Juan Francisco de la Cerda Enríquez de Ribera (

Medinaceli Medinaceli () is a municipality and town in the province of Soria, in Castile and León, Spain. Built on a hilltop at about 1210 metres above sea level, the town oversees the Jalón valley. The municipality includes other villages like Torralba ...

, 4 November 1637 –

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, 20 February 1691), 8th

Duke of Medinaceli Duke of Medinaceli () is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee. The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, created the title and awarded it on 31 October 1479 to Luis ...

, 7th Marquis de Cogolludo, 4th Marquis of Alcalá de la Alameda, 6th Duke of

Alcalá de los Gazules Alcalá de los Gazules is a city and municipality located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2006 census, the town has a population of 5,633 inhabitants. Alcalá de los Gazules is situated in the Sierra de Cádiz. Although not ...

, 9th Count of Los Molares, 9th Marquis of Tarifa, 8th Count of El Puerto de Santa María, was a Spanish noble and politician, and chief minister of King

Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...

. During his tenure as chief minister of Spain (1680-1685), de la Cerda enforced a number of economic reforms aimed at reducing the galloping inflation, avoiding the permanent deficit, and filling the coffers of Spanish Monarchy. De la Cerda's policies achieved one of the largest deflations in history, which proved very beneficial to the King's subjects, increasing their incomes and purchasing powers. However, his measures failed to fill the royal coffers, led to food riots, and eventually caused his downfall in 1685. Most of his policies were nevertheless continued and expanded by his successor as chief minister, the Count of Oropesa, and are credited with fostering the economic recovery of Spain.

Biography

Don Juan Francisco was the son of Antonio de la Cerda, 7th Duke of Medinaceli and Ana María Luisa Enríquez de Ribera Portocarrero y Cárdenas, 5th Duchess of

.
By his marriage to Catalina de Aragón, Don Juan Francisco added the titles of

Duke of Segorbe Duke of Segorbe () is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1469 by John II of Aragon to Enrique de Aragón, son of Infante Henry, Duke of Villena and Beatriz de Pimentel, from whom t ...

, Cardona and Lerma to the

House of Medinaceli Duke of Medinaceli () is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee. The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, created the title and awarded it on 31 October 1479 to Luis de ...

. In 1677,

John of Austria the Younger John Joseph of Austria or John of Austria (the Younger) (; 7 April 1629 – 17 September 1679) was a Spanish general and Politician, political figure. He was the only illegitimate son of Philip IV of Spain to be acknowledged by the King and tr ...

, the illegitimate half-brother of King Charles II (who was young and inexperienced) had removed the Queen Mother Mariana from court, and established himself as prime minister. Great hopes were entertained for his administration, but it proved disappointing and short: Don John died on 17 September 1679. As his predecessors, Don Juan Francisco was a loyal servant of the Spanish Crown, and after the death of John of Austria, he became the Valido of King Charles II.
Also

Sumiller de Corps The Sumiller de Corps was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain in charge of the more intimate and inner rooms of the King of Spain. He was responsible of the most immediate service to the Monarch. This Office was s ...

and

Caballerizo mayor The Caballerizo mayor (Great Equerry) was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain. This role included oversight of the trips, the mews, and the hunt of the King of Spain. Regime during the 16th to 18th centuries ...

to the King, he drastically reformed the economy through the ''Junta de Comercio y Moneda'', but his monetary devaluation led to collapse of the prices and speculation on grain, which led to several bankruptcies. In several regions of Spain, food riots broke out, which led together with the humiliating

Truce of Ratisbon The Truce of Ratisbon, or Truce of Regensburg, concluded the War of the Reunions, fought by France against Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. The Truce was signed on 15 August 1684 at the Dominican convent in Ratisbon (now in Bavaria) between Louis ...

with France, to the resignation of Don Juan Francisco. He retired from politics and died in 1691. All his titles went to his son

Luis Francisco de la Cerda Luis Francisco de la Cerda y Aragón, 9th Duke of Medinaceli (2 August 1660, in El Puerto de Santa María – 26 January 1711, in Pamplona), 9th Duke of Medinaceli, was a Spanish noble and politician. Biography Eldest son of Valido Don Ju ...

References

Real Academia de la Historia

Fundación Medinaceli

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerda, Juan Francisco de la 1637 births 1691 deaths People from the Province of Soria Dukes of Medinaceli Marquesses of Spain Counts of Spain Spanish politicians Court of Charles II of Spain Knights of the Golden Fleece