Pedro Henriquez d'Azevedo y Alvarez de Toledo, Count of Fuentes de Valdepero (1525 – 22 July 1610) was a Spanish general and statesman.

Biography

Born at Zamora, he was a

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at the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

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 ...

, training in Naples in 1557, aged 32 with Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, (1507–1582),

Governor of the Duchy of Milan The governor of Milan was a political and military office of the Duchy of Milan, the title of the representatives of the foreign sovereigns who held dominion over the Milanese area, substantially from the 16th century until the Unification of It ...

, 1555–1556, Viceroy of Naples, 1556–1557, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, Viceroy of Portugal, 1582–1584, He took part in the 1580 campaign in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

under the Duke of Alba and in 1582 was given supreme command over the Spanish troops. In 1589, as Captain General of Portugal, he successfully defended

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

against the attack by the

English Armada The English Armada (), also known as the Counter Armada, Drake–Norris Expedition, Portugal Expedition, was an attack fleet sent against Spain by Queen Elizabeth I of England that sailed on 28 April 1589 during the undeclared Anglo-Spanish W ...

, led by John Norreys and

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

. Sent in 1591 by the king to the

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, he assisted after the death of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, his successor Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort and later Ernst of Austria, after whose death he became intermittent stateholder of the Netherlands. He conquered Doullens and

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

during the Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598). His excessive severity persuaded Philip II to exchange him for Albert of Austria. He was then made

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and Captain General of

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, 1600–1610, dying in office aged 85, where he spread fear among the Italian

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, especially the Venetians through his policies and use of the army. In 1599, he entered into a treaty with the

Count of Savoy The titles of the count of Savoy, and then duke of Savoy, are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the House of Savoy held the county. Several of these rulers ruled as kings at ...

and assisted in the conspiracy of Biron. Under his rule a famous fortress, the ''Forte di Fuentes'', where the river Adda meets

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

, still named after him and now ruined, was built to guard the border against the

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

near Colico, LC. He died in office at

. He was married, 1585, aged 60, to Juana de Acevedo y Fonseca, who had been awarded the title by king

in 1572, being thus ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' 1st Countess of Fuentes de Valdepero, and during that marriage, he was therefore ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' 1st Count of Fuentes. As he and his wife died childless, the title passed to one of her relatives, Manuel de Acevedo y Zúñiga, 6th Count of

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Ourense,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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 ...

by king

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

on 11 July 1628, Viceroy of Naples, 1631–1637.

References

Sources

* *Gran Enciclopedia de España, 1992, 22 vols, 11,052 pages, vol 8, page 3,574. {{DEFAULTSORT:Henriquez Dazevedo, Pedro 1525 births 1610 deaths People from Zamora, Spain 16th-century Spanish nobility 17th-century Spanish nobility Spanish generals Pedro Henriquez d'Azevedo y Toledo Spanish politicians Spanish people of the Eighty Years' War Spanish imperial proconsuls