Francisco de Rivera y Medina (1582–1646) was a Spanish naval commander. He had a successful career under Pedro Téllez-Girón, Duke of Osuna, acheving international fame for his victory over a vastly larger Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Cape Celidonia.[1]
Francisco de Rivera | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1582 Toledo, Spain |
| Died | 1646 Spain |
| Allegiance |  Spanish Empire |
| Years of service | 1603-1646 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Battles / wars | |
Early career
editRivera lost his father at an early age, leading him to a low life in Toledo. He already intended to join the Spanish armies, but was forced to flee from Toledo first after killing a man in a duel and wounding not less than five constables who tried to arrest him. He landed in Cádiz, where he joined the Spanish armada under admiral Luis Fajardo in 1603.[2]
One year into its tenure, Fajardo's convoy defeated a fleet of the Ottoman Empire, and during its course Rivera had his first showing by leading the capture of an entire Turk ship, which gained him Fajardo's favor. In 1605, he was part of Fajardo's expedition to Cumaná, modern day Venezuela, where their 14 galleons captured 19 Dutch privateer hulks which harassed local Spanish trade.[3] However, after being promoted to ensign, Rivera killed another man in a duel, forcing him again to flee for another destiny.[2]
Mediterranean conflicts
editHe moved to the Viceroyalty of Sicily seeking to join the famed fleets of the Duke of Osuna, who hired Rivera after checking his resume. In 1616, Osuna was building a new galleon fleet, and gave Rivera command of one of them, the 36-gun galleon San Juan Bautista. With it, he defeated a fleet of ten Barbary galleys from Tunis, after which he chased them to the Tunisian port of La Goulette and assaulted it, capturing four galleys. The battle promoted Rivera to captain, and along with raised him among Osuna's best commanders along with Ottavio d'Aragona. When Osuna was given the Viceroyalty of Naples, Rivera and d'Aragona followed him as part of his entourage,[1] being referred to as the duke's Bravos ("Brave Ones").[4]
In 1616, Rivera captained Osuna's galleon fleet during the Battle of Cape Celidonia, where his six sailing ships defeated 55 Ottoman galleys in Turk waters. For this victory, the Duke of Osuna petitioned for Rivera to be promoted to admiral, which was conceded by King Philip III along with awarding him the Order of Santiago.[5] His next campaigns would be against the Republic of Venice, an intermitent ally of the Turks, against which Rivera obtained another high level victory in the Battle of Ragusa.[1] It was only in 1620, with the fall of the Duke of Osuna, that his career momentarily halted, although he was eventually given the command of the Sicilian fleets and led another raid in Tunis, destroying the local corsair ships.[6]
Atlantic fleets
editIn 1623, Rivera and his four vessels were transferred to the Spanish Armada in the Atlantic Ocean under Fadrique de Toledo, Marquis of Valdueza. The following year he could finally take possession of his habit of Santiago, as the process had dragged over the years due to Rivera's grandmother being found to be of converso blood. A special exemption in honor of his battle feats was decreed by Pope Urban VIII himself, an unusual privilege, which was ratified by Philip III. The king also granted Rivera lordship of Castilleja de la Cuesta in compensation for the delay. In 1625, Rivera participated in the Recapture of Bahia from Dutch forces, and shortly after in the defense of Cádiz against the English and the Dutch.
In March 1631, King Philip IV entasked Rivera with leading a 24-ship convoy of support from la Coruña to the Spanish Netherlands in conjunction with Flemish admiral Michael Jacobsen, which he successfully passed through the Dutch naval blockade. He later headed a relief fleet to Pernambuco. Ribera died years later, in 1646.
References
edit- ^ a b c Canales (2016).
- ^ a b Fernández Duro (2006).
- ^ San Juan Sánchez (2018).
- ^ Fernández Duro (2006), p. 247.
- ^ Fernández Duro (2006), p. 110.
- ^ Armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y Aragón, volumes III and IV, Madrid, Est. Tipográfico Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, 1903, págs. 342-349
Bibliography
edit- Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (2006). El gran duque de Osuna y su marina: jornadas contra turcos y venecianos (1602–1624) (in Spanish). Spain: Editorial Renacimiento. ISBN 978-84-8472-126-0.
- Canales, Carlos; Rey, Miguel (2019). Naves mancas: la Armada Española a vela de Cabo Celidonia a Trafalgar. EDAF. ISBN 978-84-414-2879-9.
- San Juan Sánchez, Víctor (2018). Breve historia de las batallas navales del Mediterráneo. Nowtilus. ISBN 9788499679365.