PhD Program in Historical studies
The Plaza Mayor of Madrid and the end of the government of the Duke
The decline of the power of Lerma was slow and gradual, occasionally accelerated by contingent episodes or unexpected situations. A fundamental element of this decline was the progressive disintegration of the faction upon which the Duke had built his system of power. In addition to death, due to old age, of some valuable allies such as the Count of MirandaJuan de Zúñiga Avellaneda y Bazán (1541-1608), the Duke of Peñaranda and Count of Miranda, was a man of arms and political leader under Philip II and Philip III. During the reign of Philip II he was viceroy of Catalonia and Naples, president of the Consejo de Italia (Council of Italy) and a member of the Consejo de Estado (Council of State). With Philip III assumed the presidency of the Consejo de Castilla (Council of Castile), continuing to sit in the Consejo de Estado. He was also a knight of the Order of Santiago and his heir married one of the three daughters of Philip III’s valido. or Don Juan de IdiáquezJuan de Idiáquez (1540-1614) was a respected man of the Spanish state in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A former ambassador to Genoa and Venice, he was one of Philip II’s most respected counselors in the last years of his government. When Philip III ascended to the throne (1598), Idiáquez was one of the few trusted men of the late king to maintain a position of power. Confirmed in the Consejo de Estado, he was also elected president of the Consejo de Órdenes (Council of Orders)., the inglorious end of some of the historic hechuras (creatures) of the valido strongly contributed to the weakening of his power. The trials for corruption and illicit enrichment and subsequent convictions against the secretaries Alonso Ramírez de Prado and Pedro Franqueza constituted a first indictment of the Government of Lerma. The gradual exclusion from the government of principal protégé of the valido, Rodrigo Calderón, literally plagued by accusations against his conduct and his arrogance on the part of many aristocrats and courtiers, created further difficulties for Lerma. The lack of substitutes also sharpened the crisis generated by the emergence of internal opposition to the ministerial faction, led by the eldest son of Lerma, the Duke of Uceda, and the confessor of the king, Luis de Aliaga. In the second part of the reign of Philip III, Lerma saw his monopoly in the distribution of offices at court and mercedes (privileges) fade while some fundamental policies of his government was called into question. The continuing economic crisis questioned the management of the hacienda (finances) and the behaviour of the valido and his men, while the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War favoured the revenge of the councilors who had always opposed the pacifist foreign policy and negotiating desired by Lerma. When he finally left the court, on 4 October, 1618, the Duke was, however, able to obtain the coveted cardinal’s hat which he had been pursuing, not surprisingly , for some years. Though subject, after the death of Philip III (1621), to a a trial centered on the extent and the motives for the mercedes he had accumulated, the cardenal-duque could die in freedom, on 17 May, 1625. A very different fate was reserved to his closest family members and criados especially Rodrigo Calderón, who was executed 21 October, 1621 in the Plaza mayor of Madrid (photo) that the same Philip III had built. Death and spectacle, two themes which were typical of Baroque culture, thus distinguished the symbolic act which ended the system of power created by the Duke of Lerma.