Fadrique de Toledo Osorio, 1st Marquess of Valdueza (30 May 1580 – 11 December 1634), was a

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

officer and nobleman. He was a Knight of the

Order of Santiago The Order of 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 pilgrims on the Way of S ...

and became Captain General of the Spanish Navy at the age of 37.

Life

He was born in Naples as the son of

Pedro de Toledo Osorio, 5th Marquess of Villafranca Pedro de Toledo Osorio y Colonna or Pedro Álvarez de Toledo Osorio, 5th Marquess of Villafranca del Bierzo, (Naples, 6 September 1546 – 17 July 1627), Governor of the Duchy of Milan, 1616–1618, Prince of Montalbano Jonico, Montalbano, ...

, then commander in chief of the Spanish Army in the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially 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 established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

, and Doña Elvira de Mendoza. He served in the Spanish fleet under command of his father and rose quickly through the ranks, as did his elder brother

García de Toledo Osorio, 6th Marquess of Villafranca García de Toledo Osorio or García Álvarez de Toledo Osorio, 6th Marquess of Villafranca, (25 April 1579 in Naples – 21 January 1649 in Madrid), Prince of Montalbano, 3rd Duke of Fernandina was a Spanish-Italian nobleman, military and a ...

. In 1617, he became Captain General of the Ocean Sea Navy, replacing the late Admiral Luis Fajardo. He gained several victories against the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, in 1621 near

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

and in 1623 in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, blockading the Dutch coast. In the same year he defeated a

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

incursion near Gibraltar. For all of his victories he was awarded the title of Marquess of Villanueva de Valdueza on 17 January 1624. In 1625 he was appointed General of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

(then in a

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

), and Capitán General of the Army of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He sailed towards Brazil at the head of a fleet consisting of 34 Spanish ships, 22 Portuguese ships and 12,566 men (three quarters were Spanish and the rest Portuguese). There he reconquered the strategically important city of

Salvador da Bahia Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

from the Dutch on 30 April 1625. This victory would prove decisively important in the Dutch-Portuguese War to oust the Dutch from Brazil over the next two decades. In 1629 he commanded a Spanish expedition that expelled the English and French colonial settlers from the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Marriage and children

On 12 August 1627, in Madrid, Don Fadrique married his cousin Doña Elvira Ponce de León, daughter of Don Luis Ponce de León, VI Marqués de Zahara, and Doña Victoria Álvarez de Toledo. They had three children : * Doña Elvira de Toledo, married Don Juan Gaspar Enríquez de Cabrera, 6th Duke of Medina de Rioseco. * Doña Victoria de Toledo, married her cousin Don Francisco Ponce de León, 5th Duke of Arcos. * Don Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo y Ponce de León, 2nd Marquess of Valdueza, 7th Marquess de Villafranca and

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 ...

. Don Fadrique also had two illegitimate children: * Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, Abbot of the Royal Monastery of

Alcalá la Real Alcalá la Real is a city in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2024 INE figures, the city had a population of 21,581. Geography Alcalá la Real is situated from the provincial capital, Jaén, and from Granada, on the slopes of L ...

, Jaén. * Íñigo de Toledo, who married Leonor de Velasco, XI Countess of

Siruela Siruela is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2006 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 2,214 inhabitants. See also * List of municipalities in Badajoz This is a list of the mu ...

References

External links

Don Fadrique de Toledo y Osorio (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez de Toledo y Mendoza, Fadrique Marquesses of Spain Spanish politicians Captain generals of the Navy Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo y Mendoza 1580 births 1634 deaths Spanish admirals Spanish generals Military personnel from Naples Knights of Santiago Naval commanders of the Eighty Years' War People of the Dutch–Portuguese War People of the Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630) Nobility from Naples