Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the

Conquest of Granada The Granada War ( es, Guerra de Granada) was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1491 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It ...

and the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

. His military victories and widespread popularity earned him the nickname "''El Gran Capitán''" ("The Great Captain"). He also negotiated the final surrender of Granada and later served as

Viceroy of Naples This is a list of viceroys of the Kingdom of Naples. Following the conquest of Naples by Louis XII of France in 1501, Naples was subject to the rule of the foreign rulers, the Kings of France, Aragon and Spain and the Habsburg Archdukes of Austria ...

. Fernández de Córdoba was a masterful military strategist and tactician. He was among the first Europeans to introduce the successful use of firearms on the battlefield and he reorganized his infantry to include pikes and firearms in effective defensive and offensive formations. The changes implemented by Fernández de Córdoba were instrumental in making the Spanish army a dominant force in Europe for more than a century and a half. For his extensive political and military success, he was made Duke of Santángelo (1497), Terranova (1502), Andría, Montalto and Sessa (1507). In Italian history he is remembered as Consalvo Ernandes di Cordova, il Gran Capitano.

Early life

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba was born on 1 September 1453 at

Montilla Montilla () is a town and municipality of Spain, located in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , the town had a population of 23,209, which makes it the fourth most populated municipality of the Province of Córdoba. It lies 32 miles south o ...

in the province of Córdoba. He was the younger son of Pedro Fernández de Córdoba, Count of Aguilar (himself the son of Pedro Fernández de Córdoba, 1390–1424 and of Leonor de Arellano) and of Elvira de Herrera (daughter of Pedro Núñez de Herrera y Guzmán, d. 1430, and of Blanca

Enríquez Enriquez is a Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Enrique" and a common surname in Spain and Latin America.Alfonso, Prince of Asturias, the half-brother of King

Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of Castile and León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became ...

. After Alfonso's death in 1468 Gonzalo devoted himself to Alfonso's sister, Isabella of Castile.Purcell 1962 When King Henry IV died in 1474 Isabella proclaimed herself successor queen, disputing the right of Juana la Beltraneja (the king's 13-year-old daughter and her niece) to ascend the throne. During the ensuing

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

between the followers of Isabella and Juana, there was also conflict with Portugal since King

Alfonso V of Portugal Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...

sided with his niece Juana. Gonzalo fought for Isabella under

Alonso de Cárdenas Alonso de Cárdenas was a Spanish noble who served as the 44th and 47th (and last) Grand Master of the Order of Santiago before the title passed to the Catholic Monarchs as the need for a powerful military order outside the direct control of the ...

, grand master of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" (St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgri ...

. In 1479 he fought in the final battle against the Portuguese leading 120 lancers. Cárdenas praised him for his service. When the war ended Isabella and her husband

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

were the rulers of Castile and Aragon.Tucker 2015

Conquest of Granada

Once the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

had consolidated their rule, they embarked in 1481 on a ten-year campaign to conquer Granada, the last remaining Muslim stronghold on the Iberian peninsula. Fernández de Córdoba was an active participant in the fighting and distinguished himself as a brave and competent military leader. He gained renown for participation in the sieges of several walled towns including Loja, Tajara, Illora, and Montefrío. At Montefrío he was reported to be the first attacker over the walls. In 1492, Fernández de Córdoba captured the city of Granada, bringing an end to the war. The skills of a military engineer and a guerilla fighter were equally useful. Because of his knowledge of Arabic and his familiarity with Boabdil, Gonzalo was chosen as one of the officers to arrange the surrender.Encyclopedia of World Biography 2000 For his service he was rewarded with an

, an

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

, the manor of Órgiva in Granada as well as silk production rights in the region.

Italian campaigns

Gonzalo was an important military commander during the

, holding command twice and earning the name "The Great Captain".

First Italian War

The

began in 1494 when

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...

marched into Italy with 25,000 men to make good his claim to the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

ruled by Ferdinand II, a cousin to Ferdinand of Aragon. The French easily overwhelmed the Neapolitan defenses and on 12 May 1495 Charles had himself crowned Emperor of Naples. The Catholic Monarchs were anxious to reverse French success in Naples and selected Fernández de Córdoba to lead an expeditionary force against Charles. Fernández de Córdoba landed in Naples shortly after Charles' coronation with a force of about 5,000 infantry and 600 light cavalry. Fearful of being trapped in Italy, Charles installed Gilbert de Bourbon as Viceroy of Naples and returned to France with about half of the French forces.Rubin 1991 Initially, the light infantry and cavalry under Fernández de Córdoba command were no match against the heavily-armed French. A lack of training and poor coordination between Spanish and Italian forces compounded the problem. In their first major engagement on 28 June 1495, Fernández de Córdoba was defeated at the

Battle of Seminara The Battle of Seminara, part of the First Italian War, was fought in Calabria on 28 June 1495 between a French garrison in recently conquered Southern Italy and the allied forces of Spain and Naples which were attempting to reconquer these te ...

against French forces led by Bernard Stewart d'Aubigny. After the defeat, Fernández de Córdoba withdrew to implement a rigorous training program and reorganize his army. The Spanish employed effective guerrilla tactics, striking quickly to disrupt French supply lines and avoiding large-scale battles. Gradually Fernández de Córdoba regained a foothold in the country and then assaulted the French-occupied Italian cities. Within a year, Fernández de Córdoba achieved a decisive victory at Atella, capturing the French viceroy and expelling the remaining French forces from Naples. He also recovered the Roman port of Ostia and returned the captured territories to the Italians by 1498.

Military restructuring

When Fernández de Córdoba returned to Spain he drew on the lessons from the Italian campaign to restructure the Spanish forces and military strategy. In the open field, the loose formation and short swords of the Spanish infantry were unable to withstand a charge of heavy cavalry and infantry armed with pikes. To overcome this weakness, Fernández de Córdoba introduced a new infantry formation armed with pikes and a heavy, shoulder-fired gun called an

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...

. To increase tactical flexibility he assigned different sections of his forces to specific roles, rather than using them as one general force. These new sections could maneuver more independently and act with greater flexibility.

Second Italian War

After

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

succeeded Charles as king of France in 1498, he quickly declared his intention to re-invade Italy and once again seize Naples. To buy time, Spain negotiated the Treaty of Granada with France in 1500, agreeing to partition Naples between the two countries. Fernández de Córdoba returned to Italy leading a large force on the pretext of joining with France and Venice to attack the Ottomans in the Ionian Sea. For a time Fernández de Córdoba did fight the Turks, seizing the strongly held island of

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...

in December 1500 after a two-month siege. El gran capitan gonzalo de cordoba

Fernández de Córdoba returned to Naples and after Frederick IV abdicated, the French and Spanish fought a guerilla war while negotiating the partition of the kingdom. Spain was outnumbered and besieged in

Barletta Barletta () is a city, '' comune'' of Apulia, in south eastern Italy. Barletta is the capoluogo, together with Andria and Trani, of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It has a population of around 94,700 citizens. The city's territory be ...

by the French. Gonzalo refused to be drawn into a full-scale battle until he received sufficient reinforcements. Gran Capitán Duque Nemours

When his army was adequately reinforced, Fernández de Córdoba engaged the French on 28 April 1503 at the

Battle of Cerignola The Battle of Cerignola was fought on 28 April 1503 between Spanish and French armies outside the town of Cerignola, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples (now in modern-day Italy), approximately west of Bari. The Spanish force under the command of G ...

where 6,000 Spanish troops faced a French army of 10,000. Gonzalo formed his infantry into units called ''coronelías'' with pikemen tightly packed in the center and arquebusiers and swordsmen on the flanks. The French unsuccessfully attacked the front and were assailed by gunfire coming from the flanks. The French commander, the

Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours (1472; Normandy, France – 28 April 1503; Cerignola, Italy), was a French nobleman, politician and military commander who served as Viceroy of Naples during the Third Italian War (1502-1504). He was known for m ...

, was killed early in the battle. After withstanding two French charges, Fernández de Córdoba, El Gran Capitán, went on the offensive and drove the French off the field. This was the first time in history that a battle had been won largely through the strength of firearms. Fernández de Córdoba occupied the city of Naples and pushed the French forces back across the Garigliano River. Separated by the river, a stalemate ensued with neither side able to make progress. But Fernández de Córdoba strung together a pontoon bridge and stole across the river on the night of December 29, 1503. The French, commanded by Ludovico II of Saluzzo, had assumed the rain-swollen river was impassable and were taken by complete surprise. Fernández de Córdoba and his army decisively defeated the French with their formations of pikes and arquebuses. Fernández de Córdoba continued to pursue the French and captured the Italian city of Gaeta in January 1504. Unable to mount a defense after these losses, the French were allowed to evacuate Italy by sea and forced to sign the Treaty of Blois in 1505, relinquishing their hold on Naples.

Viceroy of Naples

Monumento a Isabel la Católica (Madrid) 04a

When the French were driven out of Naples, Fernández de Córdoba was made

Duke of Terranova Duke of Terranova ( es, Duque de Terranova) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1502 by Ferdinand II to "El Gran Capitán" (Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba), a general who negotiat ...

and appointed

in 1504. Later that same year Queen

Isabel I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...

died, depriving him of his most ardent supporter. Isabel's death also effectively pushed her husband,

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia fro ...

, out of power temporarily in Castile and forced him to defend his interests in Aragon. Naples was an Aragonese kingdom but Gonzalo was a Castilian and widely popular. As a result, Ferdinand suspected his loyalty and also felt that Gonzalo spent too freely from the treasury. In 1507 Ferdinand traveled to Naples, removed him from office and ordered him to return to Spain with a promise that he would be installed as master of the

, a powerful and prestigious position.Lynch 1981 Although Fernández de Córdoba was awarded the additional title,

Duke of Sessa Duke of Sessa is a Spanish noble title awarded to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba by Ferdinand II in 1507. It was the fifth ducal title bestowed on Gonzalo, after the ducal titles of Santángelo (1497), Terranova (1502), Andría (1507) and M ...

, he never received the promised appointment to lead the Santiago military order. Ferdinand continued to praise him but gave him nothing else to do; he eventually retired to one of his country estates. Fernández de Córdoba died of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

on 2 December 1515 at his villa near Granada at age 62.

Marriage and family

Fernández de Córdoba first married in 1474 to his cousin María de Sotomayor; about a year later she died giving birth to a stillborn son. On 14 February 1489 he married María Manrique de Lara y Figueroa (also known as María Manrique de Lara y Espinosa, d. 1527) from a powerful and wealthy noble family. His only surviving daughter, Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique, would inherit all his titles upon his death in 1515.

Legacy

The "Gran Capitán" was a pioneer of modern warfare. He revolutionized 16th-century military strategy by integrating firearms into the Spanish infantry and directed the first battle in history won by

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). T ...

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

(in this case,

es), the

of 1503. He helped found the first modern standing army (the nearly invincible Spanish infantry which dominated European battlefields for most of the 16th and 17th centuries), and he pioneered

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects (for example by using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other) ...

warfare by combining the use of infantry, cavalry and artillery with naval support. He left no sons, and was succeeded in his dukedoms by daughter Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique. His burial place in the Monastery of San Jerónimo in

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

, was built in Renaissance style. His remains were transferred there in 1552, together with some 700 war trophies (captured banners). His daughter, Elvira, and his wife, Maria, are also buried there, along with a number of other family members. Elvira died in 1524, and Maria died in 1527. The tomb was desecrated by Napoleonic troops under the command of the Corsican General Sebastiani during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

, in 1810/11. The remains of Fernández de Córdoba were illegally exhumed and mutilated, and the 700 banners were burned. Stone from the tower was used to build the Puente Verde bridge over the

Genil The Genil River is the main (left) tributary of the river Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain. The Roman ''Singilis'', its modern name derives from the Moorish rendering of the Roman name: ''Sinyil, Sannil'', and ''Sinnil''. Route The source of th ...

. The monastery was fully restored at the end of the 19th century.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * Prescott, William, and Albert D. McJoynt. The Art of War in Spain. London: Greenhill Books, 1995. Spanish * Rafael Arce Jiménez y Lourdes Belmonte Sánchez: ''El Gran Capitán: repertorio bibliográfico'', Biblioteca Manuel Ruiz Luque, 2000, * José Enrique Ruiz-Domènec: ''El Gran Capitán. Retrato de una época'', 2002, * Duro, Cesáreo Fernández. Armada Española, desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón. Madrid: Museo Naval, 1972 * Martín Gómez, Antonio L. El Gran Capitán: Las Campañas del Duque de Terranova y Santángelo. Madrid, Spain: Almena, 2000. * Ruiz Domènec, José Enrique. El Gran Capitán, Retrato de una época. Madrid, Spain: Ediciones Peninsula, 2002. , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez De Cordoba, Gonzalo 1453 births 1515 deaths People from Campiña Sur (Córdoba) Military leaders of the Italian Wars Spanish generals Dukes of Spain Viceroys of Naples 15th-century Castilians 16th-century Spanish people Spanish Roman Catholics 101 People of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars 15th-century Neapolitan people