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Prince George Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt | |
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 Source: Stadtarchiv Darmstadt | |
| Born | 25 April 1669 Darmstadt,Hesse, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 13 September 1705(1705-09-13) (aged 36) Barcelona, Spain |
| Allegiance | Austria, England |
PrinceGeorge Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt (25 April 1669 – 13 September 1705) was aField Marshal in theAustrian army. He is known for his career inHabsburg Spain, asViceroy of Catalonia (1698–1701), head of the Austrian army in theWar of the Spanish Succession (1701–1705) andgovernor ofGibraltar in 1704. He was killed during theSiege of Barcelona the following year. He was known in Spanish asJorge de Darmstadt and inCatalan asJordi Darmstadt.
Born inDarmstadt,Hessen, Germany in 1669,[1] George Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt was the third son ofLouis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. After the early death of his father, he was raised by his mother Elisabeth Dorothea of Sachsen-Gotha. In 1686 he undertook a "Grand Tour" through France and Switzerland.
As youngest son, he had little chance of becoming Landgrave, and therefore he was destined for a military career.
First he fought against theTurks underPrince Eugene of Savoy. He was present at theBattle of Mohacs. Then he joinedWilliam III of Orange in the Irish campaign. After his return he converted to Catholicism and becameGeneralfeldwachtmeister (equivalent tomajor-general) in the Austrian Army in 1692, at the age of 23.[1]
Then he fought against the French in theNine Years' War. In 1695 he was sent by the Emperor to Spain at the head of an army-unit of 2,000 German soldiers to help defendCatalonia against superior French army and navy forces.[1]
In 1697 he defendedBarcelona which was under siege byVendôme by land and admiralD’Estrées by sea.[1] Finally the city surrendered after a siege of 52 days.[1] This was ordered from Madrid and against the will of prince George Louis.
After the war he was honoured in Spain and made a knight in 1697 of theOrder of the Golden Fleece.[1] After the withdrawal of the French, he becameViceroy of Catalonia, being recorded in the Spanish official records as Jorge de Darmstadt. He learned some Catalan and initiated some reforms, making him quite popular in the region. In 1699 he was appointedGeneral der Kavallerie (General of Cavalry).[1]
But in 1700 KingCarlos II died and was succeeded as king by the FrenchPhilip V.Prince George Louis was replaced in 1701 by a pro-Bourbon Viceroy:Luis Antonio Tomás Fernández de Portocarrero, and he returned to Austria. There, he was ordered by the EmperorLeopold to negotiate an alliance with England and Portugal to support the claims to the Spanish throne of Leopold's son, theArchduke Charles.
After the start of theWar of the Spanish Succession he was appointed the head of the Austrian troops supportingArchduke Charles's cause in Spain. In January 1704, Admiral Sir George Rooke with Prince George on boardsailed from Lisbon for Barcelona, hoping it would declare forArchduke Charles. This proved false and the fleet returned to Lisbon after a brush with French naval forces heading to Toulon. On 31 July upon the suggestion of Prince George and under his command, 1,800 Dutch and English Marines were landed nearGibraltar, took the fortress along with Sir George Rooke, Admiral of the Fleet (1702–1704) and defended it successfully against aSpanish-French siege, holding off repeated attacks.[1] Following the arrival of Allied reinforcements and supplies, enabling Prince George to take the offensive, the siege was abandoned in April 1705. He left Gibraltar and took command of the conquest of Barcelona and was killed on 13 September, storming the citadel ofMontjuich.[1]
His body was embalmed and buried in the Església dels Josepets deGràcia. His heart was sent in 1711 toDarmstadt, where it remains in theStadtkirche today. He is known by the Catalans asPríncep Jordi (Prince George). A street in Barcelona was named after him:Carrer del Príncep Jordi.
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| Preceded by | Viceroy of Catalonia 1698–1701 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Gibraltar 4 August 1704 — 14 September 1705 | Succeeded by |
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