Francisco Javier Castaños, 1st Duke of Bailén

The Duke of Bailén
The Most Excellent; The Duke of Bailén
	Castaños
President of the Regency Council
	In office; 1 February 1810 – 29 May 1810
Monarch	Fernando VII
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Pedro de Quevedo y Quintano
1st President of the House of Peers
	In office; 10 April 1834 – 12 July 1835
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	The Duke of Ahumada
Personal details
Born	Francisco Javier Castaños y Urioste; 22 April 1758; Madrid, Spain
Died	22 April 1852 (aged 93); Madrid, Spain
Resting place	Pantheon of Illustrious Men (1852–1963); Parish Church of the Incarnation, Bailén (1963–present)
Nationality	Spanish
Profession	Army general and politician
Awards	Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece; Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
Military service
Allegiance	Spain
Branch/service	Spanish Army
Years of service	1774–1852
Rank	Captain general
Battles/wars	War of the Pyrenees; Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808); Napoleonic Wars; Peninsular War

Francisco Javier Castaños Aragorri Urioste y Olavide, 1st Duke of Bailén (22 April 1758 – 24 September 1852) was a Spanish general and politician who excelled during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. From July to September 1834, he served as the first president of the Senate of Spain, at that time called House of Peers.

The Surrender of Bailén, by José Casado del Alisal, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain. Castaños is in the White uniform.

Castaños was one of the most important military officers during the Peninsular War, reaching the position of Chair of the Regency Council of Spain and the Indies (de facto head of state) in 1810. In 1833, Queen Regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, in the name of her daughter, Queen Isabella II, granted him with the title of Duke of Bailén, to honour his actions in the Peninsular War and, specially, in the Battle of Bailén, where the Napoleonic army was defeated at open field for the first time, which also caused the flight of Spain from King Joseph Bonaparte.

Biography

Castaños was born at Madrid.

Castaños is remembered for his victory over the French under Dupont, whom he surrounded and compelled to surrender at the decisive Battle of Bailen in 1808, being on that moment in command of the "Army of the South", the biggest Spanish military unit during the Napoleonic War. Though just months later lead his army to a decisive defeat at the Battle of Tudela. After this he served under Wellington in several engagements, and was commander of the Spanish army, if required, to invade France in 1815.

Castaños died at Madrid in 1852.

Bibliography

Esdaile, Charles J. (2003). The Peninsular War: A New History. MacMillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-6231-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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External links

Bicentenary of the Battle of Bailén(in Spanish).

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