Luis de Requesens
Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga (Barcelona, August 25, 1528 – Brussels, March 5, 1576) was a Spanish soldier, sailor, diplomat and politician, governor of the State of Milan (1572 –1573) and the Netherlands (1573–1576).
Mentor of Don Juan of Austria, his work was fundamental for the great victory of the Holy League in the battle of Lepanto. And he was also Commander Major of Castile in the Order of Santiago.
Life
Youth
He was born in his parents' house, the former Minor Royal Palace of the Kings of Aragon, called the Palacio de la Reina, in the city of Barcelona, in the rich chamber of the parament, being baptized on August 28 in the parish of the same palace. Although his given name should have been Luis de Zúñiga y Requesens, in his parents' marriage agreements it was specified that he should first use the maternal surname of Doña Estefanía de Requesens, lady of the town of Molins de Rey, of the Villa and barony of Martorell and of the places of San Esteban de Sasroviras, Castellbisbal and Castellví de Rosanes, instead of the surname of his father, Juan de Zúñiga y Avellaneda, second son of the Count of Miranda, to respect and perpetuate the maternal surname, which was related to the House of Cardona.
He grew up very delicate and sickly. On one occasion he was almost presumed dead, but his mother took him to the altar of Our Lady in Montserrat, where he soon began to regain his lost health. He appointed Juan de Arteaga y Avendaño as preceptor, who had been one of the first disciples of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
At the service of the Prince of Asturias
When his father was appointed tutor to Prince Don Felipe at the beginning of 1535, Luis de Requesens was named his page, so they received the same education, being designated to carry the Prince's script throughout the time they remained. together. Already in 1537, Emperor Charles granted him the habit of the Order of Santiago. Among other games, he ran the ring and jousted with the Prince and his pages, with which his irritable and harsh character began to soften.
In 1543, he was one of those designated to accompany the Prince of Asturias at his wedding with Mary of Portugal, remaining with the bride and groom at all times and taking care of their administration and custody. When Mary died due to overbirth on July 12, 1545, the Prince, very hurt by the loss of his wife, retired for a time to the Monastery of Abrojo, where Don Luis accompanied him as a friend and companion in suffering, taking care of himself at the same time. that he lacked nothing to alleviate the troubles he was going through.
On June 27, 1546, his father died, so the Emperor granted him the highest command of Castile in the Order of Santiago, which his father had held until his death. The body of the deceased was transferred from Madrid to Barcelona, so he traveled to this city to be present at his burial, which took place in the Palau Chapel, which with the help of his mother and wife of the deceased, in the form of supervision of the works, had been carried out successfully.
In 1547, he was once again appointed to accompany the Prince to Monzón, but on this trip he was already with cloak and sword. He was able to make this trip after recovering from one of the many illnesses he suffered, apart from having received a serious injury. His mother suggested that, to better get through this bad season, he go to the Court of King Charles I, who at that time was in his dominions as Emperor in the Holy Empire, so he left the city of Barcelona on the 11th. December 1547, arriving in Augusta where Charles I was at that time, who received him with all honors.
The King had to travel to his territories in Flanders, so he appointed him to accompany him. Upon the King's arrival to his domain, where his sister the Queen of France, Doña Leonor, was present, among the gifts that were lavished there were a series of parties and tournaments among the different knights. In one of the tournaments, he took out two groups on his own, one in which he led the group, surrounded by knights who were his friends and relatives, but riding light horses to skirmish, while the other group was made up of servants dressed in the Hungarian, which was still a great surprise for everyone and highly applauded.
His modesty always distinguished him, because when Prince Philip arrived and despite having the unconditional support of the King, Requesens did not consent to being named his Prince's man of chambers. The festivities continued upon the Court's arrival in Brussels. The Prince wanted to joust with Requesens, he agreed but, because it was the first time that he faced his Highness, at the moment of the collision he raised his cane, so the Prince did not reach him and neither did he. A few moments later they challenged him again, and Don Luis did not know who was doing it, so this time he did not raise the rod, reaching the opponent in the ambush, who was dismounted and fell asleep from the blow he received when he fell to the ground. Upon removing his helmet, he realized that he had been deceived, since the one lying on the ground was none other than Prince Philip.
Just the day after the meeting with the Prince he received news that on April 25 of that year, 1549, his beloved mother had died in the city of Barcelona, so he immediately and with the King's acquiescence He set out towards this city. While in Barcelona, on July 12, 1551, he went to receive the Prince who arrived by ship, who was accompanied by the Prince of Piedmont Manuel Filiberto de Saboya, so Requesens put his house, the Palau, at the disposal of the Piedmontese, where he remained while They were in the city.
At the service of the Emperor
Then they began to talk about their marriage, whose main choice was the daughter of the Maestro Rational of Barcelona, but neither she, Doña Jerónima, nor her father, Don Francisco Gralla y Desplá, were in complete agreement. Not so the mother, Doña Guiomar de Estalrich, and although the Prince intervened, there was such a family dispute that Requesens preferred to let the matter go, and left Barcelona on his way to Madrid. This almost forced the Prince to set out like him on the way to Madrid, with the excuse that the King had already arrived in the capital, where the General Chapter of the Order of Santiago was convened; In it and through the intermediation of the monarch himself, Requesens was chosen as one of her thirteen knights, despite the fact that he was only 23 years old.
In this chapter it was resolved that the King would deliver four galleys to her and she had to keep them in perfect condition for three years to enter combat; and if all went well, the resolution would be made to continue. The entry was made, with the signature of the King and with that of the Prince as Governor of Spain, being proposed by the entire chapter for the position of captain general of them to the Commander Major of Castile, for which the Prince provided him with everything necessary. Requesens accepted for two reasons: the first, because it had been the entire Order that had demanded it, and the second, because upon leaving the Prince's house, he wanted to change his environment and knowledge, and the sea was not a bad choice.
For various and different reasons, in May 1552 the preparations for the four galleys were still not formed. For this reason, those of the Order begged the Commander to go to the Holy Empire, where the Emperor Charles was, and inform him of what was happening.
He left Madrid heading to the Court on June 12, 1552, stopping to board in Barcelona. Here he met Doña Jerónima, who finally convinced him, not without using all her gifts, that he marry her. Since the galleys had already left and only one frigate was ready in the port to set sail, at midnight the marriage chapters were held and shortly before dawn the marriage was contracted. Barely an hour later Requesens boarded the ship that was to transport him to Genoa.
From this city he went to Milan, setting out following the King, whom he overtook when he stopped to gather the army that was to fight the Lutheran rebels of the Holy Empire. With the King he went to Metz and later to Lorraine in mid-October, where the King suffered from gout, so he left the Duke of Alba as captain general of the army, whom the Commander of Castile followed in all skirmishes and combats that took place.
In the siege of Metz an epidemic broke out that caused serious losses, and on Christmas Day itself, when Requesens had finished communion with the Knights of the Order, he was overcome with fever; The doctors came to evict him. Before being fully restored, the siege of Metz was ended. This forced him to make a painful journey until he reached Brussels again, where the King was already there, with whom he took the opportunity to discuss the issues of the Order. He left again for Genoa, where he boarded one of the Duke of Alba's galleys and with which they returned to Barcelona. The day after his arrival, his marriage was consummated.
Later, some inheritances came that made him extraordinarily rich, because due to the chances of life, circumstances arose that those who were assigned had not met. Among them was the inheritance of the Duchess of Calabria, who in order to obtain it was forced to maintain a series of trials, in which her opponent was the Count of Saldaña, eldest son of the Duke of Infantado. He also won the lawsuit against the fourth Marquis of Oliva, so he was also the only heir.
As at the end of the Chapter of the Order of Santiago, Prince Philip embarked in La Coruña to go to the kingdom of England and marry María Tudor, Requesens returned to Barcelona to finish preparing his galleys. There was an incident in which his galley was boarded by the captain general of the Spanish galley, an event that provoked his anger for the first time in his life. Once the issue was clarified by the King himself, he renounced his command.
Ambassador to the Holy See
He was in Valladolid when he received a visit from Juan de Vega, then President of the Royal Council, who had been appointed Assistant of Seville by the new King Philip II. Although the position was one of great honor and authority, Requesens was still resentful of the actions of the general of the Spanish Galleries, and he flatly refused to accept it.
In December 1561, he received a visit from Brother Bernardo de Fresneda, of the Franciscan order and confessor of the King, who informed him of having been appointed by the monarch as Ambassador of Spain to the Holy See, in whose papal throne Pope Pius IV sat. He was informed at the same time that he was assigned a salary of 8,000 gold ducats annually, plus another 10,000 one-time to cover travel expenses. Despite such a lucrative position, he did not give his consent until he obtained consent, after consulting his wife and his brother.
A few days later he fell seriously ill again, so he could not leave the capital until he was recovered. He left on December 22, 1562 in the direction of Villarejo de Salvanés (Madrid), a town where he remained until Easter, and at the end of Easter he set out for Valencia and from here to Barcelona.
The first galleys that set sail from this port were those of the Order of Saint John along with those of the Duke of Florence. He embarked on the captain of those of San Juan, under whose command was the captain general Don Juan Vicente de Gonzaga, who would later be Cardinal Gonzaga, and they arrived at Civitavecchia, from where they headed to Bracciano. There his daughter fell ill, so his wife was left to take care of the girl, and he continued his journey, making the solemn entry on September 25, 1563, which was stipulated for the representative of the Catholic King, which was the maximum, in the city of Rome.
The main controversy that he had to overcome was that of the preeminence in the sacred places that the French and Spanish representatives should occupy, since after several confrontations that reached violence, the Pope had relented, giving preference to the French, to the great indignation of the Spanish legation. Luis de Requesens brought the facts to the attention of the King and he, as a sign of the most energetic protest, ordered the ambassador to leave Rome, but at the same time to let the Supreme Pontiff know that the revocation was not before the Holy See, but before His person. But Philip II, by private order, informed him that under no circumstances should he leave the Papal States, so he should entertain himself as long as he could, since he believed that His Holiness was not going to last long and he should be present for the election of the new Pope, and for that he couldn't be very far away.
Requesens made his way very slowly, but he still managed to reach Genoa. While already in this city he sent his wife to the Luca baths, where she almost died. Precisely because of this ailment of which he was aware, he had repeatedly asked the King for his permission to return to Spain, and the authorization had just arrived while he was in Luca.
Likewise, he received the expected news that the Pope was ill, so with great discretion he headed towards Rome, but he approached so slowly that upon his arrival, the conclave had already closed to elect the new substitute in the pontifical throne of Pius IV. But he did not give up and got to work, demonstrating his great diplomatic skills by being the one who most influenced the election of the Dominican and inquisitor Antonio Michele Ghiselieri as Pope, with the name of Pius V, who would ultimately be the promoter of the Holy League against the Turk.
The King's joy was so enormous for this new appointment, that he confirmed him as Ambassador of Spain to the Holy See, achieving during his stay in Rome that things were discussed but always with a good end, which is why both the King and Pope were completely satisfied with him. Of all the missions entrusted to him, the one that was most difficult for him was the process to which the Inquisition subjected the cardinal-archbishop of Toledo, Bartolomé Carranza. It was decided that this problem would be resolved by the Pope because it was his concern, but to do so he had to remove it from the supervision of the King, which was not to his total liking due to the trust placed in him by Philip. II. He achieved it with the promise that the Pope would keep him imprisoned until the process was resolved, with the decisive vote of his Holiness, but with the admission by the consultative votes that the King sent to the Pope.
At this time, the Captain General of the Sea and viceroy of Naples, García de Toledo, arrived in Madrid, whom His Majesty saw in poor health, which led him to decide to relieve him of his duties to try to get him recover. For this reason, he appointed his half-brother, Prince Don Juan of Austria, as his successor in office, but since he was very young, he appointed Requesens as his assistant because he was a person he completely trusted and was knowledgeable about things at sea, which made him brought to his knowledge a document with the Royal signature, dated in Madrid on March 22, 1568. In this document he was granted the broadest powers. Meanwhile, at the Embassy he was replaced by his brother Juan de Zúñiga.
Due to his great gifts and command capacity, as well as his seamanship skills, he was promoted and named Captain General of the Sea. Using his power, he managed to organize naval forces that managed to prevent the constant looting that the Barbarossa brothers subjected the coasts of the Spanish Levant and the Balearic Islands. Shortly after, relations between the King and the Pope began to suffer again, which decided Philip II to return Don Luis to Rome, who in a short time resolved the differences, returning tranquility between both powers. At the end of this matter, the King again ordered him to return to his brother at sea, but before the galleys could be ready, the uprising of the Moors of the kingdom of Granada took place.
The rebellion of the Alpujarras
Due to his demonstrated talents, he was chosen by King Philip II as advisor to his half-brother Don Juan of Austria in the war against the Moors in the Alpujarras. To do this, he also received the order that several thirds of the infantry be transferred from Naples and Milan, so he had to return to leave his seriously ill wife. He left Rome on March 23, 1569 and embarked on the fleet in the port of Civitavecchia. Meanwhile, in Leghorn he was getting ready part of the fleet, made up of the galleys of the Duke of Florence, which were in the pay of the King of Spain. Those that could be gathered also left from Genoa, which belonged to several wealthy individuals. In total there were 24 galleys.
Upon arriving in Marseille, he developed a fever that once again nearly ended his life. For this reason they did not even disembark and resumed their journey on April 18. They were surprised by a tremendous storm that managed to divide the squadron, so their galley arrived in Mahón and the rest in Sardinia. But two of them sank before they could arrive, another four were turned around by the sea and hit across, while the rest were able to arrive in very bad conditions.
On April 28, it arrived in Palamós and from there it went to Barcelona, it boarded again and along the coast it arrived in Vélez-Málaga on June 3. Then he ordered his cousin Miguel de Moncada to place himself under the orders of Don Juan of Austria, who was in Granada. By express decision of Philip II, Requesens acted as Don Juan's mentor, and he had to follow his advice without departing from them.
At the end of this campaign, they returned to the sea, where Don Luis followed him as lieutenant general and with the same broad powers. He was entrusted with the preparation of the Spanish squadron and army that was to join the Holy League, this expedition being formed in the port and city of Barcelona.
Lepanto
During 1571 and 1572 he was the right arm of Don Juan of Austria, although in reality and by letter signed by King Philip II, what he served was as second chief of the Navy and as tutor to the Prince. Through secret instructions he was informed that " his qualities combined, prudence, good judgment, diplomatic virtues, seafaring experience in this sea and a respected noble status ."
Father March accurately describes the mission entrusted by the King to Requesens, since a new document was received in the month of June 1571, which ratified that of 1568, which was very symptomatic. This reaffirmation in the recommendations, which clearly established their responsibilities for the expedition of the Holy League against the Turks, stated that «everything that had to be dispatched in writing, had to bear the signature of both the captain general and the his" and he insisted even more by telling him in that attached reserved instruction "everything he ordered and did had to be in agreement, with don Juan not being able to deviate from him in any way and in case he deviated in any way Instead of his opinion, he empowered him to discreetly carry out the steps he deemed appropriate, to resort to his royal authority, all of this, without public demonstrations and maintaining the consideration that was due to the prince.
By another letter from June of the same year of 1571, he is designated as one of the three people, along with Don Álvaro de Bazán and Don Juan Andrea Doria, who have to give their consent to the decision to present the combat, but at the same time the order is maintained that the «captain general could not issue or sign any provision without the prior review and acquiescence of Don Luis».
In the battle of Lepanto he fought with great vigor, and his very successful dispositions contributed enormously to the final victory. He maintained, however, such discretion and tact that he remained in the background, both for following the recommendations of his King, and for the love and affection that he professed for Don Juan of Austria. At the end of the combat, he directed the recovery of all possible ships, then ordered their repair, with them to begin an expedition against Tunisia, which took place the following year.
The effectiveness of his command is reflected in the letter that four days after the combat, Don Juan addressed to his King, in which, among other things, he told him «that he honored the Commander Major but that he was very unhappy, due to the excess of zeal and too much severity with which in his opinion he carried out his role, since the two dealt with the infinite matters, which I cannot resolve without him and which I could no longer do to please him, but leave the entire charge to him. ».
With an affable but firm character, his great modesty accompanied him as a great virtue, which and his feelings towards Don Juan of Austria, whom he considered the best of his friends and the greatest leader Spain ever had, led him even to hide his extraordinary services rendered, always giving the good work of them to his good Prince.
It is said that his intervention was very important, almost completely decisive, so that the image of the Holy Christ of Lepanto and several of the flags from that memorable meeting were taken to Barcelona. Requesens promised the virgin that she would have a convent built in Villarejo de Salvanés in her name if they won the battle. After winning it, this convent began to be built in 1573 and today it is presided over by the patron saint of Villarejo de Salvanés, the Virgin of the Victory of the Battle of Lepanto. As a curiosity, the Villarejo festivities are celebrated on October 7; the same day that the battle of Lepanto was won.
Governor of the Netherlands
After the battle of Lepanto, where the victory was a demonstration of wisdom and strength of arms against that of the Turks, by express decision of Philip II he was appointed Governor of the state of Milan in 1572.
The following year he was entrusted with the Government of the Netherlands, taking over the command from Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, the Grand Duke of Alba, whose repressive policy and continuous victories over the rebels had failed to pacify the country. Requesens received precise negotiating instructions: he had to safeguard, at all costs, the sovereignty of the legitimate ruler of the Netherlands and Catholic orthodoxy. But all the good offices of Requesens could not prevent the continuation of the fight, due to the bitter opposition of the rebels. Before leaving for Brussels, Requesens published a general amnesty, the abolition of the Conseil de Troubles and the repeal of the alcabalas. But if this offer of good will was barely heard in the south, it was completely ignored in the northern provinces. Arriving at the end of the autumn of 1573, Requesens had to resort to arms to impose his authority.
Although the important port of Middelburg had been lost in February 1574, Requesens achieved a brilliant victory over the troops of Louis of Nassau at Mook, in the Meuse valley, in which two other brothers of William of Nassau lost their lives. Orange, and was able to reduce the southern area quite quickly. Now it seemed like the time to announce his policy of conciliation and forgiveness, but, lacking money to pay his soldiers, Requesens was in a compromised situation. The King sent enormous sums of money (in 1574, specifically, more than double that in the previous two years), but the expenses of the Army, which at that time had 86,000 men, far exceeded the economic possibilities of the Royal Treasury.
Requesens was forced to seek an agreement with Orange using the mediation of Emperor Maximilian II. The talks took place in Breda. The governor was willing to withdraw Spanish troops from Flanders, but on the condition that Catholicism would be the only authorized religion; Protestants would have a period of ten days to withdraw abroad. This demand made understanding impossible. The States of Holland and Zealand, due to new accessions to the Calvinist creed and the emigration of others from the southern provinces, had the majority of the new religion and were not willing to accept that imposition. Furthermore, Calvinism was fully identified with the nationalist cause and could not be set aside.
Once these negotiations failed, Requesens resumed the fight with greater determination. Spanish troops under the command of Colonel Cristóbal de Mondragón, with water up to their necks and enduring the shots of Dutch soldiers and sailors, which caused them numerous losses, forded the shallows that separated the islands of Duiveland and Schouwen and occupied a large part of Zeeland. But when the Spanish had an exit to the ocean and could cut communications between Walcheren and the south of Holland, a general mutiny of the troops arose. On September 1, 1575, Philip II declared the suspension of interest payments on the public debt of Castile and the financing of the Army of Flanders was cut off. The troops were owed, in some cases, almost two months of soldiering, for an amount of 6,000,000 escudos. New troop mutinies arose, and military operations were paralyzed for nearly a year.
Due to such an accumulation of misfortunes and the already manifested weakness of his body, Luis de Requesens died in Brussels on March 5, 1576, doing so as a true and fervent Catholic, assisted by several doctors and clerics. He was replaced in the government of the Netherlands, plunged into chaos, by Don Juan of Austria.
His body was buried in the family pantheon in the chapel attached to the Palau.
Marriage and children
As mentioned, he married Doña Jerónima Gralla on June 13, 1552, a marriage that was not consummated until the following year.
On September 27, 1557, his first daughter came into the world, whom he named Mencía de Mendoza, which was the same as that of the Duchess of Calabria, who, by Don Luis's design, would be the heir of his fortune and title. She married in 1582 Juan Alonso Pimentel de Herrera, V Duke of Benavente.
On April 19, 1559, his only son was born, who was given the name Juan de Zúñiga y Requeséns, which was what was stipulated in the conciliations of one of the other inheritances.