Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba

Who was Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba?

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel or Ferdinandus Toletanus Dux Albanus, known as the Grand Duke of Alba, was a Spanish noble, soldier, and diplomat. He was titled the 3rd Duke of Alba de Tormes and 1st Duke of Huéscar, 4th Marquis of Coria, 3rd Count of Salvatierra de Tormes, 2nd Count of Piedrahita, 8th Lord of Valdecorneja, Grandee of Spain, and an Illustrious Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Alba was a trusted adviser and servant of Charles I of Spain and his successor Philip II, both chief steward and member of their Councils of State and War. He was charged with the government of the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom of Naples, the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Portugal. He represented Philip II at Philip's betrothal to Elizabeth of Valois, daughter of Henry II of France, and to Anne of Austria, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II.

Considered by historians as the greatest general of his time and one of the best in history, Alba distinguished himself in La Jornada de Túnez, and in many campaigns during the Religious Wars, including the Mühlberg, Jemmingen and Alcántara. He is most remembered in Western European history for his sometimes brutal attempts to pacify, and eradicate sedition in, the Netherlands, where he suppressed and punished a Dutch uprising. He capped his career as an old man with the succession crisis in Portugal in 1580, conquering that kingdom for Philip II. Because of his military genius Spain achieved the unification of all the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula and the consequent expansion of the overseas territories.