Don Pedro de Padilla

Pedro de Padilla, (Talavera de la Reina, ? - Granada, Spain, 1599), a prominent member of the Military Order of Santiago after 1597, captain of the Infantry in Flanders and Maestro de Campo in Naples, Italy, was during 1595 interim Governor of the Duchy of Milan to cover the absence of Juan Fernández de Velasco, Governor of the Duchy of Milan.

He had been involved previously in the military operations against the Portuguese Nobility in the 1580 succession crisis whereby king Philip II of Spain claimed his right to the Portuguese throne as his mother was a Portuguese Princess, becoming thus king Philip I of Portugal. Pedro wqs promoted afterwards to Governor of Oran and Mazalquivir, 1585 - 1589.

During 1569 - 1571 he served under the command of John of Austria in the war against the moriscos in Granada, fighting also in the Battles of Lepanto and Navarino against the Ottoman Turks and operating in North Africa besieging places now located in Morocco and Algeria.

Some references

• Diego Hurtado de Mendoza: Guerra de Granada, hecha por el Rey de España Don Felipe II nuestro señor contra los moriscos de aquel Reyno, sus rebeldes. In panish. Many other, including recent translated and in the original language editions also. Available through Google Books uncopyrighted and Old Books program:

http://books.google.es/books?id=vmoip-Z3St4C

• Luis del Mármol Carvajal: Historia del rebelion y castigo de los Moriscos del reyno de Granada. In Spanish, but available also in other more or less recent translated editions. Available through the Google Books uncopyrighted and Old Books program :

http://books.google.es/books?id=QdYFAAAAQAAJ