Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán, Marquis of Santa Cruz de Mudela, Marquis of Viso and Lord of Valdepeñas (12 December 1526 – 9 February 1588), known as Bazán the Younger, was a Spanish admiral of the 16th century. One of the best naval commanders in the history of the Spanish Empire, if not the history, period, Bazán built a 44-year career in multiple wars with the distinction of never being even close to be defeated in battle, becoming basically the naval wrecking ball of the House of Habsburg until his anticlimactic death of illness in midst of the Anglo-Spanish War. He was the admiral meant to be in charge of the unfortunate Spanish Armada before his death, meaning that his death might have effectively changed the course of history.
His family left an important legacy as patrons of Spanish literature, with the marquis himself, a famous Gentleman and a Scholar, being celebrated by writers like Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Luis de Góngora. He is still studied in Spanish military schools, as he is considered a pioneer of amphibian warfare and the usage of marines, as well as one of the main popularizers of the galleon as a warship, along with existent ships whose designs he improved, like galleys, carracks and barges re-designed to disembark troops. Not coincidentially, the current Spanish Marine Infantry had been founded by King Charles V during the beginning of Bazán's career and remains the oldest marine corps still active in the world. Bazán's own palace in Marqués del Viso currently houses the general archive of the Spanish Navy.
Interestingly, Bazán might have also been an ancient example of Smart People Play Chess, as his family crest features a chessboard-like pattern, and folklore has that Bazán received this motif because he loved chess and played before his battles, although others believe that there is no actual relation, or that conversely Bazán liked the game because it reminded him of his crest.
Heir to the prestigious lineage of Bazán, lords of Biscay and generals of note, Álvaro learned the ways of the war under his father, Álvaro de Bazán the Elder, who had served alongside the notorious Andrea Doria in the recapture of Tunis and the Italian Wars for King Charles. The young Álvaro had been initiated in the Order of Santiago as a mere toddler in order to motivate him for a military career, even having been nominally appointed captain of the fortress of Gibraltar at the age of eight as a sort of official gesture, and his first showing as a cadet during the Battle of Muros, considered the first large naval battle in the Atlantic, was not less promising, helping his father defeat a much bigger French fleet by capitalizing on their superior knowledge of the local shores. Bazán Jr was soon in command of a fleet of galleys destined to counter pirates and corsairs of all nationalities, and his success at the task over the years, including a vital role in saving the Spanish strongholds after the disaster of Djerba, led King Philip II to promote him to captain general at only 28, possibly the youngest ever at his job.
Bazán warred extensively against the Ottoman Empire, fighting and winning battles like the siege of Oran and Mers El Kébir, the capture of Vélez de la Gomera, and the relief of the famous Ottoman siege of Malta in 1565, whose decisive trumping would be Bazán's brainchild. In reward for his services, Philip II made him general of Naples and gave him the Marquisate of Santa Cruz de Mudela in 1569, just in time for Bazán to participate in the Holy League that was being assembled against the Ottomans. Serving as an advisor to commander John of Austria, Bazán chose to command the support forces in the Battle of Lepanto and was instrumental in the defeat of the Muslims, saving personally the Catholic fleet in not less than three critical instances. Bazán would follow up with actions against Ottoman positions the next years, like John's conquest of Tunis, while also putting care to selflessly pay the ransom of many Christian captives. As a curiosity, he was gifted with an Apothecary Alligator by a Muslim Pasha in one of those deals.
The Marquis of Santa Cruz continued proving his worth during the 1580 Portuguese crisis, caused by the death in battle of King Sebastian I, which again required Bazán to come to the rescue of the Christian ports. His service wouldn't stop there, but just switch targets, as the fleet commanded by Bazán and the land army headed by his close friend Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, teamed up to smash the Multi National Team that impeded Philip II from inheriting the throne of Portugal. Even with Philip crowned in Lisboa, the Portuguese conflict seemed reluctant to end, with anti-Philippine forces regrouping in the island of São Miguel of Azores, so Bazán was ordered to expel them. The Spanish admiral gathered an armada and, in a surprise attack and despite a heavy inferiority in most fields, destroyed the British-French-Dutch-Portuguese enemy fleet in the battle of Vila Franca do Campo, after which he disembarked and captured the island with no less skill. With his victory, the Spanish and Portuguese Empires were welded in the Iberian Union, which would last sixty years before collapsing.
Bazán showed a darker side after the operations, as it turned out that a lot of French privateers had participated in the battle, and in order to make an example against future incursions against the Iberian fleets, he had hundreds of French prisoners executed, both privateers and navy officers alike. The decision disturbed even his own officers, and the French ambassador in Spain accused the Spaniards of boasting that "not even Jesus Christ was safe, because the Marquis may be able to bring Him back to Earth and crucify him again."
In 1585, Queen of England Elizabeth I joined the conflict Philip was waging against the rebel Dutch provinces, with her famous Sea Dog Sir Francis Drake making heads turn by attacking Iberian ports around the world. Bazán advised Philip to deliver a knockout blow to England, a similar proposition made by Bazán's land counterpart Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, and after too many discussions about the exact method (the Marquis wanted to conquer Ireland first as a stepping stone, while the Duke preferred to strike fast and disembark directly), the Iberian king eventually greenlit a combined plan of his own to invade the British Isles. Bazán was left in charge to gather the fleet, but the process was slow due to his zeal to do things properly, the mismanagement of other staff in Lisbon, a typhus epidemic that ravaged the coast, and yet another attack to Cádiz by Drake, who escaped before Bazán could gather the forces to catch him.note All of this angered Philip, who wanted things done already, but then, in midst of the preparations, the already ill Bazán passed away. Typhus finally did which no enemy had ever achieved.
The project's success arguably died with him. Despite his last wish to be replaced by his brother Alonso de Bazán, another excellent captain that was certainly considered the best man for the task, Philip would make the terrible decision to replace him instead with Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, a bureaucrat who would undoubtedly speed things up with the preparations... at the cost of being an unexperienced, talentless commander that reportedly got dizzy every time he got in a ship. The results, as they often say, are history.
After taking the family mantle, Alonso de Bazán went to have his own victorious streak to compensate for this, helping trounce the 1589 English Armada, the fleet of Thomas Howard in Flores, and the Essex-Raleigh Expedition, but also dying of illness shortly after. Both brothers were succeeded by Álvaro's son, Álvaro de Bazán y Benavides, who also had a distinguished career during the reigns of Philip III and Philip IV (he also had a bit of a career in land, working with Ambrogio Spinola and being appointed general of the tercios), although he never came anywhere close to match the original.
In fiction
Comic Book- He gets a cameo in Bob de Moor's Cori, de Scheepsjongen album The Queen's spies, and the original character Don Esteban in the same story is basically an expy of Bazán.
- He's mentioned and praised by Don Quixote. With good reason, given that Miguel de Cervantes also fought in Lepanto and pretty much came out alive thanks to him.
"...that lightning of the war, that father to all soldiers, that venturous and never defeated captain Don Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz."
- He's the protagonist of Luis Mollà's 2020 historical novel El señor de los mares.
- Bazán is mentioned in Juan Antonio Pérez-Focea's Invencibles.
- He's played by Geoffrey Wincott in the Elizabeth R.
