Don

Don (honorific)

Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...

 Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador (1755—1852) 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...

 diplomat and nobleman who served as Spain's representative at the Congress of Vienna

Congress of Vienna

The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...

 (1814–1815). Labrador did not successfully advance his country's diplomatic goals at the conference. These goals included restoring to the thrones of Spain's old Italian possessions the Bourbons

House of Bourbon

The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...

, who had been deposed by Napoleon, and reestablishing control over Spanish South American colonies

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

, which had risen in revolt during the Napoleonic invasion of Spain.

The Marquis of Labrador is almost universally condemned by historians for his incompetence at the Congress. One standard Spanish history textbook condemns him for "...his mediocrity, his haughty character, and his total subordination to the whims of the king's inner circle, by which he achieved nothing favorable." Paul Johnson calls him "a caricature Spaniard who specialized in frantic rages, haughty silences and maladroit demarches."

Labrador was born in Valencia de Alcántara

Valencia de Alcántara

Valencia de Alcántara is a Spanish town near the Portuguese border . It is located in Cáceres province.Nuestra Señora de Rocamador is the most important church...

, and studied at the traditionally conservative University of Salamanca

University of Salamanca

The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...

. He received a bachelor's degree in law at the age of twenty-seven and an advanced degree four years later, and was named a judge on the Audiencia of Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

 in 1793. In August 1798, Labrador was sent as chargé d'affaires

Chargé d'affaires

In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...

 in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 by Charles IV of Spain

Charles IV of Spain

Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...

 to accompany Pius VI (r.1775-1799) in exile, when this pontiff was forced to become a prisoner of the French, following his refusal to surrender his temporal sovereignty to the French armies commanded by General Louis Alexandre Berthier

Louis Alexandre Berthier

Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1st Prince de Wagram, 1st Duc de Valangin, 1st Sovereign Prince de Neuchâtel , was a Marshal of France, Vice-Constable of France beginning in 1808, and Chief of Staff under Napoleon.-Early life:Alexandre was born at Versailles to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Baptiste Berthier ,...

.

At the death of Pius VI, Labrador was named Minister Plenipotentiary to the Papal States

Papal States

The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

, and later served at Florence, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Etruria

Kingdom of Etruria

The Kingdom of Etruria was a kingdom comprising the larger part of Tuscany which existed between 1801 and 1807. It took its name from Etruria, the old Roman name for the land of the Etruscans.It was created by the Treaty of Aranjuez, signed on 21 March 1801...

.

The liberal deputies of the national assembly based in Cádiz

Cádiz

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

 (1810–1813) took him to be one of their own, and gave him the vital post of Minister of State, a decision they would quickly regret: "[Labrador was] dim, prolix, of pride and arrogance that trod the limits of fatuity, and of peculiar pedantry." But he was no liberal. He assisted Ferdinand VII in abolishing the liberal constitution of 1812

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...

, and was awarded with the duty of representing Spain at the peace conferences of Paris and Vienna, with the full rank and title of Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

.

At the Congress, the Marquis of Labrador was outmaneuvered by experienced diplomats such as Talleyrand and Metternich.

Labrador's entreaties on behalf of the devolution

Devolution

Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...

 of the former Spanish possession of Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 were roundly ignored. The Austrians blocked plans that would have made Spain a special ally of the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

; the British likewise rejected Spain's territorial claims against Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. The British particularly were exasperated with their Spanish ally and her representative. "It is somewhat singular in itself," Castlereagh

Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh

Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC , usually known as Lord CastlereaghThe name Castlereagh derives from the baronies of Castlereagh and Ards, in which the manors of Newtownards and Comber were located...

 would write, "that the only two Courts with which we find it difficult to do business are those of the Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

." In his opinion of Labrador, the Duke of Wellington

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...

, Castlereagh's replacement at Vienna and an experienced judge of truculent hidalgos

Hidalgo (Spanish nobility)

A hidalgo or fidalgo is a member of the Spanish and Portuguese nobility. In popular usage it has come to mean the non-titled nobility. Hidalgos were exempt from paying taxes, but did not necessarily own real property...

, was more direct: "The most stupid man I ever came across." Labrador was a man, according to the Spanish Minister of State José García de León y Pizarro

José García de León y Pizarro

José García de León y Pizarro, born in Santa Cruz de Marquis, Nueva Granada, Ecuador, was Minister of State of Spain from October 30, 1816 to September 14, 1818. He married Maria Mercedes Avila and had a son Rafael Garcia.He died by decapitation....

 "...of little amiability [and of] few or no dinners or gatherings." And in this apogee of drawing-room diplomacy, this was fatal.

Labrador could in fact rely neither on his choleric personality to repair any relations, personal or diplomatic, nor on a salary that his cash-strapped government never paid him, to arrange any social gatherings at his residence on the Minoritten Platz, the Palais Pálffy

Palais Pálffy

thumb|right|Palais Pálffy on Josefsplatz Street in [[Vienna]]Palais Pálffy , also spelled Palais Palffy, is a palace in Vienna, Austria. It was owned by the noble Pálffy family.-External links:*...

. "He did not even figure," his biographer assures us, "as a protagonist in any of the many amorous adventures [that occurred during the Congress]"; the most exciting social event Labrador seems to have attended was a wax figure

Wax figure

A wax sculpture is a sculpture made in wax. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief....

s production in the Christmastide of 1814.

Spain did not sign the Final Act of the Congress of June 9, 1815, for Labrador’s proposal to attach reservations to the act concerning the rights of the Italian Bourbons was soundly disregarded. Labrador registered a protest against several of the Congress resolutions, including that concerning the restitution of Olivenza

Olivenza

Olivenza or Olivença is a town in the autonomous community of Extremadura, situated on a disputed section of the border between Portugal and Spain...

.

With only the restoration of picayune Lucca

Lucca

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

 as a Bourbon-Parma duchy to show for her efforts, and represented by a man overwhelmed with his charge ("I must have the face of a favorite aunt [for] everyone is coming to me with their troubles"), Spain’s status as a second-rate power was confirmed. Spain finally accepted the treaty on May 7, 1817.

Labrador's long life ended tragically: he would eventually lose his position in the diplomatic service, his wife, his sight, his judgment, and his fortune.

High street

High Street

High Street, or the High Street, is a metonym for the generic name of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in city centres, and is most often used in reference to retailing...

 fashion designer Hannah Sharpe has named a clothing range after Labrador. The range has a 19th century 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...

influence called simply el Marquis de Labrador.

Sources

• Alsop, Susan Mary. The Congress Dances. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1984.

• Atard, Vicente Palacio. Manual de Historia de España, vol. 4. Edad Contemporánea I: 1808-1898. Madrid: Espasa Calpe, 1978.

• Bergamini, John D. The Spanish Bourbons. The History of a Tenacious Dynasty. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1974.

• Bernard, J.F. Talleyrand: A Biography. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1973.

• Carr, Raymond. Spain 1808-1939. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.

• Cortada, James W. (editor). Spain in the Nineteenth-Century World. Essays on Spanish Diplomacy, 1789-1898. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1994.

• de Espronceda, José. Poesías Líricas y Fragmentos Épicos. Edición, introducción y notas de Robert Marrast. Madrid: Clásicos Castalia, 1970.

• de Lara, Manuel Tuñón. La España del Siglo XIX- 1808-1914. París: Club del Libro Español, 1961.

• de Villa-Urrutia, Wenceslao Ramírez, Marqués de Villa-Urrutia. España en el Congreso de Viena según la correspondencia de D. Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marqués de Labrador. Segunda Edición Corregida y Aumentada. Madrid: Francisco Beltrán, 1928.

• Freksa, Frederick (compiler). A Peace Conference of Intrigue: A Vivid, Intimate Account of the Congress of Vienna Composed of the Personal Memoirs of its Important Participants. Translated and With an Introduction and Notes by Harry Hansen. New York: The Century Co., 1919.

• Gaya Nuño, Juan Antonio. Historia del Museo del Prado (1819-1969). León: Editorial Everest, 1969.

• Herold, J. Christopher. The Age of Napoleon. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., 1963.

• Jimenez Navarro, Ernesto. La Historia de España. Madrid: Compañia Bibliografica Española, S.A., 1946.

• Johnson, Paul. The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991.

• Lockhart, J.G. The Peacemakers 1814-1815. London: Duckworth, 1932.

• Lovett, Gabriel H. Napoleon and the Birth of Modern Spain. The Challenge to the Old Order. Two Volumes. New York: New York University Press, 1965.

• Marin Correa, Manuel (editor). Historia de España. Ultimos Austrias y primeros Borbones. De Carlos IV a Isabel II. Barcelona: Editorial Marin, S.A., 1975.

• Muir, Rory. Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon 1807-1815. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1996.

• Nicolson, Harold. The Congress of Vienna: A Study in Allied Unity 1812-1822. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1946.

• Regla, Juan (editor). Historia de España Ilustrada. Barcelona: Editorial Ramon Sopena, S.A., 1978.

• Rodríguez-Moñino, Antonio (editor). Cartas Políticas del Marqués de Labrador, París-Viena, 1814. Badajoz: Imprenta Provincial, 1959.

• Spiel, Hilde (editor). The Congress of Vienna: An Eyewitness Account. Translated from the German by Richard H. Weber. New York: Chilton Book Company, 1968.

• Webster, Sir Charles. The Congress of Vienna 1814-1815. London: Thames and Hudson, 1969.