James Francis (Jacobo Francisco) Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick, 2nd Duke of Liria and Xérica (

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, 21 October 1696 –

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 2 June 1738) was a Jacobite and Spanish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

. He inherited titles in the Jacobite and Spanish nobility on the death of his father in battle in 1734 at

Philippsburg Philippsburg () is a town in the district of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Before 1623, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim". The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1316 to 1803. The town is named after P ...

, during the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

. He was also Consort Duke of Veragua and of la Vega and a Consort-Marquis of four further titles by his Spanish marriage in 1716. His full title was 2nd Duke of Berwick, 2nd Earl of Tinmouth, 2nd Baron Bosworth, 2nd Duke of Liria and Xerica,

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 ...

1st class (from 1716), Knight of 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 ...

(from 29 September 1714), as well as the holder of several earldoms.

Family

His father was

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick (21 August 1670 – 12 June 1734) was a French Royal Army officer and nobleman who was the eldest illegitimate son of James II of England by Arabella Churchill (royal mistress), Arabella Churchill, the ...

, an illegitimate son of King

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

by Arabella Churchill, sister of the

1st Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was a British army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he ...

. His mother was Lady Honora Burke (1675–1698), second daughter of William Burke, (d. 1687), the seventh

Earl of Clanricarde Earl of Clanricarde ( ; ) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 19 ...

and widow of the Irish Jacobite nobleman

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ( 1655 – 21 August 1693) was an Irish army officer. Killed at Battle of Landen, Landen in 1693 while serving in the French Royal Army, he is now best remembered as an Irish patriot and military hero. Born ...

, 1st Earl of Lucan. Sarsfield and Berwick were both veterans of James II's

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

and went into

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

exile as part of the

Flight of the Wild Geese The Flight of the Wild Geese was the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland ...

. Unfortunately, his mother died young at Pezenas, in the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

South of France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

, on the 16 January 1698, when he was less than 18 months old. His father later remarried and so the 2nd Duke of Berwick had 12 younger half brothers and half sisters, the eldest half brother being the origin of the line of French Dukes of Fitzjames (a title extinguished in 1967).

Marriage and descent

On 31 December 1716, the 2nd Duke of Berwick became the second husband of the dowager Catalina Ventura Colón de Portugal y Ayala-Toledo, 9th Duchess of Veragua (14 July 1690 – 3 October 1739). Catalina Ventura was the daughter of Pedro Manuel Colon de Portugal y de la Cueva, (25 December 1651 - 9 September 1710). This made the 2nd Duke of Berwick also duke-consort of Veragua and of la Vega. They had 6 children, of whom 4 survived to adulthood:The peerage
/ref> * James Fitz-James Stuart, 3rd Duke of Berwick (28 December 1718 - 30 September 1785), who on 26 July 1738 married Maria Teresa De Silva y Haro. * Pedro de Alcántara, (1720–1791), Captain general of the Spanish Navy, married María Benita de Rozas y Drummond, no issue. * Ventura (1724–????), married María Josefa Gagigal y Monserrat, had one son. * Maria Guadalupe (1725–1750), married to Francesco Maria Pico, Duke of Mirandola, but no issue.

Career

The Anglo-Franco-Spanish James Fitz-James Stuart was employed by Elizabeth of Parma to achieve her military purposes, being involved in the battles on land and sea from 1717 to 1719 to regain Naples from its Austrian rulers and Sicily from the Duchy of Savoy, thus creating the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

. He fought as colonel of the Irish Regiments of Spain and Lieutenant General of the Spanish Royal Armies, being promoted to Field Marshal in February 1724. He then served as Spanish ambassador to Russia under Emperor Peter II (December 1726 to 1730), taking with him

Ricardo Wall Richard Wall y Devereux (5 November 1694 – 26 December 1777) was a Spanish military officer, statesman and diplomat who served as Chief Minister of Spain from 1754 to 1763. Early life Wall belonged to a family settled in Kilmallock, one of ...

(1694–1777), later a minister in the Spanish government. During his time in Russia he was made a Knight of the Russian Order of Saint Andrew (28 March 1728), a Knight of the Russian Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky and a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

(by James Stuart on 3 April 1727). On 6 January 1728, he founded the Order of the Anti-Sober in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. From 1730 to 1733 Stuart was ambassador in Vienna, then from 1733 to his death in 1738 ambassador to the "recovered" Kingdom of Naples (taking Wall with him again on both missions).

Ancestry

James Fitz-James Stuart was a grandson of

King James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

by his illegitimate son

whom he fathered with his mistress Arabella Churchill.

References

* A. Paz y Meliá. ''Conquista de Nápoles y Sicilia y relación de Moscovia, por el Duque de Berwick. Precede una noticia de la vida y escritos del autor por A. Paz y Meliá''. 468 pages, Madrid (1890). Imprenta y Fundición de M.Tello. Impresor de Cámara de S. M. * Duque de Liria y Jérica, ''Diario de Viaje a Moscovia'', edit. by Á.L. Encinas, I. Arranz, M. Rodríguez, , Ed. Miraguano, April 2008. * http://indigo.ie/~wildgees/honora3.htm * http://www.tcd.ie/CISS/mmspain.php *Research Group on Irish and Spanish Military Migration to Spain by Professor Ciaran Brady, Dr. Declan Downey and Dr. Oscar Morales e-mail at TCD (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland). February 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Berwick, James Stuart, 2nd Duke Of 1696 births 1738 deaths Ambassadors of Spain Ambassadors to the Russian Empire Ambassadors to the Habsburg monarchy Berwick, JacoboFitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Dukes of Spain French people of Irish descent Spanish people of Irish descent Grandees of Spain

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

Illegitimate branches of the House of Stuart Jacobites Knights of the Garter Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Regiment of Hibernia Spanish generals Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)