History UsefulNotes / AmbrogioSpinola

Ambrogio Spinola, Marquis of Los Balbases and Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was a Genoese general and proconsul of the Spanish Empire during the 17th century. Member of the long tradition of Italian noblemen serving in the military of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic House of Habsburg]], he stood out as a [[TheStrategist brilliant strategist]] in the last phase of UsefulNotes/TheEightyYearsWar, where he might have achieved the feat of actually achieving something for Spain had he not been essentially the OnlySaneMan among the thinking heads of his side. For his victories and leadership, he is held as one of the greatest generals of the Hispanic Monarchy, although he might be best known in pop culture for his role in Spanish TV series ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime''.

Born in a family of bankers from the MerchantCity of Genoa, the young Ambrogio didn't seem to be cut for military life, as he was much more interested in sciences and maths than fighting. However, after getting the shorter end of the stick in a political rivalry with Gian Andrea Doria (one of the heroes of the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto and leader of the rival Doria family), he and his brother Federico decided to try luck in the mud of the Flanders War, for which they assembled an army off their own pocket and offered themselves to King of Spain UsefulNotes/PhilipIII as PrivateMilitaryContractors, like the Italian ''condottieros'' of yore. Federico died in a naval engagement in route to Flanders, but Ambrogio managed to reach the Netherlands, where he was put under the orders of Archduke Albert of Austria and his wife Isabella Clara Eugenia, the governors in charge of handling (or rather trying to handle) the perennial Dutch rebellion.

Despite starting at 34 and without military experience, Ambrogio became a great acquisition for the Habsburg army, as not only he was a NonIdleRich who could economically help the war effort when necessary, he also turned out to be a surprisingly skilled general himself, one who soon could rival the genius of the Dutch ringleader Maurice of Nassau (as well as surpass him, as Maurice was always more of an armchair general). When the crown realized, impressed by his early success and interested on his new plans, they put Spinola in charge of the whole theater in 1603. Where previous generals since the times of UsefulNotes/AlexanderFarnese had tried and failed to wage a defensive war of attrition, Spinola was an aggressive investor more in the vein of Farnese himself, favoring the approach of actively taking the war to their enemies' homes and feeding on their own land resources, as Cato the Elder had postulated many centuries ago. His [[TheBerserker relentless]] [[ShatterpointTap but deceptively calculated offensive]] soon reaped the benefit, managing to wrest a long list of cities away from Maurice's hands and forcing the rebels to negotiate a truce much needed by both sides (although this approach also had its downsides, namely that Spinola bankrupted himself in the process to be able to keep the pace).

Spinola spent the truce as a diplomat in France and the Netherlands, after which he and the Archduke Albert proposed to negotiate a long-lasting peace, knowing well the costs of continuing the war and predicting that they would likely not receive enough money to execute the strategies Spinola had planned in the meanwhile. Just as thought, King Philip III and his heir Philip IV just told Spinola to [[BadBoss continue warring and stop talking about money]], and the negotiations for any form of peace went off the same window. Resigned, Ambrogio went all out and managed to improbably nail a big, decisive-looking victory by capturing the city of Breda, which was immortalized in a famous painting by Velázquez, and after that Maurice of Nassau himself sued for peace, marking the point in which the Genoese went officially BeyondTheImpossible with his military miracles. However, the court's incompetence, added to the personal enmity of the king's head honcho the Count-Duke of Olivares, who was jealous of Spinola's success, prevented Spain from capitalizing on the chance, and it was ultimately AllForNothing. At this moment, supremely fed with everything, Spinola basically [[ResignInProtest snapped and quit]], returning to Spain and refusing to deploy again unless they were willing to do things properly.

* Spinola is a recurrent character in ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime'', where he doubles as head of security of the title ministry. His portrayal is rather InNameOnly, being a sort of rude, uncouth lifelong soldier, but he became quite memetic nonetheless, among other things for being played by Ramón Langa, the official Spanish voice actor for Creator/BruceWillis.

Ambrogio Spinola, Marquis of Los Balbases and Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was a Genoese general of the Spanish Empire during the 17th century. Member of the long tradition of Italian noblemen serving in the military of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic House of Habsburg]], he stood out as a [[TheStrategist brilliant strategist]] in the last phase of UsefulNotes/TheEightyYearsWar, where he might have achieved the feat of actually achieving something for Spain had he not been essentially the OnlySaneMan among the thinking heads of his side. For his victories and leadership, he is held as one of the greatest generals of the Hispanic Monarchy, although he might be best known in pop culture for his role in Spanish TV series ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime''.

Born in a family of bankers from the MerchantCity of Genoa, the young Ambrogio didn't seem to be cut for military life, as he was much more interested in sciences and maths than fighting. However, after getting the shorter end of the stick in a political rivalry with Gian Andrea Doria (one of the heroes of the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto and leader of the rival Doria family), he and his brother Federico decided to try luck in the mud of the Flanders War, for which they assembled an army off their own pocket and offered themselves to King of Spain Philip III as PrivateMilitaryContractors, like the Italian ''condottieros'' of yore. Federico died in a naval engagement in route to Flanders, but Ambrogio managed to reach the Netherlands, where he was put under the orders of Archduke Albert of Austria and his wife Isabella Clara Eugenia, the governors in charge of handling (or rather trying to handle) the perennial Dutch rebellion.

Ambrogio Spinola, Marquis of Los Balbases and Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was a Genoese general of the Spanish Empire during the 17th century. A member of the long tradition of Italian noblemen who served the [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic House of Habsburg]] on the battlefields, he stood out as a [[TheStrategist brilliant straegist and statesman]] in the last phase of UsefulNotes/TheEightyYearsWar, where he might have achieved the feat of actually achieving something for the Catholics had he not been essentially the OnlySaneMan among the thinking heads of his side. For his victories, leadership and renown, he has been sometimes called the last great general of the Spanish Empire, although he might be best known in pop culture for his role in Creator/ArturoPerezReverte's historical literary series ''Literature/{{Alatriste}}''.

Born in a family of bankers from the MerchantCity of Genoa, the young Ambrogio didn't seem to be cut for military life, as he was much more interested in sciences and maths than fighting. However, after getting the shorter end of the stick in a political rivalry with Gian Andrea Doria (one of the heroes of the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto and leader of the rival Doria family), he and his brother Federico decided to try luck in the mud of the Flanders War, for which they assembled an army of their own pocket and offered themselves to King of Spain Philip III as PrivateMilitaryContractors, like the Italian ''condottieros'' of yore. Federico died in a naval engagement in route to Flanders, but Ambrogio managed to reach the Netherlands, where he was put under the orders of Archduke Albert of Austria, the governor in charge of handling (or rather trying to handle) the perennial Dutch rebellion.

Despite starting at 34 and without military experience, Ambrogio became a great acquisition for the Habsburg army, as not only he was a NonIdleRich who could economically help the war effort when necessary, he also turned out to be a surprisingly skilled general himself, one who soon could rival the genius of the Dutch ringleader Maurice of Nassau. When the crown realized, they appointed Spinola general of the whole theater in 1603, impressed by his early success and interested on his new plans. Where previous generals since the times of UsefulNotes/AlexanderFarnese had tried and failed to wage a defensive war of attrition, Spinola was an aggressive investor more in the vein of Farnese himself, favoring the approach of actively taking the war to their enemies' homes and feeding on their own land resources, as Cato the Elder had postulated many centuries ago. His [[TheBerserker relentless]] [[ShatterpointTap but deceptively calculated offensive]] soon reaped the benefit, managing to wrest a long list of cities away from Maurice's hands and forcing the rebels to negotiate a truce much needed by both sides (although this approach also had its downsides, namely that Spinola bankrupted himself in the process).

Spinola spent the truce as a diplomat in France and the Netherlands, after which he and the Archduke Albert proposed to negotiate a long-lasting peace, knowing well the costs of continuing the war and predicting that they would likely not receive enough money to execute the strategies Spinola had planned in the meanwhile. Just as thought, King Philip III and his heir Philip IV just told Spinola to [[BadBoss continue warring and stop talking about money]], and the negotiations for any form of peace went off the same window. Resigned, Ambrogio went all out and managed to improbably nail a big, decisive-looking victory by capturing the city of Breda, which was immortalized in a famous painting by Velázquez, and after that Maurice of Nassau himself sued for peace, marking the point in which the Genoese went BeyondTheImpossible with his military miracles. However, the court's incompetence, added to the personal enmity of the king's head honcho the Count-Duke of Olivares, who was jealous of Spinola's success, prevented Spain from capitalizing on the chance, and it was ultimately AllForNothing. At this moment, supremely fed with everything, Spinola basically snapped and quit, returning to Spain and refusing to deploy again unless they were willing to do things properly.

His last years were spent in Milan, where he was tasked with fighting the War of the Mantuan Succession. The affair had been previously handled by a former understudy of Spinola, the eponymous grandson of the legendary UsefulNotes/GonzaloFernandezDeCordoba, who warned the whole thing was unmanageable with the little resources they had, and Spinola found it to be quite true. Upon his return to Spain, in midst of the disfavor brought by the Count-Duke of Olivares, Spinola fell ill and died, mistreated for the last time. His descendants would continue serving the Spanish Empire for several generations, although none of them with the same fame.

* As mentioned, Spinola plays somewhat of a BigGood role at the background of ''Literature/{{Alatriste}}''.

* Spinola is a recurrent character in ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime'', where he doubles as head of security of the title ministry. He's played Ramón Langa, the official Spanish voice actor for Creator/BruceWillis.

Despite starting at 34 and without military experience, Ambrogio became a great acquisition for the Habsburg army, as not only he was a NonIdleRich who could economically help the war effort when necessary, he also turned out to be a surprisingly skilled general himself, one who soon could rival the genius of the Dutch ringleader Maurice of Nassau. When the crown realized, they appointed Spinola general of the whole theater in 1603, impressed by his early success and interested on his new plans. Where previous generals since the times of UsefulNotes/AlexanderFarnese had tried and failed to wage a defensive war of attrition, Spinola was an aggressive investor more in the vein of Farnese himself, favoring the approach of actively taking the war to their enemies' homes and feeding on their own land resources, as Cato the Elder had postulated many centuries ago. His [[TheBerserker relentless offensive]] soon reaped the benefit, managing to wrest a long list of cities away from Maurice's hands and forcing the rebels to negotiate a truce much needed by both sides (although it also had its downsides, namely that Spinola bankrupted himself in the process).

Spinola spent the truce as a diplomat in France and Netherlands, after which he and the Archduke Albert proposed to negotiate a long-lasting peace, as he knew better than anybody the costs of continuing a war that by this point (read: after 60 years) had proved to be an absolute waste of everything valuable for the Spanish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. Predictably, King Philip III and his heir Philip IV just told him to continue warring and stop talking about money, and the negotiations for any form of peace went off the same window. Pulling again a miracle, Spinola managed to nail a big, decisive-looking victory against Maurice of Nassau by capturing the city of Breda, which was immortalized in a famous painting by Velázquez, but the court's incompetence, added to the enmity of the king's honcho the Count-Duke of Olivares, now impeded him from capitalizing at the chance. At this moment, Spinola basically quit and returned to Spain, refusing to go again unless they were willing to do things properly.

Ambrogio Spinola, Marquis of Los Balbases and Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was a Genoese general of the Spanish Empire during the 17th century. A member of the long tradition of Italian commanders serving the [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic House of Habsburg]], he stood out as a brilliant field commander and statesman of the last phase of UsefulNotes/TheEightyYearsWar, where he might have achieved the feat of actually achieving something for the Catholics had he not been essentially the OnlySaneMan among the thinking heads of his side. For his victories, leadership and rewnown, he has been sometimes called the last great general of the Spanish Empire, although he might be best known in pop culture for his role in Creator/ArturoPerezReverte's historical literary series ''Literature/Alatriste''.

Born in a family of bankers from the MerchantCity of Genoa, the young Ambrogio didn't seem to be cut for military life, as he was much more interested in sciences and maths than fighting. However, after getting the shorter end of the stick in a political rivalry with Gian Andrea Doria (one of the heroes of the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto and leader of the rival Doria family), he and his brother Federico decided to try luck in the mud of the Flanders War, for which they assembled an army of their own pocket and offered themselves to King of Spain Philip IV as PrivateMilitaryContractors, like the Italian ''condottieros'' of yore. Federico died in a naval engagement in route to Flanders, but Ambrogio managed to reach the Netherlands, where he put himself under the orders of Archduke Albert of Austria, the governor in charge of handling (or rather trying to handle) the perennial Dutch rebellion.

Despite starting at 34 and without military experience, Ambrogio became a great acquisition for the Habsburg army, as not only he was a NonIdleRich who could economically help the war effort when necessary, he also turned out to be a surprisingly skilled general himself, one who soon could rival the genius of the Dutch ringleader Maurice of Nassau. When the crown realized, they appointed Spinola general of the whole theater in 1603, impressed by his early success and interested on his new plans. Where previous generals since the times of UsefulNotes/AlexanderFarnese had tried and failed to wage a defensive war of attrition, Spinola was an aggressive investor more in the vein of Farnese himself, favoring the approach of actively taking the war to their enemies' homes and feed on their own land resources a la Cato the Elder, and this soon reaped out many benefits, managing to capture many cities from Maurice's hands and forcing the rebels to negotiate a truce due to his relentless offensive. Of course, it also had its downsides, namely that Spinola bankrupted himself in the process.

Spinola spent the truce as a diplomat in France and Netherlands, after which he and the Archduke Albert proposed to negotiate a long-lasting peace, as he knew better than anybody the costs of continuing a war that by this point (read: after 60 years) had proved to be an absolute waste of everything valuable for the Spanish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. Predictably, King Philip III and his heir Philip IV just told him to continue warring and stop talking about money, and the negotiations for any form of peace went off the same sink. Pulling again a miracle, Spinola managed to nail a big, decisive-looking victory against Maurice of Nassau by capturing the city of Breda, which was immortalized in a famous painting by Velázquez, but the court's incompetence, added to the enmity of the king's honcho the Count-Duke of Olivares, now impeded him from capitalizing at the chance. At this moment, Spinola basically quit and returned to Spain, refusing to go again unless they were willing to do things properly.

His last years were spent in Milan, where he was tasked with fighting the War of the Mantuan Succession. The affair had been previously handled by a former understudy of Spinola, the eponymous grandson of the legendary UsefulNotes/GonzaloFernandezDeCordoba, who warned the whole thing was unmanageable with the little resources they had, and Spinola found it to be quite true. Upon his return to Spain, in midst of the disfavor brought by the Count-Duke of Olivares, Spinola fell ill and died, mistreated too much at last.