Rafael de Sobremonte, 3rd Marquis of Sobremonte

Who was Rafael de Sobremonte, 3rd Marquis of Sobremonte?

Don Rafael de Sobremonte y Núñez del Castillo, 3rd Marquis of Sobremonte, third Marquis of Sobremonte, was an aristocrat, military man and Spanish colonial administrator, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata. He was accused of cowardice by the people of Buenos Aires after escaping the city during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata in 1806.

He was born in Seville, 27 November 1745. His parents were the Marquis Raimundo de Sobremonte, military man and magistrate, Knight of the Order of Charles III and member of the Seville Audience, and María Ángela Núñez Angulo y Ramírez de Arellano.

At fourteen years of age, he became a cadet in the Regimiento de las Reales Guardias Españolas. He served in different locations, such as Cartagena de Indias, Ceuta and Puerto Rico. In 1779, he was named Secretary to the Viceroy of the Río de la Plata, Juan José de Vértiz, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He continued in that post with the successor, Nicolás del Campo.