Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzmán, 4th Duke of Alba,

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

(in full, ) (21 November 1537 – 3 September 1585), was a commander in the Spanish army during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

Biography

He was the first legitimate son of

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, ) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke () or shortly 'Alva' in the Netherlands, was a Spaniards, Spanish noblema ...

, and became the fourth Duke after his father's death. His titles included Duke of Huéscar, Marquis of Coria and Comendador Mayor in the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava (, ) was one of the Spanish military orders, four Spanish military orders and the first Military order (society), military order founded in Kingdom of Castile, Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bu ...

. He had two short marriages, in 1555 to Guiomar de Aragón (died 1557), daughter of Alfonso de Aragón, Duque de Segorbe and in 1562 to María Josefa Pimentel y Girón (died 1566), daughter of Antonio Alonso Pimentel y Herrera de Velasco, III duque de Benavente. Between 1557 and 1558 he occasionally replaced his father during his absences in the position of viceroy of Naples. In 1566, Fadrique had promised to marry Magdalena de Guzman, lady of Queen

Elisabeth of Valois Elisabeth of France, or Elisabeth of Valois (; ; 2 April 1546 – 3 October 1568), was Queen of Spain as the third wife of Philip II of Spain. She was the eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. Early life Elisabeth was ...

, but resiled from it, costing him arrest and imprisonment in the Castle of La Mota,

Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. It lies on the banks of the Zapardiel river, in the centre of t ...

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

. The following year Fadrique was released in exchange for serving in the military for three years on the border with

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

and suffering banishment from the court for three more years. In April 1568, finding himself in

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

waiting to embark for Oran, Philip II commuted this punishment to a new destination in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, where his father was at the head of the tercios in his capacity as

governor of the Spanish Netherlands The governor () or governor-general () of the Habsburg Netherlands was a representative appointed by the Holy Roman emperor (1504-1556), the king of Spain (1556-1598, 1621-1706), and the archduke of Austria (1716-1794), to administer the Burgundi ...

Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo Duque de Alba

Don Fadrique was commander of the Spanish troops during the most bloody phase of the war in the Netherlands. He was in charge of the Spanish troops that slaughtered the populations of

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 11th centur ...

and

Naarden Naarden () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and former List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Gooi region in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been part ...

, as well as during the costly Siege of Haarlem. In Mechelen, his troops were allowed to pillage, loot and destroy for three days. These and other pillages were later known in Europe as the Spanish Fury. His army failed in the siege of

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

, and he had to retreat. His father the Duke did not approve, he was afraid of his son's reputation that was already not good with

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

, their King. In 1578, Philip II ordered the case reopened against Fadrique, during which it was discovered that in order to prevent the marriage with Magdalena de Guzman, he had secretly married by proxy to María de Toledo, daughter of García Álvarez de Toledo and Osorio, IV Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo, with the permission of his father the Duke of Alba, in contravention of the provisions of the King. Fadrique was again confined to his prison in the Castillo de la Mota, and his father was banished from the court, from where he went into exile to Uceda.Documents on the causes that gave rise to the prison of D. Fadrique, son of the Duke of Alba, and also to that of the Duke himself, ''op. cit.''
vol. VII
pages. 464-524, an
vol. VIII
pages. 483-529. Because of his poor state of health and the precarious conditions of his confinement, in May 1580 Fadrique was released from his prison, under the condition of residing in the town of

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

, from where he was prohibited from leaving. From his union with María de Toledo he had a son in 1582, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Álvarez de Toledo, VI Marquis of Coria, who died that same year.Pb4QAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA26,M1 Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus
pages. 26-27. He was Duke between 11 December 1582 and 11 December 1583 and was succeeded in his titles of nobility by his nephew Antonio Álvarez de Toledo y Beaumont.

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez De Toledo, Fadrique 1537 births 1583 deaths Viceroys of Naples Knights of Calatrava Spanish generals Spanish people of the Eighty Years' War Fadrique Dukes of Huéscar Fadrique Fadrique 16th-century Spanish military personnel Grandees of Spain 16th-century Spanish nobility