Pedro Velarde y Santillán (25 October 1779 – 2 May 1808) was a Spanish

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

famous for his heroic death in the '' Dos de Mayo'' uprisings against the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

occupation of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

. He became a popular hero and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

figure for Spain's subsequent

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which resi ...

from the

French Empire French Empire (french: Empire Français, link=no) may refer to: * First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon I from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 and by Napoleon II in 1815, the French state from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 * Second French Empire, led by Nap ...

. Born to a

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the ea ...

n family in

Muriedas Muriedas is the capital of the municipality of Camargo ( Cantabria, Spain). The town is situated 7 kilometers from Santander. Within just 2 kilometers away is the Santander Airport, which is located in Maliaño Maliaño is a village in the munic ...

, Camargo, Velarde enrolled in the Artillery College (''Colegio de Artillería'') at the

Alcázar de Segovia An alcázar, from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in the Iberian Peninsula (also known as al-Andalus) built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for gover ...

in 1793. He graduated near the top of his class and was promoted to

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

in 1799. He fought in the War of the Oranges against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

in 1800 and was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1801. Velarde returned to the Artillery College after the war and worked as an instructor of mathematics and

ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing ...

, in which he became something of an expert. In 1806 he was made a secretary of the Artillery Corps' ''

Junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

Superior Económica'' and established himself in Madrid. When the mass uprisings broke out against the French occupiers on May 2, 1808, Velarde took up arms and rallied his men. Acting on orders from the local

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

, Velarde led 37 soldiers to defend the Monteleón artillery

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are ...

against the French. Velarde, along with his comrade

Luís Daoíz de Torres 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 archaic ...

and most of his soldiers, fell in the day's heavy fighting in which hundreds died. He was 28 years old. The name of one of the two lions standing at the Congreso de los Diputados is Velarde. The other lion's name is Daoiz. His body was recovered from the battlefield and carried off to a burial. Velarde's epic

last stand A last stand is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are defending a tacti ...

, immortalized in artwork and monuments, assured him a central place in the pantheon of heroes from the national resistance to Napoleon that has since formed part of Spain's national mythology. Image:Santander.Estatua.a.la.gloria.del.heroe.jpg, Statue of Velarde in

Santander, Cantabria Santander () is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. It is a port city located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao with a population of 172,000 (2017). It is believed t ...

File:Monumento a Daoiz y Velarde.jpg, Monument to Daoíz and Velarde,

Plaza del Dos de Mayo The Plaza del Dos de Mayo is an urban square in Madrid, Spain. It is the neuralgic centre of the Malasaña area, within the administrative neighborhood of Universidad. Its name remembers the Dos de Mayo Uprising in 1808 that marked the beginnin ...

, Madrid

External links

Biography of Pedro Velarde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velarde y Santillan, Pedro 1779 births 1808 deaths People from Camargo, Cantabria Military personnel from Cantabria Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Spanish military personnel killed in action