Juan Procopio de Bassecourt y Bryas (22 April 1740 – 12 April 1820), 2nd Count of Santa Clara (

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

), was a Captain General of Cuba (1796–1799) and

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 ...

(1803–1807). While he was Captain General of Cuba he was responsible for the construction or improvement of numerous fortifications in Havana, including the

Santa Clara Battery The Santa Clara Battery, with its two remaining coastal guns, one a caliber 305mm (12") Ordóñez HSE Modelo 1892 rifle and the other a 280mm (11") Krupp, stands on the grounds of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, in Vedado, Havana. There is a small mus ...

Personal life and family

Juan Procopio de Bassecourt y Bryas was born the son of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Procopio de Bassecourt y Thieulaine, Marquis of Bassecourt, 1st Count of Santa Clara (a noble title granted in 1748 by King Fernando VI of Spain, the family having served imperial Spain since at least the middle of the 16th century), Baron of

Maials Maials () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in 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, ...

, and Governor of Montjuic in Barcelona. His mother was Catalina Inés de Bryas y Ulloa.. Ozanam, Didier
"Juan Procopio de Bassecourt y Bryas". ''Historia Hispánica''.

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

. Retrieved 13 February 2025. He was the nephew of Maria Catalina de Bassecourt, who married the

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

-born Spanish military officer Juan González-Valor, Marquis of González from 1736, a title awarded by Charles VII of Naples and Sicily, King of Naples and Sicily (1716–1736), later King

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

(1759–1788). In 1761, he married Maria Teresa de Sentmenat y Copons, a niece of the Marquis of

Sentmenat Sentmenat () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catal ...

and Marquis of

Castelldefels Castelldefels () is a municipality in the Baix Llobregat comarca, in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, and a suburban town of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Its population is 65,954 ( IDESCAT, 2017). Geography and location ...

and granddaughter of

Manuel de Oms y de Santa Pau Don Manuel de Oms y Santa Pau, 1st Marquess of Castelldosrius, Grandee of Spain (sometimes ''marqués de Castell dos Rius'') (1651 – 24 April 1710) was a Spanish diplomat, man of letters, and colonial official. From July 7, 1707 to April 22 ...

, Spain's ambassador to the court of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

from 1698, and the Viceroy of Peru. The couple had no offspring. His nephew, Luis Alejandro Bassecourt, served under him at Gerona and in Cuba.. Martín-Lanuza, Alberto
"Luis Alejandro Bassecourt y Dupire". ''Historia Hispánica''.

. Retrieved 5 August 2023.

Early career

Having enlisted in the Walloon Guards Infantry Regiment of the Royal Guard, Bassecourt served as a

standard-bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as ...

in 1752 before being promoted to Grenadier lieutenant in 1772 and captain in 1774, seeing service in Portugal and Algiers. He was promoted to Infantry brigadier in 1783.

Later career

Unfit for active service in the field, he was attached to Barcelona. Promoted to field marshal in 1789, he was interim military and civil governor of Ceuta (May – November 1793) and interim military and civil governor of Gerona (November 1793 – March 1795). While at Gerona he was promoted to lieutenant general (1794), before being appointed military and civil governor, and ''

corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

'' of Barcelona.

References

External links

Web.archive.orgAsasve.es

Cubagenweb.org

Bibliography

*TePaske, John Jay (1964). ''The Governorship of Spanish Florida, 1700-1763''. Durham: Duke University Press, 248 pages. ASIN: B0007DN7VE {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassecourt Y Bryas, Juan Procopio Spanish generals Governors of Cuba Governors of Louisiana Governors of Florida Cuban nobility 1740 births 1820 deaths Counts of Spain 18th-century Cuban people