Francisco Serrano | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait byNadar | |
| Regent of Spain | |
| In office 18 June 1869 – 2 January 1870 | |
| Preceded by | Isabella II of Spain(as Queen) |
| Succeeded by | Amadeo I of Spain(as King) |
| President of Spain | |
| In office 3 January 1874 – 29 December 1874 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself Juan de Zavala Práxedes Mateo Sagasta |
| Preceded by | Emilio Castelar |
| Succeeded by | Alfonso XII(as King) |
| Prime Minister of Spain | |
| In office 3 January 1874 – 26 February 1874 | |
| President | Himself |
| Preceded by | Emilio Castelar |
| Succeeded by | Juan de Zavala |
| In office 26 May 1872 – 13 June 1872 | |
| Monarch | Amadeo I |
| Preceded by | Práxedes Mateo Sagasta |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla |
| In office 4 January 1871 – 24 July 1871 | |
| Monarch | Amadeo I |
| Preceded by | Juan Bautista Topete(interim) |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla |
| In office 3 October 1868 – 18 June 1869 | |
| Monarch | Amadeo I |
| Preceded by | José Gutiérrez de la Concha |
| Succeeded by | Juan Prim |
| President of the Senate of Spain | |
| In office 12 December 1865 – 30 December 1866 | |
| Monarch | Isabella II |
| Preceded by | Marquis of the Duero |
| Succeeded by | Marquess of Miraflores |
| In office 12 December 1883 – 31 March 1884 | |
| Monarch | Alfonso XII |
| Preceded by | José Gutiérrez de la Concha |
| Succeeded by | Count of Puñonrrostro |
| Minister of State of Spain | |
| In office 17 January – 2 March 1863 | |
| Monarch | Isabella II |
| Prime Minister | Leopoldo O'Donnell |
| Preceded by | Saturnino Calderón Collantes |
| Succeeded by | Marquess of Miraflores |
| Minister of War of Spain | |
| In office 9 May – 19 May 1843 | |
| Monarch | Isabella II |
| Regent | Baldomero Espartero |
| Prime Minister | Joaquín María López |
| Preceded by | José Ramón Rodil |
| Succeeded by | Isidoro Rubín de Celis |
| In office 30 July – 1 December 1843 | |
| Monarch | Isabella II |
| Prime Minister | Joaquín María López Salustiano Olózaga |
| Preceded by | Agustín Nogueras |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Mazarredo |
Interim | |
| In office 4 January – 24 July 1871 | |
| Monarch | Amadeo I |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Juan Bautista Topete(interim) |
| Succeeded by | Fernando Fernández de Córdova(interim) |
| In office 26 May – 13 June 1872 | |
| Monarch | Amadeo I |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Juan de Zavala |
| Succeeded by | Fernando Fernández de Córdova |
| Governor of Cuba | |
| In office 24 November 1859 – 10 December 1862 | |
| Monarch | Isabella II |
| Prime Minister | Leopoldo O'Donnell |
| Minister of Overseas | Leopoldo O'Donnell |
| Preceded by | José Gutiérrez de la Concha |
| Succeeded by | Domingo Dulce |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1810-12-17)17 December 1810 Isla de León, Spain |
| Died | 25 November 1885(1885-11-25) (aged 74) Madrid, Spain |
| Spouse | |
| Signature |  |
Francisco Serrano Domínguez, 1stDuke of la Torre,Grandee of Spain, Count of San Antonio (17 December 1810 – 25 November 1885) was a Spanishmarshal and statesman. He wasPrime Minister of Spain in 1868–69 and regent in 1869–70.
Serrano was born on 17 December 1810 in theIsla de León (current daySan Fernando),[1] in theBay of Cádiz. He was son of Francisco Serrano y Cuenca and Isabel Domínguez de Guevara Vasconcelos.[1] His father, born inLopera, parish of Purísima Concepción, was ageneral officer and aLiberal. His mother was born inMarbella circa 1780.
Serrano began his studies atVergara in theBasque provinces.
Following his father into the military, he became a cadet in 1822 in the Sagunto regiment,[1]cornet in 1833 in thelancers ofSagunto, and passed into the carabiniers in 1829. When theCarlist agitation began in 1833, he transferred into thecuirassiers. He formed part of the escort that accompaniedDon Carlos, the first pretender and brother ofFerdinand VII, to the frontier ofPortugal.[2]
Asaide-de-camp ofEspoz y Mina, then under the orders of generalsCórdova andEspartero, in the armies ofQueen Isabella, Serrano took such an active part in theFirst Carlist War from 1834 to 1839, that he rose from the rank of captain to that of brigadier-general. He was awarded theCross of San Fernando and many medals. He was also granted the 155thGrand Cross of theOrder of the Tower and Sword.[2]
In 1839, he was elected as a member ofCortes for the first time forMálaga. In 1840 he was promoted to the rank of general of division and commander of the district ofValencia, which he relinquished to take his seat in congress.
From that day Serrano became one of the chief military politicians of Spain. In 1841, he helped Espartero to overthrow the regency ofMaria Christina of Bourbon-Sicily. In 1843, atBarcelona he made apronunciamiento against Espartero. He was appointed as the minister of war in the cabinet ofJoaquín María López y López, which convoked the Cortes that declared Queen Isabella of age at thirteen. He served in the same capacity in anOlozaga cabinet, sulked as long as theModerates (Moderados) were in office.
In 1845, he was appointed as a senator, and in 1848 ascaptain-general ofGranada. From 1846 to 1853, he was away from politics, living on hisAndalusian estates or traveling abroad.[2]
On 29 September 1850 inMadrid, Serrano married his first cousin, Antonia Domínguez y Borrell, Guevara y Lemus, 2nd Countess of San Antonio,[n. 1] with whom he had five children.
Serrano assistedMarshal Leopoldo O'Donnell in themilitary movements of 1854 and 1856, and was his staunch follower for twelve years.
O'Donnell appointed Serrano as marshal in 1856 andcaptain-general ofCuba from 1859 to 1862. Serrano governed that island with success, and helped carry out thewar in Santo Domingo. He was the first viceroy to advocate political and financial reforms in the colony.[2]
On his return toPeninsular Spain, O'Donnell made himDuke of la Torre (Duque de la Torre), Grandee of Spain of the first class, and the 139thMinister of Foreign Affairs, serving from 18 January to 2 March 1863.Serrano risked his life in helping O'Donnell quell the insurrection of 22 June 1866 at Madrid. He was awarded with theOrder of the Golden Fleece.
After the death of O'Donnell, Serrano became the leader of the Liberal Union Party. As president of the senate, he assistedRíos Rosas to draw up a petition to Queen Isabella against her Moderate ministers, for which both were exiled.[2]
Serrano began to conspire withAntoine, Duke of Montpensier,Prim andSagasta. On 7 July 1868,González Bravo had Serrano and other generals arrested and taken to theCanary Islands. There Serrano remained untilAdmiral Topete sent a steamer to bring him to Cadiz on 18 September that same year.
On landing he signed the manifesto of therevolution with Prim, Topete, Sagasta, Martos and others, and accepted the command of the revolutionary army. He routed the troops of Queen Isabella under the orders of theMarquess of Novaliches at the bridge ofAlcolea. The queen fled to France, and Serrano, having entered Madrid, formed a Provisional Government.
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In February 1869, he convoked the Cortes Constituyentes; he was appointed successively as president of the executive,Prime Minister of Spain, andRegent from 3 October 1868 to 18 June 1869. Serrano ruled impartially, respecting the independence of the Cortes and cabinets. He acceded to their selection ofAmadeus I of Savoy as king, although he would have preferred Montpensier.[2]
As soon as Amadeus reached Madrid, after the death of Prim, Serrano consented to form a coalition cabinet, which lasted only a few months. Serrano resigned and took the command of the Italian king's army against theCarlists in northern Spain.He tried to form one more cabinet under King Amadeus as the 65thPrime Minister of Spain on 6 June 1872, but resigned on 12 June when that monarch declined to give his ministers dictatorial powers and sent forRuiz Zorrilla. His mistakes led to Amadeus abdicating the throne on 11 February 1873.
Serrano opposed thefederal republic, and conspired with other generals and politicians to overthrow it on 23 April 1873. Having failed, he went into exile in France. On the eve of hiscoup d'état of 3 January 1874 that sought to thwart the Federal Republic, the leading instigator, theGeneral Manuel Pavía, sent for Serrano to take the leadership.[2]
Serrano again took the title of president of the executive; he tried to form a coalition cabinet, butCristino Martos and Sagasta soon quarrelled. His next cabinet was presided over by Sagasta. The military and political unrest continued, and at the end of December 1874, theBourbons were restored by anotherpronunciamiento.
During the eleven months he remained in office, Serrano devoted his attention chiefly to the reorganization of finance, the renewal of relations with American and European powers, and the suppression of revolt.[2]
AfterAlfonso XII ascended the throne in 1875, Serrano spent some time in France. He returned to Madrid in 1876, attended palace receptions, took his seat as a marshal in the senate, and flirted politically with Sagasta and his party in 1881.[2] He finally gave his support to the formation of a dynastic Left with a democratic program defended by his nephew, GeneralJosé López Domínguez.
He died in Madrid on 25 November/26 November 1885, twenty-four hours after Alfonso XII.[2]
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Houghton, A. E. (1911). "Serrano y Dominguez, Francisco". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 682–683.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of State 17 January 1863 – 2 March 1863 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Spain 3 October 1868 – 18 June 1869 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by The Duke of la Victoria | Regent of Spain 18 June 1869 – 27 December 1870 | Vacant Title next held by Maria Christina of Austria |
| Preceded byas Queen of Spain | Head of State of Spain as Regent 18 June 1869 – 27 December 1870 | Succeeded byas King of Spain |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Spain 4 January 1871 – 24 July 1871 | Succeeded by |
| Prime Minister of Spain 4 June 1872 – 13 June 1872 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | President of the Executive Power of Spain 3 January 1874 – 30 December 1874 | Office abolished |
| Head of State of Spain as President of the Executive Power 3 January 1874 – 30 December 1874 | Succeeded byas King of Spain | |
| President of the Provisional Government of Spain 4 January 1874 – 26 February 1874 | Succeeded by | |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Captain General of Cuba 24 November 1859 – 3 December 1862 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | Spanish Ambassador toFrance 11 January 1856 – 2 June 1856 | Succeeded by |
| Spanish nobility | ||
| New creation | Duke of la Torre 24 November 1862 – 26 November 1885 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
