"Iron Duke" Alba. The beginning of the battle
Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, III Duque de Alba, por Antonio Moro
Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, better known as the "iron" or "great" Duke of Alba, was one of the most noble grandees of Spain. The list of his titles (besides the ducal one) is more than impressive: 4th Marquis of Coria, 3rd Count of Salvatierra de Tormes, 2nd Count of Piedrahita, 8th Lord of Valdecorne. The family motto is Deo patrum nostrorum ("To the God of our fathers"). From 1546 he also became Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece. It was he who represented King Philip II at the engagement ceremonies with his third and fourth wives, Elizabeth of Valois and Anna of Austria. At the same time, Alba treated people who did not have a noble rank without prejudice, and most of the senior officers in his headquarters did not have the right to add the prefix “don” to their names.
He lived a fairly long life, fought a lot and successfully, entered the history as the first Spanish commander to appreciate the muskets, which required the installation of a fork-support. Less bulky arquebus still remained the most massive firearms weapons, however, the Duke of Alba gradually increased the number of his musketeers to 8 percent of the total number of soldiers. He was also a very capable organizer and administrator, which was especially evident in the development of the routes of the so-called "Spanish Road" - from Lombardy to the Netherlands. However, in the memory of the descendants, the Duke of Alba remained, first of all, as the "executioner of the Netherlands." It should be said that his opponents were also not angels, and with their senseless rigidity they were often not inferior to him. Admiral Willem de la Mark's sea geese turned out to be especially "frostbitten". But the roles in this historical drama are scheduled once and for all, and are unlikely to ever change.
The first years of the life of the hero of the article
Fernando (Hernan) Alvarez de Toledo was born in the Spanish province of Avila on October 29, 1507 and died in Lisbon in 1582. That is, the hero of our article was a contemporary of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III, Ivan IV (the Terrible), Boris Godunov and Yermak. And also Magellan, Cortes, Pizarro, Henry VIII, Elizabeth Tudor, Mary Stuart, Henry of Navarre - the first Bourbon on the French throne, Suleiman the Magnificent, the first great Mogul Babur, Luther, Calvin, Michelangelo, Titian, Cellini, Giordano Bruno, Ariosto, Tasso , Lucrezia Borgia and Machiavelli. Metropolitan Philip (Kolychev) of Moscow and Anna Boleyn were born in the same year as him. And died in the same 1507, Gentile Bellini, Cesare Borgia and Jean Moline (French chronicler, composer, poet, who compiled the prose arrangement of the Romance of the Rose).
Father Fernando Alvarez died in 1510 on the island of Djerba during the war with the Moors. A three-year-old boy ended up in the house of his grandfather, Duke Fadrique Alba. The question of his future fate was already resolved at the age of 6, when his grandfather took him to his army, which was heading to the war in Navarre. The campaign ended with the conquest of this kingdom. Returning home, Fernando continued his studies, having received a good education and a strict Catholic upbringing. It is known that he was fluent in French, English and German, knew Latin. In 1524, the 17-year-old youth ended up in the army of Iñigo Fernandez de Velasco, who captured the Basque city of Fuenterrabia (at that time it belonged to France). It was Fernando, despite his youth, who was appointed military governor of this city. In 1525, we see him as a participant in the famous battle of Pavia, in which the French king Francis I was captured. Later, Francis will surprise the entire Christian world by entering into an alliance with Suleiman Kanuni (the Magnificent), and even provide Toulon for the winter fleet Ottoman Admiral Khair al-Din Barbarossa. And Charles V's ally would be Henry VIII of England.
In 1526, Fernando entered into a relationship with the daughter of a miller from the town of La Aldejuela, who in 1527 gave birth to a son from him, named the same as his father - Fernando. He will be recognized and make a good career, becoming a knight of the Order of Malta and the governor of Catalonia. In the same 1527, 20-year-old Fernando Alvarez married the daughter of the Count of Alba del Liste, Maria Enrique, who was his cousin. He lived with her for 54 years, his wife bore him 4 children.
Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba and his wife María Enriquez de Toledo y Guzman
In 1531, his grandfather died, and Fernando Alvarez received the title of duke. He rarely saw his wife, since he took an active part in all the wars waged by Charles V and his son Philip II. At the age of 25, he already became a general, at the age of 30 he was first appointed commander of the army.
In 1532, the young duke participated in the campaign of Charles V to Vienna, which was ruled by another Habsburg, the emperor's brother Ferdinand. However, the Spanish army managed to approach only in September, while the Ottomans, who had stood all August at the small fortress of Guns, before reaching Vienna, left Hungary.
Duke of Alba vs Khair ad Din Barbarossa
Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean, the name of the famous Maghreb pirate Khair ad-Din Barbarossa, who had transferred to the Ottoman service, was heard louder and louder. He had already captured the Spanish fortress on Peñon Island, which blocked the harbor of Algiers, and then defeated the late Spanish squadron, capturing about 2500 sailors and soldiers. In 1531 he defeated the fleet of the Hospitallers and devastated the coasts of Spain, Calabria and Apulia. In 1533, 60 ships of Barbarossa ravaged the Calabrian cities of Reggio and Fondi. Finally, in August 1534, his squadron, supported by the Janissaries, captured Tunisia, which threatened Sicily, which was owned by Charles V. At the expense of funds brought from Peru by Hernan Pizarro (half-brother of the famous Francisco), a campaign against Tunisia was organized. The allies of the Spaniards were the Hospitallers, who recently (in 1530) received from Charles V the islands of Malta, Gozo, Camino, as well as the African city of Tripoli, the Genoese and the Portuguese. The Duke of Alba also participated in this campaign. The decisive role was then played by the world's largest and most powerful galleon "Sao João Baptista" (São João Baptista, "Saint John the Baptist"), which broke the chains that closed the entrance to the harbor of Goletta (port of the city of Tunisia). This ship, also known by the nickname "Botafogo" ("Incendiary"), was commanded by Prince Luis - whose illegitimate son, many years later, would become a rival of Charles V's heir, Philip, in the struggle for the Portuguese throne.
Franz Hogenberg. Attack on Goletta. Galleon "San Juan Baptista" - bottom left
In July 1535, Tunisia was captured, but Barbarossa managed to escape to Algeria and then hit Minorca, capturing a Portuguese galleon that had returned from America, and 6 prisoners. After that, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent appointed him the "Emir of the Emirs" of Africa and the commander-in-chief of the imperial fleet.
Hyr ad Din Barbarossa
On September 28, 1538, at the Battle of Prevese, Barbarossa defeated the fleet of the Holy League, assembled by Pope Paul III. He then had 122 ships against 156 enemy warships (36 Papal, 61 Genoese, 50 Portuguese and 10 Maltese). Barbarossa's fleet sank 3 enemy ships, burned 10 and captured 36.
Umed Behzad. Battle of Preveza. Maritime Museum, Istanbul
For three years there was no force in the Mediterranean that could challenge this Ottoman admiral. Finally, in 1541, Charles V managed to assemble a new fleet of 500 ships. The Duke of Alba was appointed to command them. The famous Genoese admiral Andrea Doria and Hernan Cortes, who returned from Mexico in 1540, also went on a campaign. Charles V was so confident in the success of this expedition that he invited many wives of the Spanish grandees to take part in it, promising these ladies "a beautiful sight."
Barbarossa was not in Algeria then, and the city was defended by the eunuch Hassan, a native of Sardinia, captured by the Maghreb pirates as a child. Barbarossa made him his assistant and did not fail: Hassan rose to the rank of admiral, became the third beylerbey of Algeria and devastated the coasts of Italy and Spain more than once. His successor in 1544 was Hadji Pasha, the son of Barbarossa.
The Spaniards were let down by the elements. Cardinal Talavera reports that on October 23, when the landing troops had just finished landing near Algiers,
"Such a storm arose that it was not only impossible to unload the guns, but many small ships just capsized, thirteen or fourteen galleons too."
This storm did not subside for 4 days, more than 150 ships were lost, about 12 thousand soldiers and sailors died. Cortes suggested that Charles V storm Algiers, regardless of the circumstances, but he completely lost heart and ordered a retreat. The emperor was so shocked that, before going out to sea, he is said to have thrown his crown into the water, saying:
"Goodbye, trinket. Let the one who is more fortunate carry you.
Portrait of Charles V by Titian
On the remaining ships, the Spaniards barely managed to get to Mallorca.
After 47 years, the tragedy of the Spanish fleet will be repeated when the famous Invincible Armada leaves the coast of England. And the great confrontation in the Mediterranean will continue for several hundred more years. Millions of Europeans will be sold in slave markets until France conquers Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco in the middle of the XNUMXth century. Only then will the inhabitants of the coasts breathe calmly, and Christian ships will stop disappearing without a trace. The French will try to create a piece of Europe in North Africa, and they will even succeed. However, everything will end with the appearance of the Maghreb in France itself.
But let us return to Spain of the 1541th century. The failure in Algiers did not affect the career of Duke Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, who in 1542 was appointed mayor (supreme steward) of the King of Spain. In XNUMX, the duke's detachment released Perpignan, besieged by the troops of the French dauphin Henry. After that, he was appointed military adviser to the heir to Charles V - Philip.
First Catholic-Protestant War
On October 18, 1517, Martin Luther published his famous "Theses" (in the amount of 95 pieces). And after 29 years, the first big war between Catholics and Protestants began. Back in February 1531, the defensive Schmalkaldic League was created in the Lutheran lands of Germany, which included eight princes and eleven cities. It was understood here that the Catholic Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, would sooner or later try to return them to the fold of the Roman Church. And so it happened: having concluded a peace treaty with France and a truce with the Ottoman Empire, Charles V in 1546 began the so-called Schmalkaldic War. The Duke of Alba was appointed commander of the army, whose troops included heavy cavalry from Naples, Spanish landsknechts, Hungarian hussars and a detachment of condottiere Gian Giacomo Medici. The decisive battle was at Muhlberg on April 24, 1547. Mass was being celebrated in the Lutheran camp when the troops of Alba, having crossed the Elbe, attacked the enemy. The victory was complete and unconditional. The military leader of the League, Elector Johann Friedrich I of Saxony was captured and sentenced to death. Assessing the outcome of the battle, Charles V said:
"Vine, vi y venció Dios!"
(“I came, I saw, and God won!”)
(“I came, I saw, and God won!”)
Titian. "Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg". Prado Museum, Madrid
However, this was only the first and not too significant episode of the many years of bloody confrontation between Catholics and Protestants.
From 1548, Charles V began to think about the possibility of transferring power to his son Philip. The Duke of Alba was appointed mayor of the heir apparent. He accompanied him to England, where Philip married Mary Tudor on July 25, 1554.
In the meantime, Alba managed to take part in the unsuccessful siege of the city of Metz: the Spanish troops were led by Charles V himself, the French garrison was led by Duke Francois de Guise.
Lucien-Etienne Meling. Army of Charles V at Metz
The most curious thing is that all this happened in the north-east of France (in Lorraine) as part of either the Eighth, or even the Tenth (according to various authors) Italian War. These wars were fought by Spain, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and other states (including Turkey) from 1494 to 1559.
Duke of Alba in Italy
After the withdrawal from Metz, the Duke of Alba was sent to command the Spanish forces in Italy. And Prince Philip in 1554 became king of Naples and Sicily. In 1556, Charles V abdicated and soon died after catching a cold while rehearsing for his funeral. Philip became the king of Spain, the duke of the Netherlands, the ruler of a number of European principalities and overseas possessions of Spain.
Alonso Sanchez Coelho. Portrait of Philip II with a rosary
Spanish possessions in Europe
Duke of Alba Philip II appointed Viceroy of Naples. He moved to this city from Milan, where from 1555 he served as governor. And immediately a new war began, in which the French troops of Henry II and the army of the papal region opposed him (Paul IV was then the Roman pontiff).
Alba borrowed 430 ducats from the Polish Queen Bona Sforza (they were never returned to the Poles later) and formed a 12-strong army, which he led to Rome. Dad tried to play for time, hoping for the help of Francois Guise, whom we knew. However, this time, another duke was more successful - Alba, who defeated the French at the Battle of San Quentin (August 10, 1557). Having then defeated the papal army, in September 1557 he entered Rome, where Paul IV was forced to sign a peace treaty beneficial to Spain.
In April 1559, the Cato-Cambresian Treaty was also concluded, which put an end to these Italian wars, which bothered everyone (including history students).
Signing of the Cato-Cambresi peace treaty between Spain and France treaty
On the Spanish side, it was also signed by the Duke of Alba. This peace treaty was sealed by the marriage of the widowed Philip II for the second time and the daughter of Henry II Isabella of Valois, the wedding took place in Paris. Later, after the assassination of the childless Henry III, Philip II will try to declare his daughter from Elizabeth Isabella queen of France. As a result, the famous Henry IV will become the king, who will realize in time that “Paris is worth Mass».
"Once upon a time there was Henry IV, he was a glorious king." Engraving de Henri Goltzius, 1592
Despite the closeness of the duke to Philip II and great services to him and Spain, in 1566 his son, Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo and Enriques de Guzman, was arrested. The reason for the royal anger was the violation of the promise to marry Magdalena de Guzman, the court lady of Queen Anne of Austria.
Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo
At first, Fadrique was imprisoned in the castle of La Mota (province of Valladolid), but in 1557 he was released and sent to serve in the Algerian fortress of Oran for three years.
Meanwhile, in 1566, the "Iconoclastic Revolt" began in the Netherlands, which became the prologue to the Eighty Years' War. The duke was instructed to suppress the rebellion and replace the king's sister, Margarita of Parma (illegitimate daughter of Charles V), as governor of this province. By order of Philip II in 1568, his son Fadrike joined him, who later led the troops that captured Mechelen, Zutphen, Naarden and besieged Alkmaar and Haarlem. Sending the duke to the Netherlands, Philip II ordered him to "decapitate" the rebels - to capture the most prominent and wealthy citizens of the province, whose property was subject to confiscation. Alba, on the other hand, was an impeccable performer who literally and without hesitation carried out the orders of both Charles V and his son. Thus, he was simply doomed to become an anti-hero of that war, taking on those streams of dirt that were actually intended for Philip II. And the appointment of Alba to the post of governor of the Netherlands was Philip's mistake - precisely because the duke followed his instructions too literally. Being a good commander, a good organizer and administrator, he turned out to be a useless politician.
We will talk about the brutal and bloody war in the Netherlands in the next article.
Information