Joaquín Ezpeleta Enrile (born 19 September 1788) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

politician and

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

who served as the 15th President of the Spanish Senate. During his life, he served in many military and civil offices such as a member of the

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets ...

, Minister of the Crown and Civil Governor of Jaen, Captain-General of Cuba, Captain-General of Catalonia or

Viceroy of Navarre This is a list of Spanish Viceroys of Navarre from 1512 to 1840, when the function was abolished. *1512 : Diego Fernández de Córdoba y Arellano, marqués de Comares *1515 : Fadrique de Acuña, Conde de Buendía *1516 : Antonio Manrique de Lar ...

, among others.

Biography

Ezpeleta was the son of the Count of Ezpeleta de Beire,

Governor-General of Cuba This is a list of colonial heads of Cuba. Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office. For continuation after independence ''see'' List of presidents of Cuba. See also * List of governors of Provincia de Santiago de Cuba *Ti ...

from 1785 to 1789 and Viceroy of Nueva Granada from 1789 to 1797, and nephew of Pasqual Enrile y Alcedo,

Governor-General of the Philippines The Governor-General of the Philippines (Spanish: ''Gobernador y Capitán General de Filipinas''; Filipino: ''Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas/Kapitan Heneral ng Pilipinas''; Japanese: ) was the title of the government executive during the colon ...

. In late 1807 his father was appointed Captain-General of Catalonia and Ezpeleta was with him when the French troops, commanded by General Duhesme, attacked the city of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in 1808. Ezpeleta was captured and moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

but he escaped soon later and he re-enrolled into the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, being captured again in 1812 and imprisoned until the end of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. After returning to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. In 1822, he was injured during the uprising of the

Royal Guard A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as the emperor or empress, king or queen, or prince or princess. They often are an elite unit of the regular arm ...

who tried to restore the absolutism. In 1830, he was promoted to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

and destinated to the Royal Guard. Four years later, he was rewarded with the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. In 1835, he was appointed Civil and Military Governor of the Province of Jaén but the strength that the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

was acquiring forced that the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

destined him to the area of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

and the

Ebro River , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

to command the government troops. Ezpeleta helped General Espartero in the liberation of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

and he secured some villages in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

and

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

trying to stop the advance of the Carlist troops. This strategy did not success, but he achieves his objective in 1836 while helping General Santiago Méndez Vigo. He was injured in this last battle, being pulled out from combat. Next month, Ezpeleta was appointed

and promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. Position that helped him to continue in the Carlist War. In 1837, he was appointed second-in-command to the Captain-General of Cuba and a year later he was promoted to Captain-General of Cuba until 1840, when he resigned for health issues. During his time as Captain-General he organized a

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

and he promoted the establishment of

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings account, savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. History of banking, They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providi ...

s and the laying of

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

lines, being rewarded for such advances with the Laureate Grand Cross of Saint Ferdinand, by royal decree of September 24, 1838. He combined his military career with his political career, being elected MP for

1834 Events January–March * January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 � ...

and 1836, and life senator since 1845. From January to June 1852, he was Minister of War, and from June to December of the same year

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 ...

. Briefly, during February and April 1853 he served as

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

. Ezpeleta was married to María de los Dolores de Contreras y Mencos, daughter of the Marquess of Lozoya. His brothers, Jose María and Fermin were also soldiers and politicians. His sister, María Concepción, married General

Pedro Agustín Girón Pedro Agustín Girón y de Las Casas, 1st Duke of Ahumada, 4th Marquess of the Amarillas (1778–1842) was a Spanish military officer and politician. The son of a general, he fought against the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. Dur ...

, meaning that Ezpeleta is the uncle of the 2nd Duke of Ahumada, founder of the

Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Histori ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezpeleta Enrile, Joaquin 1788 births 1863 deaths 19th-century Spanish politicians Moderate Party (Spain) politicians Presidents of the Senate of Spain Spanish army officers Recipients of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand