Name: Don Miguel Garcia Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 15th Duke of Alba (Spanish peerage) and 8th Duke of Berwick (Jacobite, Spanish and French peerage), Grandee of Spain 1st Class, etc
Date of birth: February 4, 1802
Background:
Don Miguel Fitz-James Stuart y Silva may have been very well called a person born near the steps of the Throne and being raised at the royal court. By his blood he belonged to high international nobility. By paternal side Miguel descended from the natural son of King James II of England, James FitzJames, who, being granted the Duchy of Berwick by his august father, found a long line of Jacobite aristocrats turned into loyal servants of the Spanish Kings. Through the maternal line he was the descendant of such famous Spanish families as Palafox, Olivares and, which was most important, Alvarez de Toledo, the illustrious house of the Dukes of Alba. After the main line died out, the Duchy of Alba passed to the Fitz-James line, making it even more prominent within the Spanish society.
Don Miguel was born in 1802, in Madrid. Soon after that his father, Don Jacobo, a Knight of the Golden Fleece, died, leaving his titles to the eldest brother of Miguel, Don Carlos. The boy, in meanwhile, was left to the care of tutors and spent most of his early childhood in a Jesuit-run school, where he has come to be known both for his academic successes - as well as a fiery temper and tendency to mischief. When he was only six, a turn in his life happened. Emperor Napoleon took over the country and transferred its two last hapless Monarchs, Charles IV (father) and Ferdinand VII (son) to Bayonne. The brother to Miguel, Duke Carlos of Alba, was among the close confidants of Ferdinand and, therefore, joined his small retinue in France. More than than, fearing to leave his small heir and relative in enemy-occupied Spain, he decided to take him to France with him. There the child has spent the next five years. Miguel acted as a page within the small group of courtiers that the exiled Kings were allowed to keep – and, as the chroniclers of that time said, the antics of the lively lad often entertained the sad potentates, strengthening the bonds between the Alba-Berwick Dukes and their masters. However, since Don Carlos, the elder brother of Miguel, was a worldy and practical man, he believed that the boy should finish his education and procured him a place in the military academy in Brienne, the one that Bonaparte himself has attended many years ago. After this it was planned that that Miguel was to join Ecole Politechnique – but then came 1813 and the restoration of King Ferdinand VII. Returning to Madrid together with his brother and the triumphant Ferdinand, Miguel at the age of sixteen entered the military service, becoming a sublieutenant within the Cuirassier Company of the Guarde Reale.
For a while the life of Don Miguel (known by one of his families subsidiary titles, the Marquess of Carpio) was very enjoyable. Parties, cards, dice, women – and simple values of duty, honor and obedience common for the army. He did not read newspapers, did not participate in debates or study some dusted manuscripts. The young man thought that the good monarchic and Christian order was restored forever, that the spirit of the Jacobins and revolutionary despots has been chased away – so why one should worry about politics?
The year of 1820 shocked the young officer, changing many of his views on life. General Rafael del Riego, a man who gave an oath to the King, raised arms against his Sovereign. Instead of leading the expedition against insurgents in Spanish America, the traitor started a rebellion, imprisoned Ferdinand VII and put a radical government into power. The Marquess of Carpio was, among a number of other loyalist officers, arrested – however, due to some bribes and a dagger he put into the throat of one of his wardens, managed to escape to France. The furious Spanish government demanded his extradition – however, King Louis XVIII of France refused their suggestion. Due to the patronage of the Count of Artois and certain sympathy of Louis XVIII himself, Don Miguel received a commission of a lieutenant within the Garde du Corps squadron of the French Royal Guard.
However, he has now discovered in himself a desire for more intellectual pursuits. He understood that a mind, not a sword, would be the main weapon against forces of radicalism in the coming century. He started to read much – devouring books on political economy, internal administration, law, especially concentrating on the works of rightist classicists such as Joseph de Maistre. He turned out be good with his pen and soon began writing articles for many royalist journals in France, such as
Le Conservateur.
In 1823, however, the Stuart descendant has once again changed his pen for a sword, eagerly joining the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis, a French expedition lead by the Duke of Angouleme and sent by King Louis XVIII to restore the rule of Ferdinand XVII in Spain. As a captain of cavalry under Foissac-Latour, he participated in all major operations in Andalusia, especially distinguishing himself in the battle of Trocadero.
King Ferdinand VII was happy to see the youth among the saviors of the Crown – and made Miguel his aide-de-campe. Soon after that the Monarch has formed Voluntarios Realistas, an elite militia answering only to him and aimed at fighting the Spanish radicals and guarding his rule. The Marquess of Carpio for a while commanded a military squadron within this special formation. However, while always an enemy of the far left, Miguel was not a friend to rebellious reactionaries as well. When in 1827 30 000 rightist insurgents have risen against Ferdinand VII, Fitz-James Stuart promptly lead a dragoon regiment against them. While gradually receiving the honorary rank of the Colonel of the Royal Guard, Don Miguel moved to political offices, acting simultaniously as Deputy Minister of Grace and Justice and Deputy Grand Equerry to the King, often performing the duties of the liason between the bureaucracy and the Court. In 1833, after the death of his brother, Miguel inherited all familial titles and had to spend much time in his new manors to deal with certain financial problems. After returning to Madrid after that long absence, the newly minted Duke of Alba and Berwick found himself in the middle of the crisis caused by the installation of Pragmatic Sanction.
What can be said of Miguel as a man? To be brief, to his contemparies, he has been known for his inquisitive mind, firm loyalties and passionate nature. Not a person to take insults lightly, he has a reputation of a fearsome duelist, having killed a former Napoleonic officer in 1819 (pistols) and a radical ex-member of Cortes in 1827 (swords). each time receiving the royal pardon from the King. Starting to believe in the power of the press since his stay in France, Miguel, with the financial help of his brother, established a newspaper called the Cross and Crown which became in many ways the mouthpiece of the Catholic and monarchist establishment and has proved to be a fine writer. Never married, he had many dalliances with various woman of both high and low society. In his political views he is known to be very firmly loyal to the House of Bourbon and the monarchy and valuing order and unity of the country very highly . He also in private conversations identified himself as a moderate - also what does the Duke of Alba see as moderation is a matter of debate.
(Background Au Faut
Personality Uncommonly Young)