Juan de la Cerda y Silva, 4th Duke of Medinaceli (c. 1514 – 1575),

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 ...

, was a Spanish nobleman. He was the son of Don

Juan de la Cerda, 2nd Duke of Medinaceli ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philipp ...

, by second wife María de Silva. In 1552 Juan de la Cerda inherited the titles from his older half-brother Gastón de la Cerda y Portugal. Both half brothers, the 3rd, Gaston, and the 4th Duke, Juan II, are widely reported in many places and articles as being born "out of marriage" from different women and being "legitimated" males by the Crown as legal successors to their father, the second duke Juan I, also, apparently, a legitimated bastard, however. In 1557, King

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

appointed him

Viceroy of Sicily A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

, a position he held until 1564. During that time he besieged with a fleet the North-African harbor of Tripoli, now in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, dealing with

Dragut Dragut (; 1485 – 23 June 1565) was an Ottoman corsair, naval commander, governor, and noble. Under his command, the Ottoman Empire's maritime power was extended across North Africa. Recognized for his military genius, and as being among "the ...

, an Ottoman

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

. The force, including ships from Spain,

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

and the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

, was however nearly destroyed in the

Battle of Djerba The Battle of Djerba () took place in May 1560 near the island of Djerba, Tunisia. The Ottomans under Piyale Pasha's command overwhelmed a large joint Christian alliance fleet, composed chiefly of Spanish, Papal, Genoese, Maltese, and Neapol ...

. In 1567 he was appointed Viceroy of Navarre supposedly staying there till 1572, but it seems that towards the end of 1570, he became head of the household of Queen Anna of Austria, position he held until his death in 1575. In the spring of 1572 Philip II sent Medinaceli to the Netherlands as governor. According to Henry Kamen, Medinaceli reported to the king that ''"Excessive rigour, the misconduct of some officers and soldiers, and the Tenth Penny, are the cause of all the ills, and not heresy or rebellion."'' ..One of the governor's officers reported that in the Netherlands ''"the name of the house of Alba"'' was held in abhorrence. Medinaceli lobbied the King for the removal of the Duke of Alba as military commander. Deciding that the views of Medinaceli and Alba were not compatible, Philip II removed both and replaced them with Requesens.David F. Burg, ''A World History of Tax Rebellions: An Encyclopedia of Tax Rebels, Revolts, and Riots from Antiquity to the Present'', Routledge, 2003, 538 p.

Descendants

On 7 April 1541, at Ocaña, Juan de la Cerda married Joana Manuel, daughter of Sancho de Noronha, 2nd Count of Faro with whom he had seven children. By Joana Manuel de Portugal: * María de la Cerda (c. 1542 – c.1575), who married Antonio d'Aragona, 4th Duke of Montalto *

Juan de la Cerda, 5th Duke of Medinaceli Juan de la Cerda, 5th Duke of Medinaceli (1544 – 29 May 1594), Grandee of Spain, (in full, ), was a Spanish nobleman and Ambassador in Portugal. He was the son of Don Juan de la Cerda, 4th Duke of Medinaceli and of Joana Manuel, daughter of Sanc ...

, (1544 - duke 1575–1594). * Gastón de la Cerda y Silva (c. 1546 – c.1562) who was captured and died as a prisoner in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

* Sancho de la Cerda y Portugal, 1st Marquis of la Laguna de Camero Viejo (c. 1550 – 1626) * Angela de la Cerda, who married Pier Giulio de Luna, 2nd Duke of Bivona * Blanca de la Cerda, 1st Marchioness of Rifes, who married Fernando de Silva, 6th Count of Cifuentes * Catalina de la Cerda, who married Francisco Gómez de Sandoval, 1st Duke of Lerma; their granddaughter Luisa de Guzman became Queen of Portugal (ancestor of all subsequent monarchs), and their great-granddaughter was

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

, an English queen consort.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerda, Juan de la, 4th Duke of Medinaceli 1510s births 1575 deaths Dukes of Medinaceli Viceroys of Navarre Marquesses of Cogolludo Counts of Puerto de Santa María Juan 04 Knights of Santiago Grandees of Spain