Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Cristóbal Colón y de la Cerda, 14th Duke of Veragua, 12th Marquess of Jamaica (8 June 1837 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

– 30 October 1910 in Madrid), was a Spanish

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

during the regency of Maria Christina of Austria and

Minister of the Navy Minister of the Navy may refer to: * Minister of the Navy (France) * Minister of the Navy (Italy) The Italian Minister of the Navy ( it, Ministri della Marina del Regno) was a member in the Council Ministers until 1947, when the ministry merged ...

during the same period and during the reign of

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

Biography

He was born in Madrid in 1837, and was the eldest son of

Pedro Colón y Ramirez de Baquedano Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname In some cultures, a sur ...

, the 13th

Duke of Veragua The Duchy of Veragua ( es, Ducado de Veragua) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain. It was also a Spanish hereditary domain created in 1537 in the reign of King Charles I in a small section of the territory of Veragua (''Gobernación ...

and María del Pilar-Luisa de la Cerda y-Ghent Vilain, thus making him a direct descendant of famous explorer

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

.
In addition to the XIV Duke of Veragua, he succeeded in his father's titles as: 14th Marquis of Jamaica, 14th

Duke of la Vega Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

, 16th Admiral of the Ocean Sea and 16th Adelantado mayor de las Indias. The Duke of Veragua began his political career as a deputy of the

Province of Ávila Ávila () is a province of central-western Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered on the south by the provinces of Toledo and Cáceres, on the west by Salamanca, on the north by Valladolid, an ...

in the elections of 1871, was re-elected in the elections of 1872, and in 1876 he was elected deputy in the district of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. In 1878 he was appointed Senator and became Vice President of the Senate. Colón de la Cerda was Minister of Public Works during the regency of Maria Cristina of Austria and Minister of the Navy during the same period and during the reign of Alfonso XIII. In 1892 he received the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...

to celebrate the fourth centenary of the discovery of America. In 1897 de La Cerda was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

. In March 1900 he was in charge of a special mission sent to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

to invest the German

Crown Prince Wilhelm Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last ''Kaiser'', the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schles ...

with 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 ...

on behalf of King Alfonso XIII.

Marriage and children

In 1867, he married Isabel de Aguilera Santiago-Perales, daughter of the Marquises of Benalúa.
The couple had three children: *Genaro Colón y Aguilera (1873), died very young *María del Pilar Colón y Aguilera (1875-1931), 15th Duchess of La Vega *Cristóbal Colón y Aguilera (1878-1936), 15th Duke of Veragua, died assassinated at the start of the Spanish Civil War. No issue.Real Academia de la Historia
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cristobal Colon y de La Cerda, 14th Duke of Veragua 1837 births 1910 deaths 19th-century Spanish nobility Dukes of Veragua Politicians from Madrid Columbus family Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Members of the American Antiquarian Society