Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez, 2nd Duke of Alva (in full, es, Don Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Quiñones, segundo Duque de Alba de Tormes, segundo marqués de Coria, conde de Salvatierra, señor del estado de Valdecorneja y del estado de Huéscar) ( – 19 October 1531) was a Spanish nobleman, military leader and politician.

Life and career

He was the eldest son of García Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba, and his wife, María Enríquez de Quiñones, daughter of Fadrique Enríquez de Mendoza and younger half-sister to Juana Enríquez, Queen of Aragon. Fadrique was very close to the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bo ...

. His father had fought in the

War of the Castilian Succession The War of the Castilian Succession was the military conflict contested from 1475 to 1479 for the succession of the Crown of Castile fought between the supporters of Joanna 'la Beltraneja', reputed daughter of the late monarch Henry IV of Casti ...

on the side of the future Queen Isabella I of Castille against her niece Juana la Beltraneja, and his mother was the younger half-sister of Juana Enríquez y Fernandez de Cordoba, making him the first cousin of Ferdinand II of Aragon. He participated in the conquest of

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

, and already as Duke, he led the Spanish army against the French in

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of th ...

in 1503. When Ferdinand II as regent of

Castilla Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to: Places Spain *Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha *Kingdom of ...

, decided to invade and conquer the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

, supported by a Papal bull, he put the Duke of Alva at the head of his army. Fadrique conquered Navarre in only two weeks time. As a reward, he was promoted to capitan general of

Andalucía Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

and Duke of Huescar in 1513. He was also a member of the ''Consejo de Estado'' under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. He accompanied the Emperor to Germany, Flanders and Italy and was made in 1520 a

grandee of Spain Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official royal and noble ranks, 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 neith ...

and a knight in 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 marriag ...

. He married Isabel de Zúñiga (1470-after 1520), Condesa de Sevilla, in 1480 and had five children. His eldest son García was destined to be his successor, but predeceased his father, passing the title of third Duke of Alva to Fadrique's grandson, the famous Iron Duke

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

. His offspring: *1) Leonor Álvarez de Toledo, married Rodrigo Portocarrero. *2) Garcia Álvarez de Toledo y Zuniga (?–1512), Marqués de Coria, married Beatriz Pimentel: ** Catalina Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, married Diego Enríquez de Velasco, 3rd Conde de Alva de Liste. ** Maria Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, married her cousin Enrique Enríquez de Toledo, 4th Conde de Alva de Liste. **

, 3rd Duke of Alva. *3) Pedro Álvarez de Toledo y Zúñiga (1484–1553), Viceroy of Naples, married Maria Osorio-Pimentel : ** García Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Marquis of Villafranca), Viceroy of Naples. **

Eleanor of Toledo Eleanor of Toledo (Italian: ''Eleonora di Toledo'', 11 January 1522 – 17 December 1562), born Doña Leonor Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio, was a Spanish noblewoman and Duchess of Florence as the first wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. A keen busines ...

, married Cosimo I de' Medici,

Grand Duke of Tuscany The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region. Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface :These were origin ...

. *4) Aldonza Leonor Álvarez de Toledo y Zuniga, married Diego Enríquez de Velasco, 3rd Conde de Alva de Liste. *5) Juan Álvarez de Toledo (1488–1557), cardinal.

Additional information

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez De Toledo, Fadrique 02 1460s births 1531 deaths Fadrique 02 Knights of the Golden Fleece Fadrique 02 Grandees of Spain

Life and career

Additional information

See also

Sources