Francisco de Melo

Don Francisco de Melo (1597 – 18 December 1651) was a Portuguese nobleman and general.

Biography

de Melo was born at Estremoz, in Portugal.

He was marquis of the Portuguese Tor de Laguna, count of Assumar, and, from 1641 to 1644, interim governor of the Southern Netherlands.

When Francisco de Melo came to the Southern Netherlands, he already had an impressive political career. From 1632 to 1636 he had been Spanish ambassador to the Republic of Genoa. In 1638 he was appointed viceroy of Sicily, and two years later he was ambassador in Vienna.

Above all, Francisco de Melo will be remembered for the historical defeat at the battle of Rocroi in 1643. In later years this defeat has been regarded as one of the key steps in the decline of the Spanish empire. Don Francisco's victory at the Battle of Honnecourt one year earlier, has been completely forgotten.

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