Gastón de Moncada y Gralla-Despla, 2nd Marquis of Aitona (1554–1626) was a member of Spanish nobility who was the

Viceroy of Sardinia This is a list of viceroys of Sardinia. Aragonese Viceroys From 1418 to 1516 Sardinia was ruled by viceroys from the Crown of Aragon, which merged into the Monarchy of Spain in 1516. * Lluís de Pontons (1418-1419) * Joan de Corbera (1419-1420) ...

(1590–1595) and the Viceroy of Aragon (1610-1615).

Biography

He was one of the 17 children of the 2nd Count of

Aitona Aitona () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Segrià Segrià () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia (Spain). It is located in the western region of Ponent, bordering Aragon. , over two thirds of its population live in the capital city of L ...

Francisco de Moncada y Folch de Cardona, 1st Marquis of

. His grandfather was Juan de Moncada y de Tolça, 11th Baronet. In 1590, he was appointed

, a post he would hold until 1595 .
Between 1606 and 1609, he was

Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See The Ambassador of Spain to the Holy See is the Kingdom of Spain's foremost Diplomat, diplomatic representative in the Holy See. History The ambassador is appointed to the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Ministers, they direct the work o ...

. Back in the Iberian Peninsula, and already under the reign of Philip III, he served as Viceroy of Aragon, between 1610 and 1615, replacing Archbishop Tomás de Borja y Castro. During his viceroyalty the Expulsion of the Moriscos took place, a measure that was to have disastrous repercussions for the Aragonese economy and society. Once his Aragonese period was over, he returned to Madrid, where he still served in the final years of the reign of Philip III in the Councils of State and War. After a long political career, he died on 24 January 1626.Real Academia de la Historia
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Marriage and children

He married Catalina de Moncada y Bou, baronesa de Callosa, and had several children, including : *

Francisco de Moncada, 3rd Marquis of Aitona Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Com ...

, (1586–1635) interim Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. * Pedro, Bishop of Gerona.Fundacion Medinaceli
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References

1626 deaths Viceroys of Aragon Viceroys of Sardinia Gaston 02 1554 births Ambassadors of Spain to the Holy See {{Spain-noble-stub