Osuna, Pedro Telles-Chiron

Born in the family of the 2nd Duke of Osuna and daughter of the 4th Duke of Frias . In 1594, he was married in Seville to Catalina Enriquez , daughter of the 2nd Duke of Alcala and Juana Cortes i Zuniga, the daughter of Hernán Cortes . Thus, the blood of the conqueror of Mexico flowed in the veins of his descendants.

He studied at the University of Salamanca . In his youth he traveled in Italy, Portugal and France, as reported in letters to his uncle, the 5th Duke Frias. For his enthusiasm for women and pugnacity, in 1600 he was imprisoned in the castle of Arevalo . Being released under the patronage of his uncle, after another scandalous trick, he was again imprisoned in the castle of Cuellar .

With the secret assistance of the Duke Frias, his restless nephew fled to the Spanish Netherlands , where he joined the army of Spanish shtgalgalter Albrecht VII of Austria as a private soldier, was wounded twice, later commanded two regiments and traveled with a diplomatic mission to the court of Jacob I Stewart .

With the beginning of peace negotiations, the Duke of Osuna returned to Spain in 1608, where he was greeted as a hero and awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece . He became a loyal political ally of the royal favorite of the Duke of Lerma . As a token of goodwill, his young son Juan was engaged to the daughter of the eldest son of the Duke of Lerma, the Duchess of Uced .

September 18, 1610, under the patronage of the Duke of Lerma, was appointed to the post of Viceroy of Sicily. He took office on March 9, 1611. He propped up a squadron of galleys and gained fame by successful operations against the Turkish and Algerian fleets. Thus, the Spaniards won important victories in the battles of Cape Corvo in the governorate of Telles-Chiron and Selidonius .

In 1616, the Duke of Osuna was transferred from Palermo to Naples , where he devoted himself to outright charity. The arrogance of the new governor restored all the local aristocracy against him, and in 1618 the Venetians declared the disclosure of Bedemar’s plot , accusing the Duke Osuna of allegedly preparing an attack by the Spanish fleet on Serenissima .

In an attempt to strengthen the shaky positions of the Spanish crown, the Duke of Osuna led a 12,000-strong contingent into Naples. The burden of maintaining this garrison fell on the Neapolitan nobles, who sent letters of indignation to the Spanish court.

After the fall of the Duke of Lerma in 1620, the Duke of Osuna was accused of trying to secede from the metropolis and declare himself king of Naples. He surrendered his duties to his cousin, Cardinal Borgia , and hastily returned to Spain, where he was imprisoned.

The Duke of Osuna, nicknamed by the flatterers "the great Peter" ( Pedro el Grande ) and the "great Osuna" ( Osuna el Grande ), left the most visible trace as the patron of the Spanish culture of the Golden Age . In Naples, his court painter was José de Ribera . The eminent poet Quevedo served as his secretary and, according to some information, wrote his biography, which remained unpublished. Many funny stories from the life of Osuna are known from the works of Gregorio Leti , published in 1699. The Duke of Osuna was the patron saint of Italian chess player Paolo Boy at the end of his life.

• Linde, Luis M. Don Pedro Girón, Duque de Osuna , la hegemonía española en Europa a comienzos del siglo XVII , Encuentro, Madrid, 2005. ISBN 84-7490-762-9
• Beladiez Navarro, Emilio. Osuna El Grande. El duque de las Empresas . Alhambra, Madrid, 1950.
• Fernández Duro, Cesáreo. El Gran duque de Osuna y su marina . Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, Madrid, 1885.
• Leti, Gregorio. Vita di Don Pietro Giron, duca d'Ossuna vicere di Napolí . Ámsterdam, 1699, 3 vols.

• Osuna, Pedro Taurus // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.