José de Córdova y Ramos (Museo Naval de Madrid)

José de Córdoba y Ramos, (

Utrera Utrera () is a municipality in south-west Spain. It is in the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. As of 2018 it has a population of 52,617. The town is of great historical interest. It was occupied by Muslims in the 8 ...

, September 26, 1732 –

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, April 3, 1815), was a Spanish explorer and naval officer who sailed around the world and fought in several battles while in the service of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

Biography

Born into a family of sailors, he was the son of Don Ramón Antonio de Córdova-Lasso de la Vega y Córdova-Lasso de la Vega, and Doña Mariana Josefa Ramos de Garay y Mexiá. Córdoba took to the seas at the age of 13. After sailing under

Andrés Reggio Andrés Reggio y Brachiforte (1692–1780) was an officer of the Spain, Spanish navy. Biography He was born in the Spanish-controlled Sicily, Sicilian city of Palermo in 1692. He joined the navy as a young man and served throughout the War of ...

, he was appointed to sail his own ship from

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

via the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

. In command of the frigate ''Astrea'', he set sail in April 1770 with a crew of 289 men. Arriving in Manila Bay, he affirmed that he only had two patients with

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

, pointing out that the low incidence of scurvy was due to the gaspacho that he ordered to be given to the crew. Setting course back to Spain on January 6, 1771, he arrived at the

Isla de León The Isla de León is a historical name for the piece of land between the city of Cádiz and the Iberian peninsula, in Spain. In 1813, it was renamed San Fernando in honor of King Fernando VII of Spain for his courage in the defense of the cit ...

on August 1, 1771. Later in his career he sailed several times to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where he oversaw improvements in the design of the

Manila Galleon fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire) ...

. On September 21, 1789, he became ''Teniente general'' (

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 ...

) of the Navy. At the outbreak of war with

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1796, he was put in command of the Spanish fleet. While in command of the fleet he suffered a serious defeat at the

Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent (14 February 1797) was one of the opening battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808), as part of the French Revolutionary Wars, where a British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeated a greatly superior ...

on board the ''

Santísima Trinidad Santisima Trinidad (meaning ''Most Holy Trinity'' in Spanish) may refer to: Places * Santísima Trinidad (fort), a fortress that once existed on the Bio Bio River in Bio Bío province, Chile * Santísima Trinidad (Asunción), a barrio (district) ...

'' (which was successfully attacked by

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

and after surrendering Córdoba's flagship was only saved because of the intervention of two other Spanish ships). After St Vincent, Córdoba was dismissed from the Spanish Navy and forbidden from appearing at court.

Family

He married Julia de Rojas and they had one son,

José de Córdoba y Rojas José María Fernández de Córdoba y Rojas (also José de Córdoba) (6 April 1774 in San Fernando, Cádiz – 15 December 1810 in Potosí), was a Spanish military who played an important role in the early stages of the Argentine War of Indep ...

, a loyalist commander in the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence (25 September 1808 – 29 September 1833; es, Guerras de independencia hispanoamericanas) were numerous wars in Spanish America with the aim of political independence from Spanish rule during the early ...

. He was also the grandfather of: *

Luis Fernández de Córdova Luis Fernández de Córdova (or Córdoba) (August 2, 1798 in San Fernando, Cádiz – April 22, 1840 in Lisbon) was a Spanish military general, diplomat and first Marquis of Mendigorria. He was the son of José de Córdoba y Rojas and elder bro ...

, general in the

Carlist Wars The Carlist Wars () were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 187 ...

, diplomat and Marquis of Mendigorría * Fernando Fernández de Córdova, fought in the

, politician and Prime minister of Spain for one day.

Sources

Content in this article is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at :es:José de Córdova y Ramos; see its history for attribution. * Pedro Sánchez Núñez, ''Venturas y desventuras de un marino utrerano: José de Córdova y Ramos'', 2002, 348 pages * Francisco de Paula Pavía y Pavía, ''Galería biográfica de los generales de marina, jefes y personajes notables que figuraron en la misma corporación desde 1700 a 1868'', Volume 1, Impr. J. Lopez, 1873, p. 343 and following. *
Google Books Catalogo descriptivo de los objetos que contiene El Museo Naval, Impr. de L. Beltran, Madrid, 1862, p. 20

Links

*

article in ABC Journal, Seville edition by Ignacio Fernández Vial.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Jose de Cordoba y 1732 births 1815 deaths Spanish naval officers Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars