Sancho d'Avila 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....

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Born at Ávila, he first served as the commander of the Duke of Alba's

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba

Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...

 bodyguard. It was in this function that d'Avila arrested the Count of Egmont

Lamoral, Count of Egmont

Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere was a general and statesman in the Habsburg Netherlands just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national uprising that eventually led to the independence of the Netherlands.The Count of Egmont headed one of the...

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When the Eighty Years' War started, d'Avila suffered a defeat in the Battle of Quesnoy. He was also involved in the 1572 Siege of Middelburg, and the Battle of Flushing

Battle of Flushing

The Battle of Flushing was a naval battle of the Eighty Years' War, fought on April 17, 1573 near the city of Flushing, Netherlands. The Spanish fleet was led by Sancho d'Avila, the Dutch fleet by Lieven Keersmaker....

 a year later. In 1574, d'Avila defeated Louis

Louis of Nassau

Louis of Nassau was the third son of William, Count of Nassau and Juliana of Stolberg, and the younger brother of Prince William of Orange Nassau....

 and Henry

Henry of Nassau-Dillenburg

Henry of Nassau, count of Nassau-Dillenburg, was the youngest brother of William I of Orange-Nassau....

, brothers of William the Silent

William the Silent

William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...

, in the Battle of Mookerheyde

Battle of Mookerheyde

The Battle of Mookerheyde was a battle of the Eighty Years' War fought on 14 April 1574 near the village Mook and the river Meuse.In the winter months of on 1574, William the Silent's brothers, Louis and Henry of Nassau, raised a mercenary army in Germany of 6500 infantry and 3000 cavalry, and led...

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Six years later, he participated with the Duke of Alba at the Battle of Alcântara

Battle of Alcântara (1580)

The Battle of Alcântara took place on August 25, 1580, near the brook of Alcântara, in the vicinity of Lisbon, Portugal, and was a decisive victory of the Spanish Habsburg King Philip II over the Portuguese pretender to the Portuguese throne, Dom António, Prior of Crato.-Background:In Portugal, the...

. d'Avila died at Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

 of a wound infection, during a raid in 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...

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