José Joaquín Álvarez de Toledo y Caro, 19th Duke of Medina Sidonia (28 December 1865 – 9 June 1915) was
Duke of Medina Sidonia
Duke of Medina Sidonia ( es, Duque de Medina Sidonia) is a peerage grandee title of Spain in Medina-Sidonia, holding the oldest extant dukedom in the kingdom, first awarded by King John II of Castile in 1380.José Álvarez de Toledo y Silva, 18th Duke of Medina Sidonia
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
, and Rosalía Caro y Álvarez de Toledo, daughter of the 4th Marquis of La Romana. He was originally the Marquis of Molina, but on the death of his older brother Alonso, he became the heir to all the titles of the house of Medina Sidonia.
He was educated in Spain, but was never interested in politics or a military career. He devoted almost his entire life to his farms in Rafol, Novelda, Molina de Segura and the pastures of Jimena de la Frontera.
He managed his estate very well, but when he inherited the bulk of the family assets, he had to deal with a huge amount of debt that his father had acquired. The most urgent ones were solved with the sale of the
Coto de Doñana to Guillermo Garvey, for 750,000 pesetas.
As Grandee of Spain, he held important positions at court, such as Gentleman of the King's Chamber, or Chief Knight of
María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias
María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias (''María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; 11 September 1880 – 17 October 1904) was the eldest child of King Alfonso XII of Spain and his second wife, Maria Christina of Austria. ...
. He held the Collar of the
Order of Carlos III
The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...
, and was Master of the
Real Maestranza de Caballería de Valencia The Real Maestranza de Caballería de Valencia (Royal Cavalry Armory of Valencia) is a Spanish ''maestranza de caballería'' created in 1697. The first set of bylaws were approved seven years later, and currently the organization is governed by the ...
.
To deal with other debts, he was forced to sell his palace on playa de la Concha, in
San Sebastián
San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
, the
Martorell
Martorell () is a municipality that forms part of the Baix Llobregat Comarques of Catalonia, comarca, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Pont del Diable, Devil's bridge. It lies at the confluence of the Llobregat and Anoia Rive ...
castle and the
Jimena de la Frontera
Jimena de la Frontera is a historic town and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to estimates made by the National Statistics Institute of Spain (INE), the municipality has a population of 6,707 inhabitants as of 202 ...
estates, as well as the
Castillo de Vélez-Blanco
Castillo de Vélez-Blanco is a remarkable example of Spanish Renaissance Castle. It is located in the town of Vélez-Blanco, province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.
History
It was built by Pedro Fajardo y Chacó ...
for around 80,000 pesetas. He died in his Madrid palace on 9 June 1915.
1865 births
1915 deaths
Dukes of Medina Sidonia
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