José de Córdoba y Ramos (September 26, 1732 – April 3, 1815) 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 explorer who sailed around the world and fought in several battles of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

Biography

Born into a family of sailors, he was the son of Don Ramón Antonio de Córdova-Lasso de la Vega y Córdova-Lasso de la Vega, and Doña Mariana Josefa Ramos de Garay y Mexiá. Córdoba took to the seas at the age of 13. After sailing under

Andrés Reggio Andrés Reggio y Brachiforte (1692 – 1780) was a Spanish Navy officer. Biography He was born in the Spanish-controlled Sicily, Sicilian city of Palermo in 1692. He joined the navy as a young man and served throughout the War of the Quadrupl ...

, he was appointed to sail his own ship from

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

via the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

. In command of the frigate ''Astrea'', he set sail in April 1770 with a crew of 289 men. Arriving in Manila Bay, he affirmed that he only had two patients with

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

, pointing out that the low incidence of scurvy was due to the gaspacho that he ordered to be given to the crew. Setting course back to Spain on January 6, 1771, he arrived at the Isla de León on August 1, 1771. Later in his career he sailed several times to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, where he oversaw improvements in the design of the

Manila Galleon The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...

. On September 21, 1789, he became ''Teniente general'' (

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

) of the Navy. At the outbreak of war with

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 1796, he was put in command of the Spanish fleet. While in command of the fleet he suffered a serious defeat at the

Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent was a fleet action fought on 14 February 1797 between the British and Spanish navies off Cape St. Vincent as part of the War of the First Coalition. In one of the opening battles of the recently declared war be ...

on board the '' Santísima Trinidad'' (which was successfully attacked by

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

and after surrendering Córdoba's flagship was only saved because of the intervention of two other Spanish ships). After St Vincent, Córdoba was dismissed from the Spanish Navy and forbidden from appearing at court.

Family

He married Julia de Rojas and they had one son, José de Córdoba y Rojas, a loyalist commander in the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence () took place across the Spanish Empire during the early 19th century. The struggles in both hemispheres began shortly after the outbreak of the Peninsular War, forming part of the broader context of the ...

. He was also the grandfather of: *

Luis Fernández de Córdova Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

, general in the

Carlist Wars The Carlist Wars (, ) were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 1 ...

, diplomat and Marquis of Mendigorría *

Fernando Fernández de Córdova Don Fernando Fernández de Córdova y Valcárcel, 2nd Marquess of Mendigorría (2 September 1809, in Buenos Aires – 30 October 1883, in Madrid), was a Spanish military, politician, and Prime minister of Spain for one day. Biography Born into ...

, fought in the

, politician and Prime minister of Spain for one day.

Sources

Content in this article is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at :es:José de Córdova y Ramos; see its history for attribution. * Pedro Sánchez Núñez, ''Venturas y desventuras de un marino utrerano: José de Córdova y Ramos'', 2002, 348 pages * Francisco de Paula Pavía y Pavía, ''Galería biográfica de los generales de marina, jefes y personajes notables que figuraron en la misma corporación desde 1700 a 1868'', Volume 1, Impr. J. Lopez, 1873, p. 343 and following. *
Google Books Catalogo descriptivo de los objetos que contiene El Museo Naval, Impr. de L. Beltran, Madrid, 1862, p. 20

Links

*

article in ABC Journal, Seville edition by Ignacio Fernández Vial.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Jose de Cordoba y 1732 births 1815 deaths 18th-century Spanish naval officers 19th-century Spanish naval officers Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808) Spanish military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars