Ramón María Narváez y Campos, 1st Duke of Valencia (5 August 180023 April 1868) was a Spanish general and statesman who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

on several occasions during the reign of Isabella II. He was also known in Spain as ''El Espadón de Loja'', "The Big Sword of Loja".

Biography

He was born at Loja,

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, a son of José María de Narváez y Porcel, 1st Count of Cañada Alta, and wife María Ramona de Campos y Mateos. He entered the army at an early age, and saw active service under

Francisco Espoz y Mina Francisco Espoz Ilundáin (17 June 1781 – 24 December 1836), being better known as Francisco Espoz y Mina, was a Spanish guerrilla leader and general. Biography He was born in Idocin in Navarre. His father, Juan Esteban Espoz y Mina, and hi ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

in 1822. He was in his sympathies a Conservative, and could not fully support the Radical opposition to

Ferdinand 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 ...

, whom he served after his restoration. When the king died in 1833, Narváez became one of the Conservative supporters of Isabel II. He achieved great popularity by his victory over

Miguel Gómez Damas Miguel Gómez Damas (5 June 1785 – 11 June 1849) was a Spanish Carlist general of the First Carlist War. Born at Torredonjimeno, in the province of Jaén, he served under the Carlist general Zumalacárregui and in 1836 undertook an unsucces ...

, the

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

general, at the

Battle of Majaceite The Battle of Majaceite was fought in the First Carlist War. Ramón María Narváez y Campos was ordered to intercept the expedition of the Carlist general Miguel Gómez Damas. Narváez left Madrid in October 1836 with three divisions, while G� ...

near

Arcos de la Frontera Arcos de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in the Sierra de Cádiz comarca, province of Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain. It is located on the northern, western and southern banks of the Guadalete river, which flows around three sides of the ...

, in November 1836. After clearing

La Mancha La Mancha () is a natural and historical region located in the Spanish provinces of Albacete, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, and Toledo. La Mancha is an arid but fertile plateau (610 m or 2000 ft) that stretches from the mountains of Toledo to the ...

of brigands by a vigorous policy of suppression in 1838 he was appointed captain-general of

Old Castile Old Castile ( es, Castilla la Vieja ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions along the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: San ...

, and commander-in-chief of the army of reserves. In 1840, for the part he had taken at

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

in the insurrection against Baldomero Espartero, Count of Luchana and the Progresista party, he was compelled to take refuge in France, where, in conjunction with Maria Cristina, he planned the expedition of 1843 which led to Espartero's overthrow. On 3 May 1844 Narváez became the 26th

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, on 1 July 1844 the 102nd

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

until 21 August 1844, and on 18 November 1845 was created

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 ''Duque de Valencia'', but his policy was too reactionary to be tolerated long, and he was compelled to quit office on 12 February 1846. He then held the post of

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

at Paris, until again called to preside over the council of ministers as the 28th Prime Minister from 16 March 1846 to 4 April 1846 and 105th Minister of Foreign Affairs from 16 March 1846 to 5 April 1846, and again as the 34th Prime Minister and 111th Minister of Foreign Affairs on 4 October 1847; but misunderstandings with Maria Cristina led to his resignation as Minister on 23 October 1847 and as Prime Minister in the following year on 19 October 1849. On the next day, however, he was recalled as the 36th Prime Minister on 20 October 1849, remaining in office until 10 January 1851. He was the 58th

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

of the

Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...

in 1848. His ministry succeeded that of General

Leopoldo O'Donnell Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuán, Grandee, GE (12 January 1809 – 5 November 1867), was a Spanish general and Grandee who was Prime Minister of Spain on several occasions. Early life He was born at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in t ...

for a short time as 45th Prime Minister between 12 October 1856 and 15 October 1856, and he again returned to power for a few months as 52nd Prime Minister between 16 September 1864 and 19 May 1865. He once more replaced O'Donnell as the 54th Prime Minister on 11 July 1866, and was still in office when he died at

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 ...

on 22 April/23 April 1868. On his deathbed, he was asked to forgive his enemies. His answer would become infamous, as he stated "I don't need to forgive my enemies — I have had them all shot."Grave Tidings: An Anthology of Famous Last Words
Paul Berra, He married French Marie Alexandrine de Tascher, 369th

Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa on 22 July 1844. He was succeeded in his titles by his nephew, son of his older brother José de Narváez y Campos, 2nd Count of Cañada Alta, and wife and cousin Epifania Porcel y Valdivia, José María de Narváez y Porcel (d. 1890), 2nd Duke of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, 1st Marquess of Oquendo, 3rd Count of Cañada Alta and 2nd Viscount of Aliatar, married to Josefa María del Águila y Cevallos (d. 1888), 13th Marchioness of Espeja, daughter of Luis Ramón del Águila y Alvarado, 12th Marquess of Espeja, and wife Josefa Manuela Petra de Cevallos y Alvarez de Faria (daughter of Pedro de Cevallos y Guerra (1759–1838) and wife Josefa Juana Alvarez de Faria y Sánchez-Zarzosa, maternal aunt of Manuel de Godoy), and had issue. Ramon Maria de Narvaez by Vicente Lopez 1772 1850

Ramon Maria de Narvaez by Vicente Lopez 1772 1850

Honours

* France: Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

* : Knight of the

Order of St. Andrew The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...

* Spain ** Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Charles 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 ...

** Knight Grand Cross of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegild ** Knight 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 ...

** Knight of the

Order of Alcántara The Order of Alcántara ( Leonese: ''Orde de Alcántara'', es, Orden de Alcántara), also called the Knights of St. Julian, was originally a military order of León, founded in 1166 and confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1177. Alcántara Alc ...

**Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

References

*
Royal Decree of November 18, 1845, on creation of Narváez ''duque de Valencia''
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Narvaez, Ramon Maria 1800 births 1868 deaths People from the Province of Granada Field marshals Foreign ministers of Spain 101 Knights of the Golden Fleece Spanish captain generals Spanish generals Spanish Roman Catholics People of the Chincha Islands War Prime Ministers of Spain Moderate Party (Spain) politicians 19th-century Spanish politicians Leaders of political parties in Spain