Alvaro de Bazan
Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán (Granada, Spain, December 12, 1526-Lisbon, Portugal, February 9, 1588), 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, second-class grandee of Spain, I lord and marquis of the town of Viso and I lord of the town of Valdepeñas, major commander of León and Villamayor, Alhambra and La Solana in the Order of Santiago; member of the Council of his Majesty Felipe II, captain general of the Ocean Sea and of the soldiers of the Kingdom of Portugal, was a Spanish soldier and admiral of the century XVI famous for the use of war galleons, for using marine infantry for the first time to carry out amphibious operations and for never having been defeated.
The family coat of arms is a chessboard, according to a popular saying, because they were playing this game before the battle, although the most logical thing is that it comes from the Navarrese valley of Baztán. In that of the Marquises of Santa Cruz The eight St. Andrew's crosses surrounding the chessboard have been added.
Biography
Family background
Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán was a descendant of Íñigo López, brother of Lope Iñiguez, 5th Lord of Vizcaya, the Bazán family had Navarrese ancestry.
Already in the XIV century, Juan González de Bazán settled in Castile and was appointed by King Enrique II of Castilla its Camarero Mayor, receiving several villas in the lands of Valladolid. /span> was already related to the best of the Castilian nobility.
His grandfather, also called Álvaro de Bazán, served the Catholic Monarchs, being Captain General in the Granada War. In 1487 he conquered the town of Fiñana which was granted to him as a manor and also received the position of steward of the Castroverde encomienda.
His father, Álvaro de Bazán “el Viejo” was a sailor. In the War of the Communities of Castile he raised an army at his expense.In 1526 he replaced Juan de Velasco as general of the galleys of Spain. Among other military actions, Bazán "el Viejo" stood out for the capture of One in Tlemecén and his participation in the Tunis Day, together with Carlos I of Spain. Appointed Captain General of the Ocean Sea, he defeated the French at the naval battle of Muros.
Early Years
Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán was born in Granada (at the current confluence of Calle Reyes Católicos and Gran Vía, where Plaza de Isabel la Católica opens) where his father was stationed, who that same year took office as captain General of the Galleys of Spain. His mother, Ana de Guzmán, was an immediate descendant of the Count of Teba and Marquis of Ardales.
In order for his son to start in social life according to his lineage, Álvaro de Bazán “el Viejo” asked King Carlos I of Spain for a Santiago habit when he was less than three years old. The emperor granted the request in a special decree issued in Toledo in 1529.
Another certificate issued in Madrid in March 1535 appointed him warden of the castle of Gibraltar when he was only eight years old. With this appointment he intended to reward the acts of his family and encourage the child's desire to emulate his father in the service of Carlos I. Thus the emperor indicated:
By obeying your sufficiency and skill and the many loyal services your father has done to us and we hope you will do to usO'Donnel, H. (1998, p. 275)
At the age of nine, he ran across the deck of his father's flagship doing his nautical apprenticeship. Therefore, from a very young age he had the opportunity to establish contact with a seafaring environment.
His tutor was Pedro González de Simancas, who provided him with a very careful humanistic instruction and made him hold poets and humanists in great esteem, whom he always protected and of whom he was a patron.
In 1538, he accompanied his father on one of his expeditions for the first time, although the details of the itinerary are unknown. Together with his father, he gained experience and practice in seamanship. At seventeen he moved to Santander with his father, where he learned about the northern seafaring tradition with his different models of ships.
He participated with his father in the Battle of Muros (1544) on the Galician coast, which ended with a resounding Spanish victory that caused three thousand casualties to the French. After the victory, his father gave him command of the squad while he went to Santiago de Compostela in thanksgiving and then to Valladolid to inform Prince Felipe of the victory.
Still in the reign of Carlos I he obtained command of an independent navy, whose mission was to guard the southern coasts of Spain and protect the arrival of the Fleet from the Indies.
Thanks to this command, he faced French and English corsairs and Barbary pirates who operated from their Atlantic bases.
At the age of twenty-four, on March 19, 1550, he married Juana de Zúñiga, daughter of the counts of Miranda, having four daughters as descendants. He married in second marriage with María Manuel de Benavides, in the parish of San Esteban de Santisteban del Puerto (Jaén) on April 26, 1568, daughter of Francisco de Benavides, V Count of Santisteban del Puerto and Isabel de la Cueva, V Lady of Solera, she had three daughters and D. Álvaro II de Bazán y Benavides. II Marquis of Santa Cruz.
In 1554 he was appointed Captain General of the Armada at only twenty-eight years of age.
In 1556 he carried out a risky action off Cape Aguer, surrendering two English ships that carried arms and ammunition to Fez.
Actions in the Mediterranean
Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán, after the disaster of Los Gelves, in which he did not participate, went with his galleys to support the garrisons of Orán and Mazalquivir, during the Ottoman siege of 1563, saving the squares from falling into the hands Berbers.
In these times Badis and the rock of Vélez de la Gomera had become a nest of Turkish and Barbary pirates. On July 23, 1563, a fleet made up of fifty galleys under the command of Sancho de Leyva set sail from Malaga. A disembarkation was made on the coast near the rock in a somewhat disorganized manner and after some skirmishes, Sancho de Leyva considered it prudent to order a withdrawal. Almost all the officers supported his opinion, but not Álvaro de Bazán, who observed that abandoning would be going against the king's orders and would give morale to the Berbers and Turks. Despite everything, Sancho de Leyva ordered the re-embarkation of the troops. At the beginning of August the army was back in Malaga.
After the march, the pirates returned to attack the Spanish coasts with more insistence, for which Felipe II insisted on the need to take Vélez de la Gomera. After a year the attempt was started again. On this occasion the fleet had one hundred ships under the command of García Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio, who had Álvaro de Bazán as lieutenant. The fleet sailed from Málaga on August 29, 1564 and the company was a complete success, leaving September 6 in Spanish hands in a combat that caused few casualties to the Spanish troops.
The Ottoman Empire attempted a coup by taking Malta, with the intention of using it as a base for the subsequent conquest of Sicily. The heroic resistance of the Maltese during the siege stopped the formidable fleet of Pialí Pasha. The rescue of the square by the Spanish troops was the almost exclusive merit of Álvaro de Bazán, who went ahead with the support company despite the reluctance of a large part of the court of Felipe II.
In 1566 he was appointed captain general of the Galleys of Naples and shortly after, on October 19, 1569, Felipe II granted him the title of Marquis of Santa Cruz de Mudela for his merits, although it is said that he won the title when the king took pity on him when he saw him out in the sun and ordered him to cover himself, and when he thanked him, the monarch said to him: for the sun, Lord Marquis, for the sun.
During these years he dedicated himself to patrolling the Italian coasts, notably reducing corsair attacks.
The Battle of Lepanto
In 1570 everything seemed to come together for a clash between the Christian powers and the Ottoman Empire.
On the one hand, the power of the Turkish sultan was increasing in North Africa, which represented a threat to the Spanish Empire, since it made possible an Ottoman landing in the Iberian Peninsula in aid of the Spanish Moors.
On the other hand, the invasion of Cyprus by the troops of Selim II led Venice to opt for action.
On May 25, 1571 the capitulations of the Holy League were signed in Rome that united the Spanish Empire, the Papacy, the Most Serene Republic of Venice, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Republic of Genoa and the Duchy of Savoy. The Holy League had as its goal the destruction of the forces of the Turks, who were declared common enemies and Tunis, Algiers and Tripoli were within the scope of action.
Three commanders were appointed. For the Papacy Marco Antonio Colonna, for Venice to Sebastián Veniero and for the Spanish Empire to Don Juan of Austria, who held the supreme military command of the Holy League.
The fleet assembled by the Holy League consisted of two hundred and seven galleys, six galleasses, and seventy-six light ships.
Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán joined the thirty galleys of the Napoles Squadron on September 5, 1571.
From the beginning he showed signs of prudence in his advice and became one of the most effective collaborators of Don Juan of Austria, whom he advised to seek a confrontation against the enemy without delay because friction began to arise between the allies.
In the order of combat Don Juan de Austria gave Álvaro de Bazán the mission of taking charge of the rear guard to help those areas where there was more danger for the Christian army. Thirty galleys were assigned to it for this task, plus a group of smaller vessels.
On October 7, 1571 the battle of Lepanto took place. His squadron was half a mile astern of the front line.
Álvaro de Bazán was responsible for the Christian fleet leaving early in the morning and forming fifteen miles outside the Gulf of Patras. As the fighting began, Agostino Barbarigo, who was in command of the Christian left wing, broke away from the formation, leaving a free channel through which the Ottoman fleet could threaten the Christian formation from the flank.
The Ottoman wing commanded by Mohamed Sirocco tried to surround Barbarigo, but Álvaro de Bazán sent ten galleys, under the command of Martín de Padilla who decided the situation on the left flank, since the Ottoman ships were locked in a pincer and pushed against the coast.
In the center of the battle, the galley La Real, the flagship of Don Juan de Austria, rushed against the Turkish flagship of Ali Pasha, La Sultana and both ships engaged in close combat. Marco Antonio Colonna supported Don Juan de Austria's ship, positioning himself at the rear of La Sultana and isolating it from relief and reinforcement.
Álvaro de Bazán sent ten galleys and a group of frigates and brigantines to support the success of the capture of the Ottoman flagship. As a result of this reinforcement, the Ottoman center was completely destroyed.
On the Christian right flank things took a different course. Juan Andrea Doria was left behind with respect to the rest of the Christian formation and Uluj Ali surpassed the rear of the Genoese and went to the center of the combat. Doria went after him trying to reach him but cannot stop his advance. Uluj Ali attacked several galleys of the Order of Malta but Álvaro de Bazán himself, with the ten remaining galleys in the rear, was able to save the situation and force Uluj Ali to retreat.
Álvaro de Bazán was the key man in the victory of Lepanto, his orders saved the situation of the Christian fleet at three critical moments and he acted correctly at each moment, maximizing the few resources he had.
After the Battle of Lepanto, Álvaro de Bazán participated in the successful offensive led by Don Juan of Austria against Tunisia.
In December 1576 he was appointed captain general of the galleys of Spain.
The Portuguese campaign
When Sebastian I of Portugal died in 1578 without issue, the throne was inherited by Cardinal Enrique I of Portugal, the only living son of Manuel I of Portugal. In 1580 Don Enrique I of Portugal died without issue, leaving the throne of Portugal vacant.
It was then that Philip II of Spain saw the time to complete the unity of the Iberian countries, it was already believed that he was supported by the right of inheritance from his mother Isabel of Portugal and therefore grandson of Manuel I of Portugal.
This objective was opposed by Antonio, prior of Crato, who believed he was the heir, and the queens Catherine de' Medici, regent of Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England.
Philip II's candidacy for the Portuguese throne received the support of the merchant and financial bourgeoisie and the Portuguese nobility, as well as the high clergy, but the common people and the low clergy had clearly anti-Castilian sentiments.
Poorly armed and less well educated, the host of followers of the Portuguese claimant did not pose any obstacle to the Spanish tercios of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, III Duke of Alba de Tormes who marched by land on Lisbon, and to the army of Álvaro of Bazán, who entered the estuary of the Tagus river, neutralizing the naval force attached to the prior of Crato.
Philip II entered Lisbon in triumph and was proclaimed King of Portugal in the Cortes of Tomar in 1581.
Don Antonio had to escape to the north and without support he fled to England and then to France.
All Portuguese territories complied with Philip's appointment as King of Portugal except for one strategic island in the Azores archipelago, Terceira Island. The island had a great strategic value because it could become a nest for pirates and because the wind regime in the Atlantic made all the Spanish ships that carried out the "Carrera de las Indias" and the Portuguese ships that returned from the East Indies they had to pass through the Azores islands.
France and England sent sums of money, troops and ships to support Don Antonio's cause, but officially they were not acting on behalf of their countries, but on their own, so as not to worsen their relations with Spain. Felipe II tried to convince the governor of Terceira Island to accept his sovereignty, but he refused due, among other reasons, to the arrival of a small French squad with five hundred men-at-arms and letters accredited by the pretender promising the help of a powerful squadron and troops under the command of condottiere Felipe Strozzi.
Philip II sent Pedro Valdés with four large ships to protect the fleet of the Indies but, on his own and without having orders to do so, he tried to take Terceira Island and was defeated in the battle of Salga (1581).
The Battle of Terceira Island
King Felipe II began preparations to assemble a powerful squadron for the following campaign and place it under the command of Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán, who had to take care of everything necessary. He assembled an army of sixty large ships, plus another twenty light ones, also carrying flat boats that served to facilitate the landing on the island of ten thousand soldiers.
Don Antonio's supporters had not remained inactive and had erected fifty artillery forts on the island and a squadron was being built in France that would be placed under the command of Felipe Strozzi.
The French fleet set sail on June 16 from Belle Isle and after a month of sailing they anchored on the island of San Miguel, believing it to be the island of Santa Maria. Felipe Strozzi disembarked with 1,200 men and tried to take the Punta Delgada fort, but he could not surrender the plaza and had to re-embark because Álvaro de Bazán was approaching with his army.
Knowing of Felipe Strozzi's departure, Álvaro de Bazán had left Lisbon on July 6 for the island of São Miguel with the intention of intercepting Strozzi's armada. Bazán left without waiting for the twenty ships and twelve galleys that were in Cádiz. A strong storm meant that the ship Anunciada had to return to Lisbon with part of the troops, so Álvaro de Bazán faced Strozzi with two of the king's galleons —San Martín and San Mateo—, fifteen ships and eight urcas, a total of twenty-five warships with four thousand five hundred infantrymen on board.
Felipe Strozzi had a fleet of 60 galleons lighter than the Spanish and urcas with seven thousand soldiers.
Since July 22, both squads maneuvered looking for an advantage over the opponent. Even on the 23rd they had a skirmish in which the French fleet bears the brunt. But the final clash occurred on July 26. Both squadrons sighted each other 18 miles south of the island of San Miguel, separated three miles from each other. Álvaro de Bazán interspersed the most powerful ships with the lightest in his line of combat, with the thought that the heaviest ships would sustain the combat while the most maneuverable supported them.
The French squadron had the wind and the sun in their favour. The combat began with the advance of the French vanguard ships against the galleon San Mateo. Four ships surrounded it, preventing the arrival of help to the Spanish galleon. However, the heavily armed San Mateo responded to the attacks and resisted the harassment of its attackers for two hours.
Meanwhile, Álvaro de Bazán had won windward with the San Martín and seven other ships. The firepower of the San Martín caused several French vessels to withdraw, exposing the ships ruled by Felipe Strozzi and the Duke of Brissac, which were boarded by the ships Juana and María, but other French ships rushed into battle, forming a hand-to-hand combat with all kinds of weapons.
The ship Concepción was embedded between the San Mateo and Strozzi's ship, unloading a deadly fire. While Álvaro de Bazán maneuvered to eliminate the enemy ships and relieve the ships that were in a hurry. In this situation, Brissac abandoned the battle, leaving only Felipe Strozzi who gave the signal to withdraw but was attacked on both flanks by the San Martín and the ship Catalina, having to give up The surrender of the flagship was the signal for all the French ships to start their flight.
The battle of Terceira Island ended with a Spanish victory. Álvaro de Bazán's troops suffered 224 casualties and 533 wounded, the ship María and the galleon San Mateo with forty-five and forty dead and fifty and two and seventy-four wounded, those who have suffered the most casualties. French casualties amounted to between 1,200 and 1,500 dead, losing ten ships (two burned, four sunk and four abandoned).
After the battle, he headed for the island of San Miguel to repair the damage to his ships, hospitalize the wounded, and court-martial the prisoners.
In the council of war, the French prisoners were accused of pirates, since they had fought under the French flag without this nation being at war with Spain. The defense challenged, arguing that there was a secret war between Spain and France, but Álvaro de Bazán did not admit such justification and considered the patents presented by the prisoners false and adhering to the instructions he had received from Felipe II and Enrique III of France, who had agreed that every pirate, even if of French origin, be sentenced to death, signed the death sentence for which the prisoners would die: lords and knights beheaded and sailors and soldiers hanged. The sentence was carried out on August 1, 1582 in the Plaza de Villaflanca.
The conquest of Terceira Island
King Felipe II trusted that Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán would land on Terceira Island, although he considered the safety of the Indies fleet more important. Álvaro de Bazán did not make the landing for various reasons. In the first place, he lacked the means to launch an offensive. Second, he had to provide security for the Indies fleet and, finally, a storm convinced him of the inappropriateness of carrying out any landing operation.
Felipe, after trying again to convince the governor of the island to accept his sovereignty, ordered Álvaro de Bazán to organize a new squadron on February 10, 1583 with the aim of taking the island. France and England sent another army, placed under the command of Aymar de Chaste and which had fifteen ships and a thousand soldiers, to help the island.
On June 23, the fleet that had ninety-three vessels and more than eight thousand soldiers set sail and arrived at Terceira Island between July 23 and 24. As soon as the navy anchored, a ship was sent emissary to request peace, promising free exit to foreigners with arms, flags and baggage, but the ambassador was received by arquebus fire, saving his life by chance.
After verifying the impossibility of achieving peace, the island was searched for the place where the landing could be carried out more effectively, finding an area known as Cala de las Molas, which was finally chosen.
The early morning of July 26 began the amphibious operation. As several vessels proceeded to shell the nearby forts, to fix the troops stationed there, heavy artillery fire began against the land positions and the landing craft came ashore. The first to reach land were Ensign Francisco de la Rúa, Captain Luis de Guevara and Private Rodrigo de Cervantes (Miguel de Cervantes's brother).
The Spanish troops attacked the trenches that defended the beach and quickly dislodged the Franco-Portuguese troops. Enemy forces came from Praia da Vitória and other forts, but the Spanish took strong positions that allowed them to intercept the reinforcements that were sent from Angra do Heroísmo.
When Álvaro de Bazán and Lope de Figueroa finally reached land, measures were taken to conquer the fort of San Sebastián. The entire day of the 26th was necessary to take the town and the Spanish troops had losses of seventy dead and three hundred wounded.
The next day, Álvaro de Bazán led his troops against Angra do Heroísmo while he ordered the fleet to attack the ships anchored in the bay. The city and the bay were easily occupied by the Spanish forces while the French entered the island to prepare a desperate resistance that was not successful.
Preparing for the invasion of England
Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán was still in the Azores when he sent King Felipe II his first proposal for an attack on England, which was rejected.
From his return to Lisbon, on March 2, 1585, Álvaro de Bazán carried out his position as Captain General of the Ocean Sea and the General Captaincy of the soldiers of Portugal enjoying wide powers.
In April 1585, it was learned in Spain that Francis Drake was preparing an expedition that could have Portugal or America as its destination.
Álvaro de Bazán proposed on April 30 the creation of a squadron consisting of 40 ships with more than 2,000 seamen and 3,000 soldiers. These measures were increased with the arrest of ships from England, Germany and other countries that They were in Spanish ports.
At the end of Alexander Farnese's Siege of Antwerp, the entire Atlantic seaboard as far as Denmark could become hostile to England, so Elizabeth sent more aid to the rebel forces in the Netherlands. Faced with English hostility, Felipe II decided to start preparations to intervene in England. Álvaro de Bazán, who had not been consulted, sent Felipe II, on January 13, 1586, a conquest proposal for England, urging the monarch to take the offensive.
On January 26, 1586 Álvaro de Bazán was ordered to prepare a squad to protect Galicia, Portugal and Vizcaya from privateering. Drake's raid on Cádiz and other setbacks delayed the formation of the armada. During these months, which would be the last of his life, Álvaro de Bazán gave himself fully to forming an army capable of carrying out the task entrusted to him.
Philip II ended up becoming impatient due to the delay in the formation of the fleet that was to invade England and addressed Álvaro de Bazán in very harsh terms, since due to intrigues and disagreements Felipe II had convinced himself that Álvaro de Bazán was delaying unjustifiably the time to go to sea. Although there is no record of the reason why he delayed his departure, it seems to be inferred his discontent and his lack of confidence in the means that had been placed at his disposal.
According to some authors, the disagreements between the king and the admiral continued until on February 4, 1588 he was dismissed from his command of the navy. However, other sources deny this opinion and that Álvaro de Bazán was dismissed. In fact, in a letter dated February 8 and addressed to the admiral, Felipe II is satisfied that the marquis is prepared for the departure of the Great Navy and the letter by which he communicates to the Duke of Medina Sidonia his appointment as head of the Armada is dated February 14, 1588, after the death of the Marquis of Santa Cruz.
Álvaro de Bazán died in Lisbon on February 9, 1588. His remains were deposited in the church of Viso del Marqués until they were transferred in 1645 to the family vault located in the convent of San Francisco in the same town.
Military Achievements
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The figures resulting from the military campaigns of Álvaro de Bazán and Guzmán reaffirm their position of honor among the greatest sailors that Spain has produced:
- Retired Islands: 8
- Cities withdrew: 2
- Villas: 25
- Castles and strong taken: 36
- General captains defeated: 8
- defeated field teachers: 2
- Masters and gentlemen defeated: 60
- French soldiers and sailors surrendered: 4759
- British soldiers and sailors surrendered: 780
- Portuguese soldiers and sailors surrendered: 6243
- liberated Christian prisoners: 1564
- Royal Wales captured: 44
- Captured fins: 21
- Wales and high-board ships captured: 99
- Bergantines captured: 27
- Turkish snails seized: 7
- Moorish hurries caught: 3
- Damaged Wales: 1
- Artillery pieces captured: 1814
- Defeats: 0
Marquis and patron
The Renaissance poet Cristóbal Mosquera de Figueroa, when dedicating one of his books to him, lists the titles and honors held by Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán:
Elogio del excelentíssimo Señor Don Alvaro de Baçán, marquis de Santa Cruz, señor de las Villas del Viso y Valdepeñas, Comendador Mayor de León, del Consejo de su Magestad, y su Capitán General del Mar Ocean y de la gente de guerra del Reyno de Portugal.(Madrid, 1596)
For his military merits, King Felipe II granted him the title of nobility of Marquis of Santa Cruz de Mudela for being lord of the town of Santa Cruz de Mudela, with which the Viso del Puerto was renamed Viso del Marqués. He bought Felipe II the lordship of the town of Valdepeñas.
At the end of the XVI century, he built two palaces, one in the main square of Valdepeñas, which has not been preserved, and another next to the parish church of El Viso del Marqués, which is preserved, the Palace of the Marqués de Santa Cruz and is currently used as the General Archive of the Álvaro de Bazán Navy. The work of the latter began in 1564 according to the plans of Giovanni Battista Castello el Bergamasco, according to Ceán Bermúdez, although Fernando Marías maintains that the palace was designed by Enrique Egas el Mozo and continued by Bergamasco when he arrived from Italy in 1566 accompanied by of good artists and decorators. The palace is considered a jewel of the Spanish Renaissance.
Álvaro had the palace decorated with good frescoes by the Italian Mannerist painter Giovanni Battista Peroli, who arrived from Italy in 1574 hired by the marquis to work in the palace in the company of his relatives Esteban and Juan Esteban Peroli and Cesare de Bellis, Venetian, who has been confused from Ceán Bermúdez with Cesare Arbasia.
The marquis wanted to reside halfway between the Court and the port of Seville, to which as a famous sailor he had to go frequently; throughout his life he was concerned with redeeming Muslim captives. In the nearby parish church, Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, a reptile of colossal proportions known as "the Viso Lizard" is deposited by the Marquis as an ex-voto. It is a stuffed Nile crocodile that is hung under the central vault of the presbytery on one of the side walls, a gift to the marquis from a Muslim pasha on one of his trips.
The Marquises of Santa Cruz protected arts and letters. Several writers dedicated some of their works to them. Such were the cases of Lope de Vega, Luis de Góngora and Miguel de Cervantes. It is very possible that Don Álvaro protected Bernardo de Balbuena and other poets, as an unknown "bachiller Jarana". Don Álvaro's son favored Félix Lope de Vega, who dedicated a comedy to him, and during the XVIII century they promoted industries establishments and education in their estates and protected enlightened writers and intellectuals such as Carlos de Praves, José Viera y Clavijo or Manuel Lanz de Casafonda, who were tutors to their children.
Álvaro de Bazán in culture
Poetry of Lope de VegaPoetry dedicated by Lope de Vega in 1588 to Alvaro de Bazán and Guzmán:
Epitaph of GóngoraEpitaphy written by Luis de Góngora in 1588 to Alvaro de Bazán and Guzmán:
Elogio de Cervantes en el QuijoteIn Chapter XXXIX of the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes granted Alvaro de Bazán and Guzmán the status of unbeaten and father of soldiers:
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Praise of Bernardo de Balbuena in El Bernardo
In Book II of El Bernardo, Balbuena praises him as Captain General of the Ocean Sea and predicts his death prior to the Great Armada against England:
The one who over this crystal chariot / the sea rules in windy brake, / if the world finds its value way / to leave it of vitorias full, / of Santa Cruz will be divine marquis, / and if the Plot in its lulled bosom / before time its value does not enclose, / tremblar will make the furor of the earth anglia..
Ships of the Spanish Navy
Since the 19th century several ships of the Spanish Navy have carried the name of Álvaro de Bazán:
- The first was a steamship of three masts that served between 1841 and 1873 (initially called Regentrenamed in 1844.
- The second was a very similar one that served between 1873 and 1884.
- The third was a dumpster in 1897 that provided its services between 1904 and 1926.
- The fourth was a frigate, head of his class, thrown in 2000. Her godmother was Casilda de Silva, Marquesa de Santa Cruz. He served in 2002.