Luis Méndez de Haro

Luis Méndez de Haro, 6th Marquis of Carpio or Luis Méndez de Haro y Guzmán, Grandee of Spain (in full, Spanish: Don Luis Méndez de Haro Guzmán y Sotomayor de la Paz, sexto marqués del Carpio, segundo conde de Morente, quinto conde y tercer duque de Olivares, segundo marqués de Eliche, primer duque de Montoro, 3 veces Grande de España, Comendador mayor de la Orden de Alcántara, Gran Chanciller de las Indias, Alcaide de las Alcázares de Sevilla y Córdoba, Caballerizo mayor, gentilhombre de cámara y primer ministro de Felipe IV y su gran privado), (1598 – 26 November 1661), was a Spanish nobleman, political figure and general.

Don Luis de Haro y Guzmán, anonymous painting from the Uffizi Gallery.

Biography

Luis Méndez de Haro y Guzmán was the son of Diego de Haro, the marquis of Carpio, and of doña Francisca de Guzmán, the sister of Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares.

Career

Méndez de Haro made a career at the Spanish court under the protection of his uncle, the Count-Duke, whom he succeeded as Valido or the court favourite who enjoyed the friendship and trust of the King and who wielded political power, after the Count-Duke was driven from office in 1643. He would never exert the same type of influence or control as his uncle had, mainly due to King Philip IV's reliance upon Sister María de Ágreda's counsel. She was able to influence the King to abolish the function of valido.

Luis de Méndez Haro was the main Spanish negotiator of the Treaty of the Pyrenees on Pheasant Island in 1659. He was unable to avoid any perceived negative result of the treaty, nor was he able to reach an anti-French accord with the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, Oliver Cromwell. The treaty was accompanied by the marriage of King Louis XIV of France and the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain. Luis de Méndez Haro played the part of the bridegroom in the proxy marriage that took place at Fuenterrabia on 3 June 1660.

Méndez de Haro's main success was the suppression of the Catalan uprising, and the reconquest of Barcelona in 1652.

However, his campaign during the Portuguese Restoration War was a complete failure. Luis de Méndez Haro personally led Spanish troops at the Battle of the Lines of Elvas in 1659, which ended in a total Spanish defeat.

Heroic and Flying Fame of the Most Excellent Lord Don Luis Méndez de Haro, Count-Duke of Olivares by Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros

Portrait of Luis Méndez de Haro y Guzmán by Cornelis Meyssens

The Count-Duke Luis Méndez de Haro was immortalized in Don Diego Fernández de Medrano's book "Heroic and Flying Fame of the Most Excellent Lord Don Luis Méndez de Haro, Count-Duke of Olivares," part of which reads:

"The greatest art in applying remedies and skills is brevity and comprehension, as well as the ability to pinpoint the exact spot where the harm resides and where the remedy can most easily be achieved. (...) The restoration, not only of the Spanish Monarchy but also of the entire world, is owed to the Most Excellent Lord Don Luis Méndez de Haro. (...) To apply his remedy, he knew how to seek the quintessence of true statecraft by establishing peace among princes, which was so necessary for all of Christendom. (...) He deserves not statues of fragile stone but rather enduring bronze that would make his fame immortal. His achievement is so significant that (...) he relied on a pillar and fundamental base of those that today hold up the Militant and Catholic Church."

The book is both a panegyric and a political treatise. A significant portion of the text is devoted to Haro’s pivotal role in negotiating the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659). The author Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros was a Priest, Chaplain, the lord of the Villa and Solar of Valdeosera and the Lord of Sojuela, inherited from his father Don Diego de Medrano y Zenizeros, Knight of the Order of Santiago. He was a knight of the Order of Santiago, owner of the House and Tower of La Vega and the Palace of Entrena, Commissioner of Spanish Infantry and Alcaide of the Castles of Villarejo de Salvanés and Fuentidueña (Guadalajara), which belong to the Order of Santiago.

Marriage and children

On 26 April 1625, in Barcelona, Luis Méndez de Haro married Catalina (26 April 1610 – 19 November 1647), the youngest daughter of Enrique de Córdoba Cardona y Aragón. They had 5 children:

• Gaspar, (1629–1687), his successor and the Viceroy of Naples.
• Juan Domingo (1640–1716), Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands and the Viceroy of Catalonia.
• Francisco was an illegitimate son of Luis, but acknowledged by his father. Francisco may have been conceived before Luis's marriage, while involved as majordomo for the young future King Felipe IV
• Antonia, who had married Gaspar Juan Pérez de Guzmán, 10th Duke of Medina Sidonia.
• Manuela, who had married Gaspar Vigil de Quiñones Alonso Pimentel y Benavides.
• María Méndez (1644–1693), who had married Gregorio María Domingo de Silva Mendoza y Sandoval.

Sources

• Hobbs, Nicolas (2007). "Grandes de España" (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 October 2008.
• Instituto de Salazar y Castro. Elenco de Grandezas y Titulos Nobiliarios Españoles (in Spanish). periodic publication.