Don Baltasar de Marradas et Vique or Maradas (28 November 1560 in Valencia, † August 12, 1638 in Prague) was a Spanish nobleman, imperial field marshal during the Thirty Years War and governor of Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

.

Life

Marradas came in 1599 at the imperial court of Rudolf II, and there was war. In 1617 during the Uskok War

Uskok War

The Uskok War, also known as War of Gradisca was fought between the Austrian and Spanish on one side and the Venetians, Dutch and English on the other. Based out of Senj The Uskok War, also known as War of Gradisca was fought between the Austrian (Croatian Habsburg soldiers - Uskoci) and Spanish...

 he fought against the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

. In the war against the Winter King Frederick V in 1619, he moved with a Spanish cavalry regiment.

Despite the fact that he could show no great military successes, he was raised in 1621 to the rank of an imperial count and provided with plenty of land. 1626 he became a field marshal and in in 1627 was appointed Lieutenant General. Marradas was involved in the negotiations for the dismissal of Wallenstein

Albrecht von Wallenstein

Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...

 in 1630 in Regensburg

Regensburg

Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...

. At Prague in 1631 he retreated without a fight to the advancing troops from Saxony, under Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg

Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg

Johann or Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg was a Field Marshal of Holy Roman Empire and the Electorate of Saxony, diplomat, and politician.Arnim was born in Boitzenburger Land, Brandenburg...

. After further failures in Silesia, he was deposed in 1632 at the instigation of Wallenstein. Marradas 1634 was one of the masterminds behind the murder of Wallenstein.

He died in 1638 as a privy councilor and governor of Bohemia.