Pedro Henriquez d'Azevedo y Alvarez de Toledo, Count of Fuentes de Valdepero (1525 in Zamora, Spain – 22 July 1610 in Milan, Italy) was a Spanish general and statesman.
Born at Zamora, he was a page at the court of Philip II of Spain, training in Naples in 1557, aged 32 with Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, (1507–1582), Governor of the Duchy of Milan, 1555–1556, Viceroy of Naples, 1556–1557, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, Viceroy of Portugal, 1582–1584,
He took part in the 1580 campaign in Portugal under the Duke of Alba and in 1582 was given supreme command over the Spanish troops. [1] In 1589, as Captain General of Portugal, he successfully defended Lisbon against the attack by the English Armada, led by John Norreys and Francis Drake.
Sent in 1591 by the king to the Netherlands, [2] he assisted after the death of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, his successor Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort and later Ernst of Austria, after whose death he became intermittent stateholder of the Netherlands. He conquered Doullens and Cambrai during the Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598). His excessive severity persuaded Philip II to exchange him for Albert of Austria.
He was then made governor and Captain General of Milan, 1600–1610, dying in office aged 85, where he spread fear among the Italian nobility, especially the Venetians through his policies and use of the army. In 1599, he entered into a treaty with the Count of Savoy and assisted in the conspiracy of Biron. [1] Under his rule a famous fortress, the Forte di Fuentes, where the river Adda meets Lake Como, still named after him and now ruined, was built to guard the border against the Grisons near Colico, LC.
He died in office at Milan. He was married, 1585, aged 60, to Juana de Acevedo y Fonseca, who had been awarded the title by king Philip II of Spain in 1572, being thus suo jure 1st Countess of Fuentes de Valdepero, and during that marriage, he was therefore jure uxoris 1st Count of Fuentes. As he and his wife died childless, the title passed to one of her relatives, Manuel de Acevedo y Zúñiga, 6th Count of Monterrey, Ourense, Spain, Grandee of Spain by king Philip IV of Spain on 11 July 1628, Viceroy of Naples, 1631–1637.
Philip II, sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent, was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He was also jure uxoris King of England and Ireland from his marriage to Queen Mary I in 1554 until her death in 1558. Further, he was Duke of Milan from 1540. From 1555, he was Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba, known as the Grand Duke of Alba in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke or shortly 'Alva' in the Netherlands, was a Spanish nobleman, general and statesman.
Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga was a Spanish general, sailor, diplomat and politician. He served as governor of the Duchy of Milan (1572–1573) and as governor of the Spanish Netherlands (1573–1576).
Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. It had territories around the world, including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-eastern France, eventually Portugal and many other lands outside the Iberian Peninsula, including in the Americas and Asia. Habsburg Spain was a composite monarchy and a personal union. The Habsburg Spanish monarchs of this period are Charles I, Philip II, Philip III, Philip IV and Charles II. In this period the Spanish Empire was at the zenith of its influence and power. Spain, or "the Spains", referring to Spanish territories across different continents in this period, initially covered the entire Iberian Peninsula, including the crowns of Castile, Aragon and from 1580 Portugal. It then expanded to include territories over the five continents, consisting of much of the American continent and islands thereof, the West Indies in the Americas, the Low Countries, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italian territories and parts of France in Europe, Portuguese possessions such as small enclaves like Ceuta and Oran in North Africa, and the Philippines and other possessions in Southeast Asia. The period of Spanish history has also been referred to as the "Age of Expansion".
Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzmán, 4th Duke of Alba, Grandee of Spain,, , was a commander in the Spanish army during the Eighty Years' War.
Juan Álvarez de Toledo was a Spanish Dominican and Cardinal, from 1538. Considered papabile in the papal conclave (1549–1550), he was initially running second in votes to Reginald Pole. He was again a candidate in 1555.
The Sicilian title Duke of Bivona stems from the middle 16th century. Bivona is in Sicily, which had been conquered by Peter III of Aragon in 1282. It was given to people related to the powerful medieval Aragonese family of Luna, Zaragoza.
The War of the Portuguese Succession, a result of the extinction of the Portuguese royal line after the Battle of Alcácer Quibir and the ensuing Portuguese succession crisis of 1580, was fought from 1580 to 1583 between the two main claimants to the Portuguese throne: António, Prior of Crato, proclaimed in several towns as King of Portugal, and his first cousin Philip II of Spain, who eventually succeeded in claiming the crown, reigning as Philip I of Portugal.
Pedro de Toledo Osorio y Colonna or Pedro Álvarez de Toledo Osorio, 5th Marquess of Villafranca del Bierzo,, Governor of the Duchy of Milan, 1616–1618, Prince of Montalbano, 2nd Duke of Fernandina was a Spanish-Italian nobleman and a Grandee of Spain.
García Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio, 4th Marquess of Villafranca del Bierzo, was a Spanish general and politician.
Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez, 2nd Duke of Alba was a Spanish nobleman, military leader and politician.
Antonio Álvarez de Toledo y Beaumont, 5th Duke of Alba, Grandee of Spain,, was a Spanish nobleman and politician.
Fernando de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 12th Duke of Alba, was a Spanish politician and general who was Prime Minister of Spain in 1754.
Dom Rui Gomes da Silva, 1st Prince of Eboli, was a Portuguese noble and one of King Philip II of Spain's main advisers.
Diego Enríquez de Guzmán, 5th count of Alba de Liste, Viceroy of Sicily (1585–1591), a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since the year 1600, was the son of Enrique Enriquez, 4th count of Alba de Liste, and Maria Alvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, one daughter of Garcia Alvarez de Toledo, 2nd duke of Alba and of Beatriz Pimentel, a daughter of the 4th count and 1st duke of Benavente since January 1473, Rodrigo Alfonso Pimentel.
Enrique de Guzmán y Ribera, 2nd Count of Olivares was a Spanish nobleman and statesman.
Juan Alonso Pimentel de Herrera was a Knight of the Order of Santiago, Grandee of Spain, 5th Duke of Benavente, 8th Count of Mayorga, 3rd Count of Villalón, President of the Council of Italy, 15th Viceroy of Valencia and 25th Viceroy of Naples.