Luis Fajardo de Córdoba

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Don Luis Fajardo de Córdoba was a Spanish Conquistador, military and nobleman.

He was a second son of Don Luis Ybáñez Fajardo de la Cueva, 2nd Marquess of los Vélez and wife Dona Leonor Fernández de Córdoba.

He was Captain-General of the Armada of the Ocean Sea, Conqueror of La Mamora, who brought to Spain seventy million of gold and silver, Knight of Calatrava and Commander of Moral.

He married at Murcia dona Luisa de Entenza y Cascales Pacheco, Lady of Espinardo. They were the parents of Don Juan Fajardo de Entenza y de Guevara, Córdoba y Velasco, 1st Marquess of Espinardo, and Don Alonso Fajardo de Entenza y de Guevara, Córdoba y Velasco, Spanish Governor-General and Captain-General of the Islands of the Philippines from July 3, 1618 to July 1624.

[edit] Sources

• Cunha, Fernando de Castro Pereira Mouzinho de Albuquerque e (1906-1998), Instrumentário Genealógico - Linhagens Milenárias. MCMXCV, p. 319
• Instituto de Salazar y Castro, Elenco de Grandezas y Titulos Nobiliarios Españoles". Various (periodic publication)

Additions to Don Luis' biography, with sources to come later. In 1605 and again in 06, Don Luis commanded the Flota de Barlovento, the Windward Fleet, sent to the Caribbean to root out contraband tobacco growers; and European traders, mainly Dutch, who were violating the Spanish monopoly. It proved to be too expensive and was not sent out in 08. Don Luis next job was suppressing the corsairs of the western Mediterranean. He destroyed the pirate fleet at Tunis belonging to John Ward and Kara Osman, in the summer of 1609. Philip III then had Don Luis take charge of transporting the last 100,000 Moriscos (Christianized Moors) from Spain to Morocco. Don Luis then capture the pirate base of Larache, Morocco, in 1610, and tried to plug the channel to pirate haven at Mamora (Medhia) at the mouth of the West Sebou river. In Aug 1614 Don Luis led a ninety-nine ship to Mamora, with orders to occupy the site and erect the pre-fab fort brought with them. Most of the pirates were at sea, and the few in port fled up the river. The huge fleet would have been irresistable in any case.