Juan Francisco de la Cerda, 8th Duke of Medinaceli
Encyclopedia
Medinaceli
Medinaceli is a municipality and town in the province of Soria . Its name derives from the Arabic toponym madīnat sālim . The town is named after one Salim bin Waral, head of a Masmuda Berber family which settled there in the 8th century....
, November 4, 1637 – 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...
, February 20, 1691), 8th Duke of Medinaceli
Duke of Medinaceli
Duke of Medinaceli is a Spanish noble title given to Luis de la Cerda y de la Vega on 31 October 1479, by the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon when the old title of Count of Medinaceli, awarded to his grandfather, Bernal de Foix, in 1368, whereby was transformed...
, 7th Marquis de Cogolludo, 4th Marquis of Alcalá de la Alameda, 6th Duke of Alcalá de los Gazules
Alcalá de los Gazules
Alcalá de los Gazules is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2006 census, the town has a population of 5,633 inhabitants...
, 9th Count of Los Molares, 9th Marquis of Tarifa, 8th Count of El Puerto de Santa María, was a Spanish noble and politician, and valido of King Charles II of Spain
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
.
Biography
Don Juan Francisco was the son of Antonio de la Cerda, 7th Duke of MedinaceliAntonio de la Cerda, 7th Duke of Medinaceli
Antonio de la Cerda, 7th Duke of Medinaceli, Grandee of Spain, , was a Spanish nobleman.He was the son of Don Juan de la Cerda, 6th Duke of Medinaceli, by second wife Doña Antonia de Toledo y Dávila...
and Ana María Luisa Enríquez de Ribera Portocarrero y Cárdenas, 5th Duchess of Alcalá de los Gazules
Alcalá de los Gazules
Alcalá de los Gazules is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2006 census, the town has a population of 5,633 inhabitants...
.
By his marriage to Catalina de Aragón, Don Juan Francisco added the titles of Duke of Segorbe, Cardona and Lerma to the House of Medinaceli
Duke of Medinaceli
Duke of Medinaceli is a Spanish noble title given to Luis de la Cerda y de la Vega on 31 October 1479, by the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon when the old title of Count of Medinaceli, awarded to his grandfather, Bernal de Foix, in 1368, whereby was transformed...
.
King Charles II of Spain
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
was mentally not capable of ruling the country.
In 1677, his illegitimate half-brother, John of Austria the Younger
John of Austria the Younger
John of Austria was a Spanish general and political figure. He was the only natural son of Philip IV of Spain to be acknowledged by the King and trained for military command and political administration...
, had removed the Queen Mother Mariana
Mariana of Austria
Mariana of Austria was Queen consort of Spain as the second wife of King Philip IV, who was also her maternal uncle...
from court, and established himself as prime minister. Great hopes were entertained for his administration, but it proved disappointing and short: Don John died on 17 September 1679.
As his predecessors, Don Juan Francisco was a loyal servant of the Spanish Crown, and after the death of John of Austria, he became the Valido of King Charles II.
He drastically reformed the economy through the Junta de Comercio y Moneda, but his monetary devaluation led to collapse of the prices and speculation on grain, which led to several bankruptcies.
In several regions of Spain, food riots broke out, which led together with the humiliating Truce of Ratisbon
Truce of Ratisbon
The Truce of Ratisbon, or Truce of Regensburg, concluded the War of the Reunions between Spain and France. The Truce was signed on 15 August 1684 at the Dominican convent at Ratisbon in Bavaria between Louis XIV of France on the one side, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, and the Spanish King,...
with France, to the resignation of Don Juan Francisco. He retired from politics and
died in 1691. All his titles went to his son Luis Francisco de la Cerda
Luis Francisco de la Cerda
Luis Francisco de la Cerda Aragón, , 9th Duke of Medinaceli, was a Spanish noble and politician....
.