José Álvarez de Toledo y Dubois (14 May 1779 in
Havana – 16 April 1858 in
Paris) was a politician and leader of a military force against
Spanish rule in Texas.
Álvarez de Toledo was the son of Luis Álvarez de Toledo y Liche, a navy captain of
Seville, Spain, and María Dolores Dubois. He was educated at the Escuela Naval de Cádiz and then joined the
Spanish Navy in 1806. In 1808 he switched to serving in the
British Navy (for a few years).
Toledo was elected a representative of
Santo Domingo to the
Cortes of Cádiz. However he favored independence for Spain's American possessions and was exiled in 1811. He next went to the
United States where
Secretary of State James Monroe gave him funds to try and form a revolution in
Cuba.
Toledo then was one of the supporters of
José Bernardo Maximiliano Gutierrez de Lara in his efforts for Mexico to secede from Spain. Gutierrez's ancestors were among the first European Spanish settlers and colonizers in Mexico, Texas and surrounding areas. Gutierrez de Lara established himself as the first President of Texas. Toledo sought efforts to become the second President of Texas.
Toledo took control of San Antonio on August 1, 1813. He was defeated by the
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 ...
at the
Battle of Medina on August 18, 1813.
Toledo fled Texas. In 1814 he led an unsuccessful attempt to invade Texas from Louisiana. They made it past the
Sabine River but did not make any significant progress.
In 1816 Toledo sought to reconcile himself with the Spanish authorities. He opposed the work of
Francisco Xavier Mina that year. He then returned to Spain where he was an adviser to King
Fernando VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_plac ...
.
Sources
Handbook of Texas online article on Toledo*Davis, William C., ''The Pirates Laffite and The Treacherous World of The Corsairs of the Gulf''. (New York: Harcourt, 2005) p. 141-143
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez de Toledo y Dubois, Jose
1779 births
1858 deaths
People from Havana
Texas politicians
Mexican independence activists
Spanish exiles