Miguel de Alava
Encyclopedia
Don Miguel Ricardo de Álava y Esquivel Order of Santiago
, Order of Charles III, KCB
, MWO (7 July 1770 – 14 July 1843) was a Spanish
General
and statesman
. He was born in the Basque Country
of Spain
, at Vitoria-Gasteiz
, in 1770. Álava holds the distinction of having been present at both Trafalgar
and Waterloo
, fighting against the British
on the former and with them on the latter.
Alava served as a naval aide-de-camp
during the time of Spain's alliance with France
but switched sides following Napoleon
's invasion of his homeland in 1808. Later he joined the headquarters of Wellington's Peninsular Army as a military attaché
, eventually becoming one of the Duke
's finest and closest companions. He played a crucial role in the Battle of Vitoria
and was present at the Battle of Bussaco, where he was made Brigadier
. Having attached himself to Wellington's staff, Álava stuck close to the Duke during the Battle of Waterloo
. Yet, despite being in the thick of the action, both Wellington and Alava survived the 10 hours' slaughter without so much as a scratch, the Duke declaring to his friend: 'The hand of Almighty God has been upon me this day.'
of a frigate
when he exchanged into the army, receiving corresponding rank
. He was present as a Marine at the Battle of Trafalgar
on board the flagship
of his uncle Admiral Ignacio Álava
.
in 1808, he was one of the most prominent of those who accepted the new constitution from Joseph Bonaparte
as King of Spain. After the national rising against French
aggression, and the defeat of General Dupont at Bailen
in 1808, Álava joined the national independence party, who were fighting in alliance with the English
. At the end of January 1810 he was ordered to move to Portugal in order to communicate Wellington the difficult military situation in that they were against the French. During this stay a deep friendship between Wellington and Alava was created, to the point that the Duke took him to remain like delegate of the Spanish Meetings in the British units, participating together in different crucial operations,the Battle of Talavera and the one of Bussaco, thanks to which he ascended to Brigadier
by express recommendation of Wellington. Arthur Wellesley named Alava to command the troops against the city of Ciudad Rodrigo, by then in possession of the French, gaining the victory little later, in January 1812, which supposed its ascent to Field marshal
by order of the 31 of January of the same year.
, he had risen to the rank of Brigadier-General. On the restoration of Ferdinand, Álava was cast into prison, but the influence of his uncle Ethenard, the Inquisitor, and of Wellington secured his speedy release. He soon contrived to gain the favor of the King, who appointed him ambassador to The Hague
in 1815. It was therefore his remarkable fortune to be present at the Battle of Waterloo
with Wellington's staff. He is supposed to have been the only man who was present at both Waterloo and Trafalgar. Four years later, he was recalled, owing, it is said, to the marked kindness he had shown to his banished fellow-countrymen.
On the breaking out of the revolution of 1820, he was chosen by the province of Álava to represent it in the Cortes, where he became conspicuous in the party of the Exaltados, and in 1822 was made President. In the latter year, he fought with the militia under Francisco Ballesteros
and Pablo Morillo
to maintain the authority of the Cortes against the rebels. When the French invested Cádiz, Álava was commissioned by the Cortes to treat with the Duc d'Angoulême
, and the negotiations resulted in the restoration of Ferdinand, who pledged himself to a liberal policy. No sooner had he regained power, however, than he ceased to hold himself bound by his promises, and Álava found it necessary to retire first to Gibraltar and then to England. There, he was given a house on the Duke of Wellington's Hampshire
estate Stratfield Saye
and introduced to his bank Coutts
: "This is my friend, and as long as I have any money with your house, let him have it to any amount he thinks proper to draw for."
On the death of Ferdinand, he returned to Spain, and espousing the cause of Maria Christina
against Don Carlos
was appointed ambassador to London in 1834, and to Paris in 1835. Proposed as Prime Minister in September 1835, he rejected his nomination. After the insurrection of La Granja, he refused to sign the constitution of 1837
, declaring himself tired of taking new oaths, and was consequently obliged to retire to France, where he died at Barèges
in 1843.
Frequent and honorable mention of Álava is made in Napier's
History of the Peninsular War, and his name is often met both in lives of the Duke of Wellington and in his correspondence.
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
, Order of Charles III, KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, MWO (7 July 1770 – 14 July 1843) was a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
. He was born in the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, at Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital city of the province of Álava and of the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain with a population of 235,661 people. It is the second largest Basque city...
, in 1770. Álava holds the distinction of having been present at both Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
and Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, fighting against the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on the former and with them on the latter.
Alava served as a naval aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
during the time of Spain's alliance with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
but switched sides following Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's invasion of his homeland in 1808. Later he joined the headquarters of Wellington's Peninsular Army as a military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
, eventually becoming one of the Duke
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
's finest and closest companions. He played a crucial role in the Battle of Vitoria
Battle of Vitoria
At the Battle of Vitoria an allied British, Portuguese, and Spanish army under General the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, leading to eventual victory in the Peninsular War.-Background:In July 1812, after...
and was present at the Battle of Bussaco, where he was made Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
. Having attached himself to Wellington's staff, Álava stuck close to the Duke during the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. Yet, despite being in the thick of the action, both Wellington and Alava survived the 10 hours' slaughter without so much as a scratch, the Duke declaring to his friend: 'The hand of Almighty God has been upon me this day.'
War of the Third Coalition
Álava served first in the Navy, and had risen to be captainCaptain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
of a frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
when he exchanged into the army, receiving corresponding rank
Military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...
. He was present as a Marine at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
on board the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of his uncle Admiral Ignacio Álava
Ignacio Maria de Alava y Saenz de Navarrete
Ignacio Maria de Alava y Saenz de Navarrete was a Spanish naval officer, present at the Battle of Trafalgar.-Naval career:Alava joined the Spanish navy in 1766. In his early years, he was involved in fighting the pirates of the North African coast...
.
Peninsular War
In politics he followed a very devious course. At the assembly of BayonneBayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
in 1808, he was one of the most prominent of those who accepted the new constitution from Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
as King of Spain. After the national rising against French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
aggression, and the defeat of General Dupont at Bailen
Battle of Bailén
The Battle of Bailén was contested in 1808 between the Spanish Army of Andalusia, led by Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding, and the Imperial French Army's II corps d'observation de la Gironde under General Pierre Dupont de l'Étang...
in 1808, Álava joined the national independence party, who were fighting in alliance with the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At the end of January 1810 he was ordered to move to Portugal in order to communicate Wellington the difficult military situation in that they were against the French. During this stay a deep friendship between Wellington and Alava was created, to the point that the Duke took him to remain like delegate of the Spanish Meetings in the British units, participating together in different crucial operations,the Battle of Talavera and the one of Bussaco, thanks to which he ascended to Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
by express recommendation of Wellington. Arthur Wellesley named Alava to command the troops against the city of Ciudad Rodrigo, by then in possession of the French, gaining the victory little later, in January 1812, which supposed its ascent to Field marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
by order of the 31 of January of the same year.
Hundred Days
Before the close of the Peninsular WarPeninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, he had risen to the rank of Brigadier-General. On the restoration of Ferdinand, Álava was cast into prison, but the influence of his uncle Ethenard, the Inquisitor, and of Wellington secured his speedy release. He soon contrived to gain the favor of the King, who appointed him ambassador to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
in 1815. It was therefore his remarkable fortune to be present at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
with Wellington's staff. He is supposed to have been the only man who was present at both Waterloo and Trafalgar. Four years later, he was recalled, owing, it is said, to the marked kindness he had shown to his banished fellow-countrymen.
Politician and diplomat
Francisco Ballesteros
Francisco Ballesteros, emerged as a career Spanish General during the Peninsular War.Ballasteros served against the First French Republic in the 1793 War of the Pyrenees...
and Pablo Morillo
Pablo Morillo
Pablo Morillo y Morillo, Count of Cartagena and Marquess of La Puerta, aka El Pacificador was a Spanish general....
to maintain the authority of the Cortes against the rebels. When the French invested Cádiz, Álava was commissioned by the Cortes to treat with the Duc d'Angoulême
Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angouleme
Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême was the eldest son of Charles X of France and, from 1824 to 1836, the last Dauphin of France...
, and the negotiations resulted in the restoration of Ferdinand, who pledged himself to a liberal policy. No sooner had he regained power, however, than he ceased to hold himself bound by his promises, and Álava found it necessary to retire first to Gibraltar and then to England. There, he was given a house on the Duke of Wellington's Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
estate Stratfield Saye
Stratfield Saye House
Stratfield Saye House is a large stately home at Stratfield Saye in the north-east of the English county of Hampshire. It has been the home of the Dukes of Wellington since 1817.-Early history:...
and introduced to his bank Coutts
Coutts
Coutts & Co. is one of the UK's private banking houses, now wholly owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland . RBS acquired Coutts and all of its overseas subsidiaries when it bought NatWest. On 1 January 2008, Coutts' international businesses were renamed RBS Coutts, aligning them more closely with...
: "This is my friend, and as long as I have any money with your house, let him have it to any amount he thinks proper to draw for."
On the death of Ferdinand, he returned to Spain, and espousing the cause of Maria Christina
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies was Queen consort of Spain and Regent of Spain .-Early years and first marriage:...
against Don Carlos
Infante Carlos, Count of Molina
The Infante Carlos of Spain was the second surviving son of King Charles IV of Spain and of his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma. As Carlos V he was the first of the Carlist claimants to the throne of Spain...
was appointed ambassador to London in 1834, and to Paris in 1835. Proposed as Prime Minister in September 1835, he rejected his nomination. After the insurrection of La Granja, he refused to sign the constitution of 1837
Spanish Constitution of 1812
The Spanish Constitution of 1812 was promulgated 19 March 1812 by the Cádiz Cortes, the national legislative assembly of Spain, while in refuge from the Peninsular War...
, declaring himself tired of taking new oaths, and was consequently obliged to retire to France, where he died at Barèges
Barèges
Barèges is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. It is situated in the valley of the stream Bastan on the former Route nationale 618, the "Route of the Pyrénées."-Economy:...
in 1843.
Frequent and honorable mention of Álava is made in Napier's
William Francis Patrick Napier
General Sir William Francis Patrick Napier KCB , Irish soldier in the British Army and military historian, third son of Colonel George Napier was born at Celbridge, near Dublin.-Military service:...
History of the Peninsular War, and his name is often met both in lives of the Duke of Wellington and in his correspondence.
Quotation
- Aversion to certain English words