Don

Don (honorific)

Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...

 Diego de León y Navarrete, 1st Count of Belascoáin (Córdoba

Córdoba, Spain

-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...

, 1807 - Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, October 15, 1841), was a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 military figure. As a young man, he entered the Spanish army

Spanish Army

The Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century.-Introduction:...

 as a cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

man and achieved the rank of captain at the age of 17.

He fought in the southern front during the First Carlist War

First Carlist War

The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833-1839.-Historical background:At the beginning of the 18th century, Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women...

 on the side of the Liberals (Christinos), and made himself famous for marching at the head of his lancers and riding at the spot where the enemy was most numerous. At Arcos de la Frontera

Arcos de la Frontera

Arcos de la Frontera is a town in the province of Cádiz in southern Spain. It is located on the eastern bank of the Guadalete river, which flows to the Bay of Cadiz. The town commands a fine vista atop a sandstone ridge, from which the peak of San Cristobal and the Guadalete Valley can be seen...

, in charge of a squadron of 70 horsemen, he managed to detain a Carlist column until Liberal reinforcements arrived. He was awarded the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand

Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand

The Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand , commonly known as Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand , is Spain's highest military award for gallantry...

|Cross of Saint Ferdinand]] as a result (Cruz Laureada de San Fernando).

On the northern front, he fought at the Battle of Mendigorría

Battle of Mendigorría

The Battle of Mendigorría Grand was a battle of the First Carlist War. It occurred on July 16, 1835 south of Mendigorría, Navarre. The Carlists were commanded by Vicente González Moreno, who assumed this post after the death of Zumalacárregui at the Siege of Bilbao...

 and later captured Belascoáin

Belascoáin

Belascoain is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.-External links:*...

 from the Carlists in 1838, thereby earning his noble title.

In 1840, he was named Captain-General of New Castile.

He was a member of the Moderate Party (Partido Moderado), and with the fall of the regent María Cristina de Borbón during the reign of Isabel II, he went into exile in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Later, in 1841, he joined O'Donnell's

Leopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Duke of Tetuan

Don Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuan, 1st Count of Lucena, 1st Viscount of Aliaga, Grandee of Spain, , was a Spanish general and statesman...

 revolt against Baldomero Espartero. Diego de León was arrested and later executed by firing squad.