Pedro José de Zavala y Bravo de Ribero, 7th Marquess of San Lorenzo del Valleumbroso, OIC, KOC (21 May 1779 – 20 January 1850), was a Spanish-Peruvian nobleman and

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

Biography

Zavala was born in Lima into one of the most prominent families of the Viceroyalty of Peru. He was the son of Pedro Nolasco de Zavala y Pardo de Figueroa, 6th Marquess of Valleumbroso, and Ana Micaela Bravo del Ribero y Zavala. He joined 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 ...

in 1787 as cadet of the 3rd Regiment of the Dragoons Guards of Lima. In 1790, Zavala was commissioned into the Cavalry Regiment of the Nobility as ensign and was transferred to the Company of Dragoons of Queen María Luisa in 1797. In 1799, he returned to the Dragoons Guards of Lima, where was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1804. In 1812, Zavala created the King's Cavalry Company and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army. In 1819, he was appointed colonel of the Battalion of Spaniards. During the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

, he defended the

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

, Chancay and Ancón ports in 1820 and 1821. Zavala supported the Aznapuquio mutiny that deposed the Viceroy and was commissioned to inform the King of the situation by the new viceroy

José de la Serna 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 ...

. However, his mission was abruptly delayed since the

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...

''Maypú'' in which Zavala was transported was captured by an

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

in June 1821. He settled down in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Joined to the Infante Don Carlos Regiment and afterwards the Battalion of Guías, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

for his services in Peru in 1822 and was appointed Gentilhombre de cámara con ejercicio by

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_pla ...

in 1824. Zavala was successively promoted to brigadier in 1826 and to field marshal in 1836. Next year, he was appointed second lieutenant of the Guard of Halberdiers (the Queen's guard), which he commanded from 1841 to 1843. Zavala returned to Peru, where he died the next year.

Marriage and issue

He married in 1804 Grimanesa de la Puente y Bravo, 4th Marchioness of Torreblanca, 5th Countess of Villaseñor and 2nd Marchioness of La Puente y Sotomayor, and had twelve children: * Pedro de Zavala y la Puente, Peruvian soldier. * Juan de Zavala, 1st Marquess of Sierra Bullones,

Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government ( es, link=no, Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regula ...

. *Toribio de Zavala y la Puente, Peruvian Army colonel. *José de Zavala y la Puente, colonel prefect of Trujillo. * Grimanesa de Zavala y la Puente, married to José Gregorio Paz Soldán. * Andrés de Zavala y la Puente, stepfather of

Manuel González Prada Jose Manuel de los Reyes González de Prada y Ulloa (Lima, January 5, 1844 – Lima, July 22, 1918) was a Peruvian politician and anarchist, literary critic and director of the National Library of Peru. He is well remembered as a social criti ...

. * Ana de Zavala y la Puente, 1st Marchioness of La Puente.

Biography

Marriage and issue

References

Further reading