Francisco Javier Castanos Aragorri

Francisco Javier Castaños Aragorri, 1st Duke of Bailén, was a Spanish general and politician who played a prominent role in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Madrid on 22 April 1758, into a noble family of Basque origin. He joined the Spanish army in 1774 and fought in various campaigns, including the War of the Pyrenees and the Anglo-Spanish War. He rose to the rank of lieutenant general in 1802 and became one of the most respected and influential officers in the Spanish military. In 1808, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Army of Andalusia, which faced the French invasion of Spain during the Peninsular War. He achieved his greatest fame by defeating a French army under General Pierre Dupont at the Battle of Bailén on 19 July 1808. This was the first time that a Napoleonic army had been defeated in open battle and it had a huge impact on the course of the war. It forced King Joseph Bonaparte to abandon Madrid and retreat to Vitoria. It also inspired other Spanish regions to resist the French occupation and encouraged Britain to send troops to support the Spanish cause. Castaños continued to fight against the French in various battles and campaigns, sometimes cooperating with British forces under Sir Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington). He was wounded at the Battle of Talavera in 1809 and captured by the French at the Battle of Ocaña in 1810. He was released in 1811 and resumed his military duties. He was appointed president of the Regency Council of Spain and the Indies in 1810, acting as de facto head of state in the absence of King Ferdinand VII, who was held prisoner by Napoleon. He also served as captain general of Galicia, Catalonia, Valencia, and Old Castile. After the end of the war in 1814, Castaños remained loyal to Ferdinand VII, who restored absolutism and abolished the liberal Constitution of 1812. Castaños supported the royalist cause during the Trienio Liberal (1820-1823), a period of liberal revolution that was crushed by a French intervention. He also opposed the Carlist War (1833-1840), a civil war between supporters of Ferdinand's brother Carlos and his daughter Isabella II. Castaños was a moderate conservative who favored constitutional monarchy and national unity. In 1833, Ferdinand VII granted him the title of Duke of Bailén, to honor his victory at that battle. He also became a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, and Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand. He was elected as a senator for life in 1834 and served as the first president of the Senate of Spain (then called the House of Peers) from April to July 1834. He died in Madrid on 22 April 1852, on his 94th birthday. He was buried at the Pantheon of Illustrious Men until 1963, when his remains were transferred to his hometown Bailén.