Summary
Dom Francisco de Melo (1597 – 18 December 1651) was a Portuguese nobleman who served as a Spanish general during the Thirty Years' War.
Francisco de Melo | |
|---|---|
 Francisco de Melo as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. | |
| Born | ? 1597 Estremoz, Portugal |
| Died | 18 December 1651 (aged 54 or 53) Madrid, Spain |
| Allegiance | Spain |
| Service/ |  Spanish Army |
| Years of service | 1638–1645 |
| Rank | Captain General |
| Battles/wars | Thirty Years' War Catalan Revolt |
Biography edit
Francisco was born in Estremoz, Portugal. From 1632 to 1636 he was the Spanish ambassador to the Republic of Genoa.[1] In 1638, Francisco was appointed viceroy of Sicily,[2] and two years later he was ambassador in Vienna.[1] He was appointed as an understudy of Marquess of Leganés.[3]
Francisco was marquis of the Portuguese Tor de Laguna, count of Assumar, and from 1641 to 1644, interim governor of the Southern Netherlands.[4]
When Francisco arrived in the Southern Netherlands, he already had an impressive political career. He scored a victory against Antoine III de Gramont at the Battle of Honnecourt in May 1642.[5]
Francisco was defeated at the Battle of Rocroi in 1643.[3][a] In August 1644, Francisco returned to Spain and was appointed to the council of state and royal military adviser by Philip IV of Spain.[6][4]
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ a b Watanabe-O'Kelly 2010, p. 369.
- ^ van Nimwegen 2010, p. 566.
- ^ a b Hanlon 2016, p. 60.
- ^ a b Guthrie 2003, p. 172.
- ^ Stradling 1994, p. 208.
- ^ a b Stradling 1994, p. 209.
Sources edit
- Guthrie, William P. (2003). The Later Thirty Years War: From the Battle of Wittstock to the Treaty of Westphalia. Greenwood Press.
- Hanlon, Gregory (2016). Italy 1636: Cemetery of Armies. Oxford University Press.
- van Nimwegen, Olaf (2010). The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588-1688. The Boydell Press.
- Stradling, R. A. (1994). Spain's struggle for Europe, 1598-1668. Bloomsbury Academic.
- Watanabe-O'Kelly, Helen (2010). Europa Triumphans: Court and Civic Festivals in Early Modern Europe. Ashgate Publishing.