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Ignacio Maria de Alava y Saenz de Navarrete
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'''Ignacio Maria de Alava y Saenz de Navarrete''' (
1750-May
1817) was a
Spain Spanish naval officer, present at the
Battle of Trafalgar.
Alava joined the Spanish navy in
1766. In his early years, he was involved in fighting the pirates of the North African coast (whom the Spanish navy had been fighting for a long time).
In
1781, he commanded the corvette ''San Luis'', which took part in the Spanish blockade of
Gibraltar during the
American Revolutionary War. He took part in an attack on the floating batteries of Gibraltar, and was involved in the
Battle of Cape Spartel on
October 20,
1782.
Shortly after, he was promoted to ''capitán de navío'' (naval
captain), and was transferred to the frigate ''Sabina''.
From
1787 to
1790, he was
flag captain in the fleet of Admiral
Juan de Lángara Don Juan de Lángara. In
1790, commanding the ''San Francisco de Paula'', he brought relief to the city of
Oran, which was besieged by
Algerian pirates.
In
1792, he was promoted to ''brigadier'' (
commodore), and given command of a
squadron in Lángara's fleet. In
1793 and
1794, Alava took part in the campaigns in the
Golfe du Lion, part of the
French Revolutionary Wars.
In
1795, Alava, who had been promoted to ''jefe de esquadra'' (
rear admiral) the previous year, was given command of a naval squadron that sailed around the world in order to undertake several missions in the Spanish colonies, for example reorganizing the naval forces in the
Philippines. He would not return to
Cadiz until
1803. By then he was a ''teniente general'' (
vice admiral).
On
February 15,
1805, Alava was appointed second-in-command of the Spanish fleet in Cadiz, under Admiral
Don Federico Carlos Gravina. When Gravina joined the French Mediterranean fleet under
Pierre Charles Silvestre de Villeneuve Villeneuve for its voyage to the Caribbean, Alava remained as commander of the ships in Cadiz.
On
August 20,
1805, Gravina and Villeneuve returned, and Cadiz was blockaded by a
United Kingdom British fleet under Vice-Admiral
Horatio Nelson. On
October 19, the combined French and Spanish fleet left Cadiz, with Alava on board of his flagship, the 112-gun ''Santa Ana''. On
October 21, they met the British fleet and the Battle of Trafalgar ensued.
Alava was severely wounded in the battle, and the ''Santa Ana'' was captured by the British. However, two days later, a squadron under the command of Commodore
Julien Cosmao Cosmao-Kerjulien succeeded in recapturing her and getting her back to Cadiz. After Gravina died of the wounds he had received in the battle, Alava became the commander of the remaining ships in Cadiz.
In May
1808, Alava defected to
Sevilla, where a
junta had formed to oppose the French. After Cadiz had been recaptured by the Spanish, Alava once again became commander of the naval squadron based there.
In
1810, Alava became Commander-in-Chief in the Caribbean, based in
Havana. He returned to Cadiz in
1813, as its governor.
In
1814, he became a member of the Supreme Council of the Spanish Admiralty, and on
February 24,
1817, he became
Admiral of the Spanish Fleet. He died after only three months in this position.
A letter, sent by the British admiral
Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood Cuthbert Collingwood to Alava, after the Battle of Trafalgar:
To Vice-Admiral Don Ignatio Maria D'Alava.
Frigate ''Euryalus'', before Cadiz, October 30, 1805
It is with great pleasure that I have heard the wound you received in the
action is in a hopeful way of recovery, and that your country may still have
the benefit of your future service. But, Sir, you surrendered yourself to me;
and it was in consideration only of the state of your wound, that you were not
removed into my ship. I could not disturb the repose of a man supposed to be
in his last moments; but your sword, the emblem of your service, was delivered
to me by your Captain; and I expect that you consider yourself a prisoner of
war, until you shall be regularly exchanged by cartel.
I am, &c. C. Collingwood
External link
[http://mitglied.lycos.de/ttroubridge/alava.html Kurzbiographie Vizeadmiral Ignacio Maria de Alava] (Link in German)
Category:Spanish admirals Alava y Saenz de Navarrete, Ignacio Maria de
*** Shopping-Tip: Ignacio Maria de Alava y Saenz de Navarrete
