Alberto Octavio Tserclaes de Tilly (also known as Antonio; 1646 – 10 September 1715) was a Spanish general of Walloon origins, the grandson of a brother of General Johann Tserclaes Count of Tilly, who acquired fame in the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

. His brother, Claude Frédéric, served in the army of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

Biography

In 1693, he was granted the title of prince by King

Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...

. He took part in the

Spanish War of Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

(1701–1714) on the side of the young French-born Prince, later King

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

against his opponent Charles VI of Austria of the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. He fought in the Portuguese campaign during 1704, during which he advanced along the left bank of the river Tagus, conquering Portalegre and consolidating the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...

region, while the young Philip and

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick (21 August 1670 – 12 June 1734) was a French Royal Army officer and nobleman who was the eldest illegitimate son of James II of England by Arabella Churchill (royal mistress), Arabella Churchill, the ...

advanced along the right bank of the river. In 1705, there was a conspiracy in which Diego Dávila Mesía y Guzmán,

Captain General of Catalonia The office of Captain General of Catalonia (; ) was created in 1713 by the Nueva Planta decrees of King Philip V of Spain to replace that of Viceroy of Catalonia. List of Captains General of Catalonia Under Philip V Under Ferdinand VI ...

, sided with Charles of Austria. Alberto Octavio warned the central authorities. For this assistance, Philip V of Spain bestowed upon him in 1706 the title of

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

, a title which included the privilege of remaining covered or seated in the presence of royalty. Antonio Octavio served as Viceroy of Navarre in 1706–1709 and as Captain General of Aragon in 1711–1714. In 1714, he was appointed Captain General of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, replacing FitzJames. He died in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

the following year.

References

*''El primer capitán general de Cataluña, marqués de Castelrodrigo (1715-1721) y el control del austracismo'' by Enrique Giménez López, in ''Los Borbones : dinastía y memoria de nación en la España del siglo XVIII : (Actas del coloquio internacional celebrado en Madrid, mayo de 2000), 2002, , pags. 401-422''

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090328151227/http://www.ejercito.mde.es/organizacion/mrpir/historia.html *http://www.ejercito.mde.es/Unidades/es/unidades/Barcelona/ige/Historia/dep *http://www.mcu.es/archivos/CE/ExpoVisitVirtual/visitas/aragon/fondos/contenido.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20180707172934/http://www.spanishsuccession.nl/armies/spanish_netherlands_cavalry.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Tserclaes de Tilly, Alberto Octavio 1646 births 1715 deaths Grandees of Spain Spanish generals Spanish people of Dutch descent Spanish people of Flemish descent Spanish army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Viceroys of Navarre T'Serclaes family Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain