José de Palafox y Melci

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José de Palafox y Melci in a painting by Francisco de Goya . Palafox's signature:Signature José de Palafox y Melci.PNG

José de Palafox y Melci (full name: José Rebolledo de Palafox y Melci ), Duke of Saragossa , (born October 28, 1775 in Saragossa, † February 15, 1847 in Madrid ) was a Spanish nobleman and general.

Life

Origin and military career

José de Palafox y Melci was born in 1775 to Juan Felipe de Palafox, 3rd marqués de Lazán e Cañizar (1721–1799) and Paola Melzi d'Eril (1751–1804) in Saragossa. Because of its noble origins, Palafox belonged to the Reales Guardias de Corps since 1792. Like his older brothers Luis Rebolledo (1772–1843) and Fernando, he studied with the Piarists of Saragossa and had Father Basilio Boggiero as his teacher. 1799 took over his inheritance after the death of his father in 1799 and became the 4th marqués de Lazán.

When the War of Independence broke out in 1808, Palafox was already a brigadier and accompanied Ferdinand VII to Bayonne . After the fruitless attempt to prepare Ferdinand VII's escape together with others, he fled to Spain. After a short break he took the lead in the Aragonese resistance against the French .

Defense of Zaragoza

On May 25, 1808, Palafox was proclaimed governor of Saragossa and captain general of Aragon. Despite the lack of money and troops, he declared war on France, whose troops had already invaded the border areas of Navarre and Catalonia . On June 15, 1808, the French attack on Saragossa began . The city had few and outdated defenses and little ammunition and food. The fortifications only held up for a short time. The French managed to take parts of the city by storm. But this only fueled the Spanish resistance. The intruders were forced out again in bloody street fights. On August 13, after a siege of 61 days , the French lifted the siege and withdrew.

Palafox tried to take advantage of this development and undertook a short campaign . When Napoléon Bonaparte came to Spain in person and won victory after victory, Palafox had to retreat to Zaragoza. There it came to the (better known) second siege of Zaragoza . This siege ended after three months with the surrender of the city. Zaragoza was in ruins and disease and fighting had halved the population.

After the siege, Palafox was imprisoned in Vincennes and was only able to return home after the Treaty of Valençay was signed in December 1813.

Later years

In June 1814, Palafox was reinstated in his capacity as captain general. Soon afterwards he withdrew into private life and no longer took part in public life. From 1820 to 1823, Palafox commanded the Guardia Real . Because of his sympathy for the Liberals, he was stripped of all offices and honors even under Ferdinand VII.

Maria Christina finally appointed him Duke of Saragossa. From 1836 he took part again - now as captain general and senator - in political and military affairs.

Palafox died in Madrid on February 15, 1847. He found his final resting place in the Basílica del Pilar in Saragossa.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Palafox y Melci, José Rebolledo de, duque de Zaragoza , enciclopedia-aragonesa.com .
  2. ^ Palafox y Melci, José de (1775-1847) , Bibliothèque nationale de France .

Fonts

  • Autobiografía . Edited by José García Mercadal. Taurus, Madrid 1966.

literature

in order of appearance

  • José García Mercadal: Palafox. Duque de Zaragoza . Editorial Gran Capitán, Madrid 1948.
  • Miguel Beltrán Lloris: José Rebolledo de Palafox y Melci (1775-1847) . In: Miguel Beltrán Lloris, Antonio Beltrán Martínez, Guillermo Fatás Cabeza (eds.): Aragoneses Ilustres . Caja de Ahorros de la Inmaculada, Zaragoza 1983, Vol. 1, pp. 116-117.
  • Herminio Lafoz Rabaza: José de Palafox y su tiempo (in the Los aragoneses series ). Gobierno de Aragón, Departamento de Cultura y Educación, Zaragoza 1992, ISBN 84-7753-307-5 .
  • Mercedes Valverde Candil: Notas a un personaje goyesco. José Rebolledo de Palafox . In: Goya, 250 años después, 1746–1996. Congreso internacional . Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo. Marbella 1996, ISBN 84-606-2743-8 , pp. 157-169.

Web links

Commons : José de Palafox y Melci  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Palafox y Melci, José de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rebolledo de Palafox y Melci, José
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish duke and general
DATE OF BIRTH October 28, 1775
PLACE OF BIRTH Zaragoza
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 1847
Place of death Madrid