Juan Alonso de Guzmán y Suárez de Figueroa Orozco, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia and 3rd Count de Niebla (in full, ) (c. 1405 – December 1468) was a Spanish nobleman and military figure of the
Reconquista
The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
.
Biography
Juan Alonso de Guzmán was the son of
Enrique de Guzmán, 2nd Count of Niebla, 5th
Lord of Sanlúcar, and of Teresa Suárez de Figueroa y Orozco, Lady of Escamilla and Santa Olalla.
He fought in the
Castilian Civil War of 1437–1445 on the side of King
John II of Castile
John II of Castile (; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405.
Regency
John was the son of King Henry ...
, against the
Infantes of Aragon and their Castilian allies.
He managed to keep control over the area of Seville, and to launch a counterattack that allowed the recovery of the enemy bases of Jerez, Acalá de Guadaira, Carmona and Córdoba.
For this, he was awarded the title of
Duke of Medina Sidonia by King
John II of Castile
John II of Castile (; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405.
Regency
John was the son of King Henry ...
on 17 February 1445.
In 1462, he played the leading role in the
Reconquest of Gibraltar, which had been lost in 1411, and where his father had died in the
failed diege of 1436.
Juan de Guzmán, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia, died in December 1468 and was buried in the
monastery of San Isidoro del Campo in
Santiponce.
Marriage and children
He married Doña Maria de la Cerda y de Sarmiento, daughter of Luis de la Cerda y Mendoza, 3rd Count de Medinaceli. They had no children. He had however several illegitimate childeren :
* with Isabel de Menezes y Fonseca (also called Isabel de Meneses, c. 1420-1494), sister of Archbishop
Alonso de Fonseca y Ulloa :
**
Enrique de Guzmán, who was legitimized when his father, shortly before dying, married Isabel de Meneses. Succeeded him in his house, as 2nd Duke of Medina Sidonia;
** Álvaro de Guzmán, Lord of the Torre del Maestre, Monturque, la Palmosa and Alhocen, married to María Manuel de Figueroa.
* with Doña Elvira de Guzmán, daughter of Don Alvaro de Guzmán, 6th Señor de Orgáz:
** Teresa Pérez de Guzmán y Guzmán, married
Pedro de Zúñiga y Manrique de Lara.
* with his cousin Urraca de Guzmán el Bueno y Figueroa:
** Juan Urraco de Guzmán "El Bueno", 4th señor de Lepe, military, married Leonor de Cárdenas, daughter of
Alonso de Cárdenas
Alonso de Cárdenas was a Spanish noble who was the 44th and 47th (and last) Grand Master of the Order of Santiago before the title passed to the Catholic Monarchs as the need for a powerful military order outside the direct control of the kin ...
;
** Lorenzo Urraco de Guzmán el Bueno, a priest.
*with Catalina de Gálvez, daughter of the warden of Sanlúcar de Barrameda:
**Fadrique de Guzmán, had issue;
**Alfonso de Guzmán, died in battle in 1473, no issue;
**Pedro de Guzmán, died in battle in 1473 together with his brother. Married to an other daughter of
Alonso de Cárdenas
Alonso de Cárdenas was a Spanish noble who was the 44th and 47th (and last) Grand Master of the Order of Santiago before the title passed to the Catholic Monarchs as the need for a powerful military order outside the direct control of the kin ...
, but left no descendants.
References
Sources
*
*
* Valverde Fraikin, Jorge. (Granada, 1991) "Títulos Nobiliarios Andaluces", Editorial Andalucía, p. 80
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Juan Alonso de
1400s births
1468 deaths
101
Juan Alonso
15th-century Castilians
Grandees of Spain
People from the Crown of Castile