John of Austria
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Juan of Austria (February 24, 1547 – October 1, 1578), also known as Don Juan of Austria, Don John of Austria, and Juan de Austria, was an illegitimate son of King Carlos I of Spain (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). Juan was a military leader whose most famous victory was in the naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Note: "Don" is a Spanish honorific and is not a name or an abbreviation of one.
[edit] Biography
Born in Regensburg, Bavaria, the progeny of a liaison between Charles and Barbara Blomberg, a burgher's daughter and entertainer, Juan was raised anonymously in Spain as Gerónimo, nicknamed Jeromín. In obedience to Charles' testament, Philip II of Spain recognised Juan as a half-brother, and gave him an income and the title of Infante. Philip intended that Juan should enter the Church, but was unable to stem the latter's enthusiasm for a military career. Juan's first engagement in 1568 was against Barbary pirates; its success resulted in his appointment as the leader of the Spanish forces ranged against the Morisco Revolt in Granada.
In 1571, Philip appointed Juan to command the naval forces of the Holy League which was pitted against the Ottoman Empire. Juan, by dint of leadership ability and charisma, was able to unite this disparate coalition and inflict a historic defeat upon the Ottomans and their corsair allies in the Battle of Lepanto.
This victory fired Juan's ambitions, but Philip was loath to allow his half-brother too prominent a stature in European politics and appointed him Governor of the Spanish Netherlands in 1576, hoping that the office would at once appease his ambitions and limit their scope. Juan resisted the appointment and only accepted it on the understanding that he would be allowed to marry Mary, Queen of Scots, then held captive in England, by invading and staging a liberation of that country. He and Mary were to subsequently assume the throne of England. The Governor did not particularly enjoy his 'Joyous' Entry into Brussels in 1577.[1]
Juan's entanglements in the Southern Netherlands and a deteriorating relationship with Philip frustrated his plans, however. In the beginning of 1578, Farnese, having been sent to get the Governor out of trouble,[1] could win an important victory in the Battle of Gembloux and captured the city of Namur. To make matters worse for Juan, on 2 August 1578 he suffered a defeat in the Battle of Rijmenam, near the city of Mechelen. Juan died of typhus the same year in Bouge, near Namur.
[edit] External links
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[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b University of Mannheim site: The Cambridge Modern History, planned by Lord Acton, ed. by Adolphus W. Ward. Cambridge: Univ. Press, volume III, chapter XV Spain under Philip II by Martin Hume, of the Royal Spanish Academy
| Preceded by Luis de Zúñiga y Requesens |
Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands 1576-1578 |
Succeeded by Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza |
