Alonso de Curiel (active 1577–1603) was a Spanish merchant, diplomat in the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary, wife of Maximilian I of Austr ...

, and member of the Sephardi Jewish Curiel family.

Early life

Alonso was the son of a prosperous merchant, Diego de Curiel, who maintained important relations with the Court of Madrid. His uncle, Jerónimo de Curiel, acquired great influence in Antwerp business circles. Diego sent Alonso to Antwerp to ensure the continuity of the family's position, as Jerónimo had no male heir.

Mercantile activity

In August 1577, Jerónimo commended his nephew Alonso de Curiel to the care of the governor of the Habsburg Netherlands,

John of Austria John of Austria ( es, Juan, link=no, german: Johann; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret ...

. On 9 March 1578, Don John ordered Curiel to participate in an important financial negotiation on behalf of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal fro ...

to obtain funds from Antwerp,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

and

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence o ...

. The king maintained an expectant interest in these negotiations and congratulated Curiel on several occasions. Later, he negotiated trade with the Belgian nobleman Emmanuel de Lalaing and with a number of towns, including

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

. It has been suggested that Dutch and Belgian historiography underestimates Curiel's role in bringing about the reconciliation of the Walloon provinces to the royal cause in the 1579 Treaty of Arras. On 4 August 1603, Philip III appointed him as Agent of the

Spanish Crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

for trade with "the States of Flanders, Islands of Holland, and Zealand, vassals of Princes and Republics, friends and Neutrals."

Publications

* ''Lettres interceptes du Contador Alonso de Curiel, au Prince de Parme'' (Antwerp, 1579)Lettres interceptes
on Google Books. * ''Relación de los servicios que Alonso de Curiel hizo en Flandes a su Majestad, y los recados que en aprobación dellos tiene'' (Valladolid,

603 __NOTOC__ Year 603 ( DCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 603 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

References

Spanish merchants Curiel family People of Spanish-Jewish descent Spanish diplomats Businesspeople of the Habsburg Netherlands Businesspeople of the Spanish Netherlands {{Spain-business-bio-stub