Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 1507 – 11 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (Spanish: Gran Duque de Alba, Portuguese: Grão Duque de Alba) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke (Dutch: IJzeren Hertog or shortly 'Alva') in the Netherlands, was a Spanish noble, general and diplomat. Alba achieved notoriety for his actions during the Eighty Years' War in the Spanish Netherlands, where his prolonged military campaigns and harsh repression failed to suppress the Dutch Revolt.

Born into a prominent

In 1567, King Philip II of Spain appointed Alba governor of the Netherlands and tasked him with the suppression of Dutch rebels. Alba instituted the Council of Troubles, which led to the condemnations of thousands and came to be known as the "Council of Blood". Militarily, Alba repeatedly defeated the troops of William of Orange during the first stages of the Eighty Years' War but failed to extinguish the rebellion, and in 1573 he was recalled to Spain. Alba's last military successes were in the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580, for which he was rewarded the titles viceroy and constable of Portugal. He held both titles until his death in Lisbon in 1582.

Early years

Fernando was born in Piedrahíta, Province of Ávila, on 29 October 1507. He was the son of García Álvarez de Toledo y Zúñiga, heir of Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Quiñones, II Duke of Alba de Tormes, and of Beatriz Pimentel, daughter of Rodrigo Alonso Pimentel, IV Count – I Duke of Benavente and his wife, María Pacheco. Fernando was orphaned at age three when his father, García, died during a campaign on the island of Djerba in Africa in 1510. At the age of six, Fernando accompanied his grandfather, the second Duke of Alba, on a military mission to capture Navarre.

His youth and education were typical for

In 1541 Fernando Álvarez de Toledo was named Mayordomo Mayor del Rey de España (High Steward to the King of Spain) by Charles I of Spain.[2] Alba kept this office in court until the death of the monarch in 1556.

In 1546, Charles I invested Fernando, the Third Duke of Alba

In 1563, King Philip II created the title Duke of Huéscar to be bestowed on the heir of the Dukes of Alba. Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, son of Fernando became 1st Duke of Huéscar.

In 1566, Alba's son and heir, Fadrique, broke his promise of marriage to Magdalena de Guzman, lady of Queen

After Fernando had become the third Duke of Alba in 1532, Charles V sent him to Vienna to help defend the city against an Ottoman invasion army. No battle ensued as the Ottomans, having lost momentum due to time lost during the Siege of Güns, decided not to advance against Vienna and retreated from the field.

During this time, he was accompanied by the soldier-poet Garcilaso de la Vega throughout his travels in Europe. The special access that De La Vega had as a close companion to Alba, coupled with his skilled craft as a writer, allows the historian to delve into the deepest emotions expressed by the Duke of Alba through the poetry of De La Vega, specifically concerning the arduous travels while on a war-footing as well as the emotional longing that Alba expressed for his wife.^[5]

The Duke's first military command to engage in battle was in the conquest of Tunis. In early June 1535 at Cagliari, he embarked with the military force commanded by the Marquess of Vasto. On 14 July, the fortress of La Goleta was seized, and a week later the army took the city of Tunis which was defended by Hayreddin Barbarossa. Thus Spain regained control over the western Mediterranean Sea.

In 1542, he led the Spanish troops against the French Army, ending the siege of Perpignan. The siege was a decisive victory for Alba and one of the worst defeats of Francis I during the French offensive of 1542.

In Germany (1546–47)

In 1547, Charles I, in his capacity as

In Milan and Naples (1555–59)

In later years, the focus of conflict between France and Spain had moved to the Italian peninsula. Alba was sent to Italy as

The newly appointed

On December 26, 1566, Alba received the

A few days later, on 5 September 1567, Alba established the "Council of Troubles", popularly known in the Netherlands as the "Court of Blood," to prosecute those responsible for the riots of 1566, especially those deemed heretics. Alba also targeted the local Catholic nobles who favoured dialogue and who opposed outside intervention. Two of the three heads of Flemish nobility, the Count of Egmont, a Catholic General for Philip II, who had led the cavalry that defeated the French at the Battle of San Quentin, and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn, were arrested and the court sentenced both counts to death. The Mayor of Antwerp, Anthony van Stralen, Lord of Merksem and Jan van Casembroot were other famous victims of the bloody repression, along with a large group of other apostates. Those condemned were executed on 5 June 1568 in the Town Hall Square in Brussels. Alba had little confidence in conventional Flemish justice, which he perceived as sympathetic to the defendants, and witnessed the executions in person. He would later become equally mistrustful of the local helpers of the Council of Troubles as possibly having their own agendas.

The maintenance of the troops in Flanders entailed substantial economic costs. The Duke imposed new taxes on the population and reformed its laws. Some cities, including Utrecht, refused to pay and declared a rebellion, which quickly spread throughout the Netherlands. William the Silent, the prince of Orange, enlisted the help of the French Huguenots and started to actively support the rebellion. William and the Huguenots took many Dutch cities. The Spanish troops advanced under banners with the Latin legend Pro lege, rege, et grege, which in English means For the law, the king, and the people [literally, the flock]. In 1572 the Spanish army carried out the

In spite of continuous military action, the political situation in the Netherlands had not turned in favour of the Spanish crown. After five years of repression, more than 5,000 executions[15] and numerous complaints to the Spanish court, Philip II decided to change policy and relieve the Duke. The monarch sent Luis de Requesens to replace him. De Requesens tried to appease the situation by giving concessions to the rebels. Alba returned to Spain in 1573.

Nevertheless, the Duke still had influence in the Royal Council. Alba belonged to the conservative Spanish faction called Albistas or imperialists. This faction included the

Philip II, through his mother Isabella of Portugal also a grandson of Manuel I, did not recognize Antonio as king of Portugal. The king appointed Fernando, Duke of Alba, as captain general of his army.^[21] The duke was 73 years old and ill at the time.^[22] Fernando mustered his forces, estimated at 20,000 men,^[23] in Badajoz, and in June 1580 crossed the Spanish-Portuguese border and moved to Lisbon. In late August he defeated a Portuguese army at the Battle of Alcântara and entered Lisbon. This cleared the way for Philip II who became Philip I of Portugal, and created a dynastic union spanning all of Iberia under the Spanish crown.^[24]

King Philip II rewarded Fernando with the titles of 1st

His first child, Fernando de Toledo (1527–1591), was an illegitimate son with a miller's daughter in the town of La Aldehuela.^[26]

27 April 1529^[27] the Duke married his cousin María Enríquez de Toledo y Guzmán (died 1583), daughter of Diego Enríquez de Guzmán, III Count of Alba de Liste, with whom he had four children.

• García Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzmán (1530–1548)
• Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzman
  , IV Duke of Alba (1537–1585)
• Diego Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzmán (1541–1583),
  Antonio Álvarez de Toledo y Beaumont
  , V Duke of Alba de Tormes (1568–1639)
• Beatriz Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzmán (died 1637), married Álvaro Pérez Osorio, V Marquess of Astorga.

Later years and death

Alba died in Lisbon on 11 December 1582, at the age of seventy-five; he was given the last rites by the famous

His remains were transferred to Alba de Tormes, where he was buried in the convent of San Leonardo. In 1619 they were transferred to the Convento de San Esteban, Salamanca. In 1983 a mausoleum was erected over his grave, funded by the Provincial Deputation of Salamanca.^[28][29]

Aceh War reference

In 1904 there was in the Dutch press and

Bibliography

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Alva, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo".

• Hobbs, Nicolas (2007). "Grandes de España" (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 October 2008.
• Instituto de Salazar y Castro. Elenco de Grandezas y Titulos Nobiliarios Españoles (in Spanish). Periodic publication.
• Falcó y Osorio, María del Rosario. Duquesa de Berwick y de Alba. Catálogo de las colecciones expuestas en las vitrinas del Palacio de Liria. Madrid. 1898.
• Fernández Álvarez, Manuel. "El duque de hierro: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, III de Alba". Colección Espasa Forum. Espasa Calpé. Madrid. 2007.
  ISBN 978-84-670-2625-2
  .
• Kamen, Henry. The Duke of Alba. New Haven, Yale, 2004.
  • Kamen, Henry. El gran duque de Alba. Cuarta edición, cartoné. La Esfera de los Libros. Madrid. 2004/7.
    ISBN 978-84-9734-220-9
    .
• Maltby, William S. Alba: A Biography of Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba, 1507–1582. University of California Press. 1983.
  ISBN 0-520-04694-3
  .
  • Maltby, William S. El gran duque de Alba. Prólogo Jacobo Siruela, traducción Eva Rodríguez Halffter. Segunda edición. Ediciones Atalanta. Vilaür. 2007.
    ISBN 978-84-935313-8-6
    .
• Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Educación y Cultura. Los Álvarez de Toledo Nobleza viva. María del Pilar García Pinacho. España. 1998.
  ISBN 84-7846-775-0
  .
• Alba, General and Servant to the Crown. Edited by Maurits Ebben, Margriet Lacy-Bruijn and Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier. Karwansaray. 2013.
  ISBN 978-94-90258-08-5
  .

External links

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Government offices
Preceded by Ferdinando Gonzaga	Governor of Milan 1555–1556	Succeeded by Cristoforo Madruzzo
Preceded by Bernardino de Mendoza	Viceroy of Naples 1556–1558	Succeeded by Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo
Preceded by Margaret of Parma	Governor of the Netherlands 1567–1573	Succeeded by Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga
New title	Viceroy of Portugal 1580–1582	Succeeded by Albert of Austria
Preceded by João de Bragança	Constable of Portugal 1581–1582	Succeeded by Teodósio de Bragança
Spanish nobility
Preceded by Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo	Duke of Alba 1531–1582	Succeeded by Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo
Preceded by García Álvarez de Toledo	Marquess of Coria 1510–1582