Pedro de Gamboa

Last updated

Pedro de Gamboa (died 1550) was a Spanish soldier who fought for Henry VIII of England in France and Scotland.

He was from Madrid.

In 1545 he commanded a company of Spanish soldiers for the Earl of Hertford. Eustace Chapuys describes him as a Maestre de Campo, a Colonel, and places him at the battle of Ancrum. [1] In June 1545 Gamboa came to the Earl of Hertford to discuss a quarrel between two of his men. One had punched the other in the face, apparently unforgiveable dishonour amongst Spanish people. They wanted to "campe", to fight a duel. Hertford said he would proclaim fighting, or accusations of lying amongst the Spaniards that might lead to duels, to be hanging offences. [2]

By April 1547, Gamboa received a pension of £250 from the English exchequer. [3] Gamboa fought at the battle of Pinkie, leading a troop of cavalry with firearms. Gamboa and 70 of his men joined an attack on Dalkeith Castle on 3 June 1548 in attempt to capture George Douglas of Pittendreich. [4]

In July 1548 Gamboa's mounted arquebusiers, commanded by another Spanish captain, Pedro de Negro, rode through French lines to relieve the siege of Haddington, as an English soldier Thomas Holcroft noted. [5] Negro's exploit was described in a Spanish chronicle now known as the Chronicle of Henry VIII. The chronicle relates that Spanish and English cavalrymen rode into Haddington carrying bags of gunpowder. They slaughtered their own horses outside the town gates, and after the French and Scottish had withdrawn, Negro buried them in three pits. [6]

Gamboa lost his command and blamed a junior officer, Carlos de Guevara. He recruited two Spaniards to kill him. Instead they joined Guevara's company and told him of Gamboa's enmity. They decided to come to London and kill Gamboa. [7]

Gamboa was murdered near the churchyard of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, London, on 19 January 1550. [8] His killer, Charles de Gavaro or Carlos de Guevara, had travelled from Scotland to assassinate him. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary of Guise</span> Queen of Scotland from 1538 to 1542

Mary of Guise, also called Mary of Lorraine, was Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. As the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, she was a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked mid-16th-century Scotland, ruling the kingdom as queen regent on behalf of her daughter from 1554 until her death in 1560.

Broughty Castle is a historic castle on the banks of the River Tay in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454, when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, received permission to build on the site. His son, Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus, was coerced into ceding the castle to the crown. The main tower house forming the centre of the castle with four floors was built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray, who was granted the castle in 1490.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sieges of Boulogne (1544–1546)</span> Part of the Italian War, 1542–46

The First Siege of Boulogne took place from 19 July to 14 September 1544 and the Second Siege of Boulogne took place in October 1544.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln</span> English peer and landowner (1512 – c. 1585)

Edward Fiennes, or Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln KG was an English landowner, peer, and Lord High Admiral. He rendered valuable service to four of the Tudor monarchs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunbar Castle</span> Fortress overlooking the harbour of Dunbar, Scotland

Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near the English-Scottish border. The last was slighted in 1567; it is a ruin today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Luttrell (soldier)</span> English soldier, diplomat and courtier

Sir John Luttrell feudal baron of Dunster in Somerset, of Dunster Castle, was an English soldier, diplomat, and courtier under Henry VIII and Edward VI. He served under Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford in Scotland and France. His service is commemorated in an allegorical portrait by Hans Eworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Haddington</span> 1548–49 Siege of Haddington during the War of the Rough Wooing

The sieges of Haddington were a series of sieges staged at the Royal Burgh of Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, as part of the War of the Rough Wooing, one of the last Anglo-Scottish Wars. Following Regent Arran's defeat at the battle of Pinkie Cleugh on Saturday 10 September 1547, he captured the town of Haddington. The intention was to form a network of mutually supporting English forts in lowland Scotland. The English forces built artillery fortifications and were able to withstand an assault by the besieging French and Scots troops supported by heavy cannon in July 1548. Although the siege was scaled down after this unsuccessful attempt, the English garrison abandoned the town on 19 September 1549, after attrition by Scottish raids at night, sickness, and changing political circumstance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough Wooing</span> 16th century war between Scotland and England

The Rough Wooing, also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the Auld Alliance and prevent Scotland being used as a springboard for future invasion by France, partly to weaken Scotland, and partly to force the Scottish Parliament to confirm the existing marriage alliance between Mary, Queen of Scots, and the English heir apparent Edward, son of King Henry VIII, under the terms of the Treaty of Greenwich of July 1543. An invasion of France was also contemplated.

Mary Willoughby was a ship of the English Tudor navy. She appears in the navy lists from 1532 during the reign of Henry VIII. She was named after Maria Willoughby, a lady-in-waiting and close friend of Catherine of Aragon. The ship was taken by the Scots in 1536 and was included in the Royal Scots Navy, The English recaptured her in 1547. The ship was rebuilt in 1551, increasing in size from 140 bm to 160 bm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Palmer (died 1553)</span> English soldier and courtier

Sir Thomas Palmer was an English soldier and courtier. His testimony was crucial in the final downfall of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset in 1551–1552. Palmer was executed for his support of Lady Jane Grey in the succession crisis of 1553.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Migliorino Ubaldini</span> Italian military engineer

Ubaldini Migliorino, known also as "Captain Mellerin," was an Italian military engineer working in Scotland. He designed new fortifications at the entrances of Edinburgh Castle, Dunbar Castle, and possibly the walled town of Leith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Wilsford</span> Member of the Parliament of England

Sir James Wilsford or Wilford was an English soldier and politician, who was commander at the Siege of Haddington in the war known as the Rough Wooing and also sat as Member of Parliament for Barnstaple.

Mariotta or Maryon or Marion Haliburton, Lady Home was a 16th-century Scottish noblewoman. She varied the spelling of her forename between Mariotta, Marion, and Mary. She is remembered for her defence and negotiation of the surrender of Hume Castle after the Battle of Pinkie when the castle was surrounded by an English army. Afterwards she continued to struggle for the rights of her people at the village of Hume in the Scottish Borders, writing both to the English commander and the Scottish leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Eure, 1st Baron Eure</span> English nobleman in 16th century

William Eure, 1st Baron Eure (c.1483–1548) of Witton was an English knight and soldier active on the Anglo-Scottish border. Henry VIII of England made him Baron Eure by patent in 1544. The surname is often written as "Evers". William was Governor of Berwick upon Tweed in 1539, Commander in the North in 1542, Warden of the Eastern March, and High Sheriff of Durham. During the Anglo-Scottish war called the Rough Wooing, Eure and his sons Henry and Ralph made numerous raids against towns and farms in the Scottish Borders.

The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack Leith and Edinburgh, and the city was burnt on 7 May. However, the Scottish artillery within Edinburgh Castle harassed the English forces, who had neither the time nor the resources to besiege the Castle. The English fleet sailed away loaded with captured goods, and with two ships that had belonged to James V of Scotland.

Alexander Crichton of Brunstane,, was a Scottish Protestant laird who advocated the murder of Cardinal David Beaton and supported the plan for the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Edward of England. In contemporary letters and documents Alexander is known by variant spellings of "Brunstane," his territorial designation. The original House of Brunstane was near Penicuik, and another Crichton estate at Gilberstoun near Portobello, Edinburgh later became known as Brunstane.

Francis Aislabie or Aslaby or Aslackby, of South Dalton, Yorkshire, was an English soldier and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Linton Bridge</span> Bridge in East Linton

East Linton Bridge, also called Old Tyne Bridge, is a bridge over the River Tyne in the village of East Linton in the county of East Lothian, Scotland. In 1971, the bridge was designated a category A listed building.

Sir Pedro de Negro or Sir Pedro Negro was a Spanish soldier who fought for Henry VIII of England and Edward VI of England in France and Scotland.

Peter Meutas or Mewtas, or Mewtis, or Meautis, or Meautys was an English courtier and soldier.

References

  1. Calendar State Papers Spain, vol. 8 (London, 1904), no. 23.
  2. State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 5 (London, 1836), pp. 462-3.
  3. C. S. Knighton, Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Edward VI (London, 1992), p. 13 no. 38.
  4. Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 115 no. 236.
  5. Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), no. 284.
  6. Martin Sharp Hume, Chronicle of King Henry VIII (George Bell: London, 1889), pp. 203-206.
  7. Martin Sharp Hume, Chronicle of King Henry VIII (George Bell: London, 1889), pp. 206-214.
  8. John Gough Nichols, Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London (London: Camden Society, 1852), p. 65.
  9. Susan Brigden, 'Letters of Richard Scudamore to Sir Philip Hoby', Camden Miscellany, XXX (London, 1990), pp. 112-3.