Francisco de Melo

Dom Francisco de Melo (1597 – 18 December 1651) was a Portuguese nobleman who served as a Spanish general during the Thirty Years' War.

For the Portuguese writer, see Dom Francisco Manuel de Mello.
Francisco de Melo
Francisco de Melo as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands.
Born? 1597
Estremoz, Portugal
Died18 December 1651 (aged 54 or 53)
Madrid, Spain
AllegianceSpain
Service/branchSpanish Empire Spanish Army
Years of service1638–1645
RankCaptain General
Battles/warsThirty Years' War
Catalan Revolt

Biography

Francisco was born in Estremoz, Portugal. From 1632 to 1636 he was the Spanish ambassador to the Republic of Genoa.[1] In 1638, Francisco was appointed viceroy of Sicily,[2] and two years later he was ambassador in Vienna.[1] He was appointed as an understudy of Marquess of Leganés.[3]

Francisco was marquis of the Portuguese Tor de Laguna, count of Assumar, and from 1641 to 1644, interim governor of the Southern Netherlands.[4]

When Francisco arrived in the Southern Netherlands, he already had an impressive political career. He scored a victory against Antoine III de Gramont at the Battle of Honnecourt in May 1642.[5]

Francisco was defeated at the Battle of Rocroi in 1643.[3][lower-alpha 1] In August 1644, Francisco returned to Spain and was appointed to the council of state and royal military adviser by Philip IV of Spain.[6][4]

Notes
  1. Parker states, incorrectly, that Francisco was recalled in disgrace following his loss at Rocroi.[6]

References
  1. Watanabe-O'Kelly 2010, p. 369.
  2. van Nimwegen 2010, p. 566.
  3. Hanlon 2016, p. 60.
  4. Guthrie 2003, p. 172.
  5. Stradling 1994, p. 208.
  6. Stradling 1994, p. 209.

Sources
  • Guthrie, William P. (2003). The Later Thirty Years War: From the Battle of Wittstock to the Treaty of Westphalia. Greenwood Press.
  • Hanlon, Gregory (2016). Italy 1636: Cemetery of Armies. Oxford University Press.
  • van Nimwegen, Olaf (2010). The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588-1688. The Boydell Press.
  • Stradling, R. A. (1994). Spain's struggle for Europe, 1598-1668. Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Watanabe-O'Kelly, Helen (2010). Europa Triumphans: Court and Civic Festivals in Early Modern Europe. Ashgate Publishing.



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