Prospero Jorge de Verboom
Encyclopedia
George Prosper Van Verboom, also known as Jorge Próspero de Verboom (Antwerp, 1665 – Barcelona
, Spain
, 19 January 1744), was a Flemish-born military engineer
in the service of the King of Spain. On 9 January 1727, King Philip V of Spain
granted him the title of Marquis of Verboom.
His father was Cornelius van Verboom, the Flemish Engineer in Chief of the Spanish Netherlands, in charge of the fortification of Besançon
and of Dôle
, in France. Prospero Jorge joined the Spanish Military Engineering Academy of Brussels
(founded 1675 - disappeared 1706), under Field Marshal Sebastián Fernández de Medrano.
During the Nine Years' War, Prospero was instrumental in 1691 in the campaign by William III of Orange
, King Consort of England
, against the French blockade of Mons
, in the Spanish Netherlands. In 1695 he directed the siege of Namur
, also in the Spanish Netherlands, with famous Swedish-Dutch military engineer Menno van Coehoorn
. He was promoted to Field Marshal of the Spanish Cavalry and, two years later, commanded the Lorraine Regiment of Cavalry.
In the Spanish War of Succession (wherein French, Bavarians and Spaniards supported the grandson of French King Louis XIV, later to become King Philip V of Spain
), Verboom was in command of the defence systems of Antwerp, taking part in 1702 with the Captain General of the Spanish Artillery Isidro de la Cueva - Benavides in the siege of Hulst
, but in 1706 the French - Spanish Army commanded by François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi
was defeated by the Duke of Marlborough
at the Battle of Ramillies
but managed to use troops from Antwerp to put pressure on the British at the siege of Termonde.
In 1709 Philip V ordered him to report on the state of the castles and garrisons on the Spanish - Portuguese frontier, in preparation for war.
He was promoted to Lieutenant General of the Spanish Army on 18 December 1709 and a few days later Engineer General of the Royal Armies ("...of all Armies, towns and fortifications in all my Kingdoms, Towns or States, wherever they might be located or wherever you can be there and then..."). He fought in the Battle of Almenar against Count Guido Starhemberg
in 1710, where he was captured. He was imprisoned until 1712, time he used to prepare the State organizational structure of all the Engineering Works to be undertaken under Spanish sovereignty.
He took a very active part in the conquest of Barcelona
; from 1718 he lived there, supervising the works of the Ciudadela of Barcelona and planning the expeditions in the War of the Quadruple Alliance
to recover Sardinia
and Sicily
, former Spanish possessions.
He also worked in Ceuta
, Malaga
, Sevilla, the Lorca
water dam, the Guadalquivir
river banks to aid navigation inland from Cadiz
, and the Gibraltar
contravallation against the British (modern La Línea de la Concepción
). He played an important role in the failed Siege of Gibraltar (1727)
. He was acting Captain General of Catalonia
between 1737 and 1738.
He died on 17 January 1744, aged 79, being buried at the Real Convento de Santa Catalina (not in the Ciudadela new church as stated by some).
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area 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...
, 19 January 1744), was a Flemish-born military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
in the service of the King of Spain. On 9 January 1727, King Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
granted him the title of Marquis of Verboom.
His father was Cornelius van Verboom, the Flemish Engineer in Chief of the Spanish Netherlands, in charge of the fortification of Besançon
Free City of Besançon
The City of Besançon was a self governing city surrounded by Franche-Comté.After losing its status as a free imperial city within the Holy Roman Empire in 1654 the City of Besançon refused to recognise the sovereignty of its protector, whether the king of France or Spain, until Louis XIV dissolved...
and of Dôle
Dole, Jura
Dole is a commune in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, of which it is a subprefecture ....
, in France. Prospero Jorge joined the Spanish Military Engineering Academy of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(founded 1675 - disappeared 1706), under Field Marshal Sebastián Fernández de Medrano.
During the Nine Years' War, Prospero was instrumental in 1691 in the campaign by William III of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, King Consort of England
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...
, against the French blockade of Mons
Siege of Mons (1691)
The Siege of Mons, 15 March–10 April 1691, was a major operation fought during the Nine Years' War, and was the main French objective for the 1691 campaign in the Spanish Netherlands. The city was besieged and captured before the normal commencement of the campaigning season with minimal losses...
, in the Spanish Netherlands. In 1695 he directed the siege of Namur
Siege of Namur (1695)
The Siege of Namur, 2 July–1 September 1695, was the second siege of the city of Namur in the Nine Years' War. The Allied forces of the Grand Alliance retook the city from the French, who had captured it in the first siege in 1692...
, also in the Spanish Netherlands, with famous Swedish-Dutch military engineer Menno van Coehoorn
Menno van Coehoorn
Menno, Baron van Coehoorn was a Dutch soldier and military engineer of Swedish extraction. He made a number of influential weaponry innovations in siege warfare and fortification techniques...
. He was promoted to Field Marshal of the Spanish Cavalry and, two years later, commanded the Lorraine Regiment of Cavalry.
In the Spanish War of Succession (wherein French, Bavarians and Spaniards supported the grandson of French King Louis XIV, later to become King Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
), Verboom was in command of the defence systems of Antwerp, taking part in 1702 with the Captain General of the Spanish Artillery Isidro de la Cueva - Benavides in the siege of Hulst
Hulst
Hulst is a municipality and a city in southwestern Netherlands in the east of Zeelandic Flanders.- History :Hulst received city rights in the 12th century....
, but in 1706 the French - Spanish Army commanded by François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi
François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi
François de Neufville, 2ème duc de Villeroy was a French soldier.-Biography:Villeroy was born in Lyon into noble family which had risen into prominence in the reign of Charles IX....
was defeated by the Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough , is a hereditary title in the Peerage of England. The first holder of the title was John Churchill , the noted English general, and indeed an unqualified reference to the Duke of Marlborough in a historical text will almost certainly refer to him.-History:The dukedom was...
at the Battle of Ramillies
Battle of Ramillies
The Battle of Ramillies , fought on 23 May 1706, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of King Louis XIV of France in 1705...
but managed to use troops from Antwerp to put pressure on the British at the siege of Termonde.
In 1709 Philip V ordered him to report on the state of the castles and garrisons on the Spanish - Portuguese frontier, in preparation for war.
He was promoted to Lieutenant General of the Spanish Army on 18 December 1709 and a few days later Engineer General of the Royal Armies ("...of all Armies, towns and fortifications in all my Kingdoms, Towns or States, wherever they might be located or wherever you can be there and then..."). He fought in the Battle of Almenar against Count Guido Starhemberg
Guido Starhemberg
Guido Wald Rüdiger, count of Starhemberg; was an Austrian military officer.He was a cousin of Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg , the famous commander of Vienna during the Turkish siege of 1683, and acted as his ADC during the siege...
in 1710, where he was captured. He was imprisoned until 1712, time he used to prepare the State organizational structure of all the Engineering Works to be undertaken under Spanish sovereignty.
He took a very active part in the conquest of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; from 1718 he lived there, supervising the works of the Ciudadela of Barcelona and planning the expeditions in the War of the Quadruple Alliance
War of the Quadruple Alliance
The War of the Quadruple Alliance was a result of the ambitions of King Philip V of Spain, his wife, Elisabeth Farnese, and his chief minister Giulio Alberoni to retake territories in Italy and to claim the French throne. It saw the defeat of Spain by an alliance of Britain, France, Austria , and...
to recover Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, former Spanish possessions.
He also worked in Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
, Malaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, Sevilla, the Lorca
Lorca
Lorca is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 36 miles southwest of the city of Murcia. It had a population of 92,694 in 2010, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second-largest surface area in Spain with...
water dam, the Guadalquivir
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir is the fifth longest river in the Iberian peninsula and the second longest river to be its whole length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers...
river banks to aid navigation inland from Cadiz
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....
, and the Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
contravallation against the British (modern La Línea de la Concepción
La Línea de la Concepción
La Línea de la Concepción is a town in Spain, in the province of Cádiz in Andalucia. It lies on the eastern isthmus of the Bay of Gibraltar on the border with the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, with which it has close economic and social links...
). He played an important role in the failed Siege of Gibraltar (1727)
Siege of Gibraltar (1727)
The Siege of Gibraltar of 1727 saw Spanish forces besiege the British garrison of Gibraltar as part of the Anglo-Spanish War. Depending on the sources, Spanish troops were between 12,000 and 25,000. British defenders were 1,500 at the beginning of the siege, increasing up to about 5,000...
. He was acting Captain General of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
between 1737 and 1738.
He died on 17 January 1744, aged 79, being buried at the Real Convento de Santa Catalina (not in the Ciudadela new church as stated by some).
External links
- http://www.ejercito.mde.es/Unidades/es/unidades/Barcelona/ige/Historia/dep
- http://www.ingenierosdelrey.com/personajes/ingenieros/ilustres/prospero_verboom.htm. (With his portrait)