Fadrique Enríquez de Velasco II (c. 1465–1538), 4th Lord of Medina de Rioseco, was the 4th

Admiral of Castile Admiral of Castile was the representative of the King of Castile at the head of the Navy. It was a dignity created in 1247 that lasted until 1705. Admiral of Castile The title of Admiral of Castile was created by King Ferdinand III the Saint in ...

and played an important role in defeating the

Revolt of the Comuneros The Revolt of the Comuneros (, "War of the Communities of Castile") was an uprising by citizens of Crown of Castile, Castile against the rule of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles I and his administration between 1520 and 1521. At its hei ...

. Fadrique Enríquez was the son of Alonso Enríquez (1435-1485) (son of Fadrique Enriquez I) and María de Velasco. He inherited his father's possessions in

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...

and the castle of

Medina de Rioseco Medina de Rioseco is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León and Spain. According to a 2011 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 4,967 inhabitants. The city also has t ...

. On February 14, 1490, he was appointed

by the

Reyes Católicos 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, b ...

. He was a cousin of King

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

, son of

John II of Aragon John II (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese language, Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and ; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was ...

and

Juana Enríquez Juana Enriquez, 5th Lady of Casarrubios del Monte (1425 – 13 February 1468) was Queen of Aragon and de facto Queen consort of Navarre as the wife of King John II. Juana Enríquez was the Regent of Navarre during the absence of her husban ...

of Córdoba. Fadrique Enríquez was hot-tempered and was banished to Sicily after a row with Queen

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

. In 1489 he was rehabilitated and participated in the conquest of Baza and the

Battle of Granada The Granada War was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1492 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 ended with the defeat o ...

. During his stay in Sicily, he married the very rich Ana de Cabrera, countess of Modica, Osona, Cabrera and Bas. They had no children. Fadrique Enríquez himself was count of Melgar, lord of Medina de Rioseco, Mansilla, Rueda, Aguilar, and Villabrajima and was one of the richest persons in Spain. His yearly income was estimated at 50.000

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s. In 1496 he accompanied

Joanna of Castile Joanna of Castile (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad (), was the nominal queen of Castile from 1504 and queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile ...

to Flanders to be married to

Philip the Handsome Philip the Handsome (22 June/July 1478 – 25 September 1506), also called the Fair, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands and titular Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506, as well as the first Habsburg King of Castile (as Philip I) for a brief ...

. On his return, he escorted Philip's sister,

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, to Spain to be married to prince John. Fadrique reached the highest political power during the

. In 1520 he became, together with his cousin

Íñigo Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Duke of Frías Íñigo Fernández de Velasco (1462–17 September 1528), 2nd Duke of Frías, Grandee of Spain, and Constable of Castile (), was a Spanish nobleman. Fernández de Velasco was the son of Pedro Fernández de Velasco and of Beatriz Manrique ...

, governor of Spain in the absence of Charles V. He brought peace and was rewarded by the Emperor with the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. Fadrique Enríquez was mecenas of artists like Juan Boscán. He is buried with his wife in the monastery of San Francisco in Medina de Rioseco. He was succeeded by his brother

Fernando Enríquez de Velasco Fernando Enríquez de Velasco (around 1466 - 1545), 1st Duke of Medina de Rioseco, was the 5th Admiral of Castile. Biography Fernando Enríquez was the son of Alonso Enríquez (1435–1485) and María de Velasco. He inherited the titles from ...

Sources

Real Academia de la HistoriaTodo Avante : Fadrique Enriquez de Cabrera y Velasco, Biografia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enriquez, Fadrique Counts of Spain 1538 deaths Year of birth uncertain Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain People of the Revolt of the Comuneros