Ambrogio Spinola
Álvaro de Bazán | |
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Personal details | |
Born | 1569 Captain-General |
Commands | Captain-General of the Army of Flanders |
Battles/wars | |
Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. He is often called "Ambrosio" by Spanish-speaking people and is considered one of the greatest military commanders of his time and in the history of the Spanish army.[1] His military achievements earned him the title of Marquess of Los Balbases in the Spanish peerage, as well as the Order of the Golden Fleece and Order of Santiago.
Early life
Ambrogio Spinola was born in
In the 16th century, the Italian Republic of Genoa was in practical terms a protected state of the Spanish Empire; the Genoese were the bankers of the Spanish monarchy and had control of its finances. Several of the younger brothers of Ambrogio Spinola sought their fortune in Spain, and one of them, Federico, distinguished himself greatly as a soldier in the Army of Flanders.
As the eldest brother, Ambrogio remained at home to marry and continue the family. In 1592 he was married to Giovanna Bacciadonne, daughter of the count of Galerata.[3]
Spanish service
The houses of Spinola and Doria were rivals for authority within the republic. Ambrogio Spinola continued the rivalry with the count of Tursi, then the chief of the Dorias. He was not successful, and having lost a lawsuit into which he had entered to enforce a right of pre-emption of a palace belonging to the Salerno family which the Doria wished to purchase, he decided to withdraw from the city and advance the fortunes of his house by serving the Spanish monarchy in Flanders.
In 1602 he and his brother Federico entered into a contract with the Spanish government—a
Several of Federico's galleys were destroyed by English and Dutch war-ships; first at the at Sesimbra in June and then at the in October in the English Channel. He himself was slain in an action with the Dutch on 24 May 1603.
Ambrogio Spinola marched overland to Flanders in 1602 with the men he had raised at his own expense. During the first months of his stay in Flanders, the Spanish government played with schemes for employing him on an invasion of England, which came to nothing. At the close of the year, he returned to Italy for more men.
His experience as a soldier did not begin until, as General, and at the age of thirty-four, he undertook to continue the Siege of Ostend on 29 September 1603. Despite failing to relieve Sluis under siege at the same time, the ruins of Ostend fell into his hands on 22 September 1604.[3] For this victory, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1605.
War in Flanders
The governor of Flanders
By April he was back in
In 1606 he again went to Spain. He was received with much outward honour, and entrusted with a very secret mission to secure the government of Flanders in case of the death of the Archduke or his wife. However, he could not obtain the grandeeship which he desired and was compelled to pledge his entire fortune as security for the expenses of the war before the bankers would advance funds to the Spanish government. He was never repaid, resulting in his complete financial ruin.
The Spanish government now had a reason to keep him away from Spain. Until the signing of the
By 1611 Spinola's financial ruin was complete, but he was given the aristocratic title, a
After the renewal of the war in the Low Countries in 1621 he had the most renowned victory of his career, the capture of
Capture of Breda
Spinola captured the city after a prolonged siege. After its surrender, he gave safe passage to its leaders and soldiers, who were allowed to leave the city with their banners and arms, an extraordinary and magnanimous gesture that made Spinola famous throughout Europe. Spinola famously argued that "El valor del vencido es la gloria del vencedor" ("The valour of the defeated is the glory of the victor"). The gesture, which was understood as true Christian benevolence, is depicted in Velázquez's work.[5]
The taking of Breda was the culmination of Spinola's career. Utter want of money paralysed the Spanish government, and the new favourite, Olivares, was jealous of the general. Spinola could not prevent Frederick Henry of Nassau from taking Groll (or Groenlo) in 1627, a good set-off for Breda.
In January 1628 he left for Spain, resolved not to resume the command in Flanders unless security was given to him for the support of his army. At Madrid he had to endure much insolence from Olivares, who endeavoured to make him responsible for the loss of Groll. Spinola was resolute not to return to Flanders.[3]
Death
Meanwhile, the Spanish government added a war over the succession to the Duchy of Mantua to its heavy burdens. Spinola was appointed as plenipotentiary and general. He landed at Genoa on 19 September 1629.[3] With him, at the suggestion of painter Peter Paul Rubens, came the Spanish royal painter Diego Velázquez, who went with him to see famous paintings in Genoa, Milan, Venice and Rome.
In Italy, he was pursued by the enmity of the Conde-Duque of Olivares, who had been, curiously enough, born in Rome in 1587, where his father, don Enrique de Guzmán y Ribera, a cadet child from one of Spain's oldest noble families, was the Spanish ambassador. Olivares ultimately caused Spinola to be deprived of his powers as plenipotentiary.
Spinola's health broke down, as he was already 61 years old, with over 30 years' experience on the battlefield. He died on 25 September 1630 at the Siege of Casale, muttering, apparently, the words "honour" and "reputation."[3]
The title of "Marquess of Los Balbases", still borne by his representatives in Spain, was all that his family received for the vast fortune they spent in the service of Philip III and IV.[3] He would be painted however after his death, by Diego Velázquez, in 1635, as ordered by Felipe IV, in The Surrender of Breda.
Spinola was a brilliant field commander, whose daring in battle often was used to outflank his opponents and catch them off guard. He was not a great technical innovator but was a master of military skills. He used rapid movement and pell-mell actions in his battles. He was skilled at picking out an enemy's weakest spot and applying force there to achieve victory.[6]
Family
Spinola and Giovanna Bacciadonne had three children:
- Filippo (1594 – 8 August 1659), 2nd Marquess of Balbases and his successor.
- Polissena (died 1639), married Diego Felipe de Guzmán, 1st Marquess of Leganés, Governor of Flanders.
- Archbishop of Sevilla1645.
References
- ^ a b Cust, Sir Edward (1865). Lives of the warriors of the seventeenth century: Vol.I. London.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Muoni, Damiano (1859). Collezione D'Autografi Di Famiglie Sovrane. Milan.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l public domain: Hannay, David (1911). "Spinola, Ambrose". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 686–687. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ISBN 9780803244238.)
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Loqéz-Rey, La obra completa de Velázquez (Taschen, 2014)
- ^ *Keegan, John; Wheatcroft, Andrew (2014). Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day. London: Routledge.
Sources
- Hobbs, Nicolas (2007). "Grandes de España" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
- Instituto de Salazar y Castro. Elenco de Grandezas y Titulos Nobiliarios Españoles (in Spanish). periodic publication.
- Rodriguez Villa, A. (1905). Ambrosio Spinola, primer marqués de Los Balbases (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Genealogía de la familia y del apellido Spinola (in Spanish). Archived 2 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine.