Gonzalo Fernández de Cordoba, better known as The Great Military Captain, was a 15th-century Spanish soldier who is credited with creating the first professional Spanish army. At the end of the century, the Catholic Monarchs decide to reconquer the kingdom of Granada and expel the Moors from Spanish territory. In the army mobilized for this purpose is Don Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, who would come to be known as the Great Captain, and whose merits in combat earned him royal recognition during the siege of Granada . Once the enemy forces were defeated, King Ferdinand commissioned him to establish with Boabdil, the last Nasrid king, the terms of the city's surrender treaty in 1492.
Arrival at the court
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba was born in Montilla (Córdoba) on September 1, 1453 and, after his father died, he was sent to the city of Córdoba to be educated under the care of Diego de Cárcamo, a distant relative of the family. At that time, Castile was divided into two factions that followed the legitimate king, Enrique IV, and the pretender, Don Alfonso . While still a child, Gonzalo went to Ávila to serve as a page to the infante Don Alfonso, and as such he accompanied him in his war campaigns in the War of Succession that followed the death of Enrique IV, Gonzalo made his first weapons in the battle of Albuera . On that occasion he appeared in command of a company of 120 horsemen.
Reconquer Granada
When the Catholic Monarchs undertook the campaign for the reconquest of Granada, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba joined the army mobilized for the historic occasion. According to legend, during the siege of the city he distinguished himself by his courage and feats of arms. In merit to them, Fernando el Católico ordered that he be the one who established the terms of the surrender treaty with the Nasrid king Boabdil. Previously, during the siege, he had had the opportunity to test what, also according to the legend woven around his person, would be the proverbial generosity of the Great Captain :a fire destroyed part of the besiegers' camp and the flames devoured, among shops and other belongings, Queen Elizabeth's wardrobe; Gonzalo diligently made his wife, María Manrique, send from Illora everything necessary to replace her ill-fated wardrobe.
Italy campaign
When Charles VIII of France decided to invade Italy, the Great Captain had the opportunity to continue the fight in defense of the banner of Ferdinand the Catholic, coming to the aid of the King of Naples, Ferdinand II. The Great Captain landed in Messina with an army that was to operate alongside the troops of Milan, Rome, Venice and Austria, united in the so-called Holy League . The King of Naples had landed on the Calabrian coast and joined Fernández de Córdoba to occupy the city of Reggio. Their campaign continued successfully until the allied forces were defeated at Seminara. Fernández de Córdoba, however, raised the flagging morale of his men and resumed the campaign, seizing both Calabrias.
The northern area remained, however, in the hands of the French, who offered a tenacious resistance. But in July 1496 Frederick I, who had succeeded Ferdinand on the throne of Naples, requested the help of the Spanish captain to attack the French. Defeated by Fernández de Córdoba, the French general was forced to withdraw.
LiberationoftheVaticanstates
Henceforth, the Spanish soldier would receive the nickname of Great Captain, with which he would go down in history. His great military skills made Pope Alexander VI call him to free the Vatican States from the harassment of the corsair Menaldo Guerri , who from his base in the city of Ostia, in which he held the position of governor, prevented the supply of Rome. Fernández de Córdoba carried out the mission with brilliant success:he took Ostia and took the corsair prisoner. Later, in Naples he would be acclaimed by the people, while Federico I granted him the dukedoms of Terranova and Sant'Angelo, along with all his lands, cities, towns and fortresses.
Occupationoftheitalianregionsofpugliaandcalabria
Carlos VIII died and the Holy League was dissolved, in 1500 he returned to Italy after spending a season in Granada, and occupied Apulia and Calabria, which had corresponded to the Catholic Monarchs by virtue of the Treaty of Granada. According to this treaty, the distribution of the kingdom of peninsular Sicily and the overthrow of Federico I had been agreed with Louis XII of France. The Great Captain landed in Tropea and became a stronghold in the two Calabrias and Narento, taking prisoner the heir of the throne, Prince of Calabria, who was sent to Spain . The fragile peace between Spanish and French was short-lived. After a new outbreak of hostilities, the latter were defeated at Garellano and the entire kingdom of Naples remained in Spanish hands.
Away from court and death
Fernández de Córdoba had Ferdinand the Catholic recognized as king of Sicily and ruled in his name. But after a few years, the understanding between the monarch and his subject began to weaken and, finally, the Great Captain was forced to return to Spain, settling in Loja, far from the court. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, who is considered the creator of the Spanish professional army and promoter of the infantry as the basis of it, he died in Granada in 1515.
