal. At different times during the Thirty Years' War, he was a Field Marshal for the Holy Roman Empire and its oppon ...

. After further failures in Silesia, he was deposed in 1632 at the instigation of Wallenstein. Marradas 1634 was one of the masterminds behind the murder of Wallenstein. In 1634 Baltasar Marradas was appointed commissioner of the army of Bohemia with an appanage of 800 florins monthly in 30 parts. He died in 1638 as a privy councilor and governor of Bohemia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marradas, Baltasar 1560 births 1638 deaths Counts of Spain People from Valencia Spanish people of the Thirty Years' War Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire