Fernando alvarez de Toledo duque de Alba

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo Alba, duque de , b. 1507 or 1508, d. 1582, Spanish general and administrator. After a distinguished military career in Germany and Italy, Alba returned to Spain as adviser to King Philip II. Advocating a stern policy toward the rebels against Spain in the Netherlands , he was appointed (1567) captain general there, with full civil and military powers. The regent, Margaret of Parma , opposed him and resigned, and Alba became regent and governor-general. A religious fanatic and ruthless absolutist, he set out to crush the Netherlanders' attempts to gain religious toleration and political self-government. He set up a special court at Brussels, popularly known as the Court of Blood, which spread terror throughout the provinces. Some 18,000 persons were executed (among them the counts of Egmont and Hoorn ) and their properties confiscated. Increased taxation also fanned popular resentment, and in 1572 the Netherlanders rebelled again, on a larger scale than before. Alba defeated the invading forces of William the Silent , but he was unable to recover much of the NW Netherlands, which had been taken by the Gueux . In 1573 he was recalled to Spain in disgrace. In 1580, Philip was persuaded to use Alba for the conquest of Portugal. He took Lisbon within a few weeks.

Alba, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of (c.1507–82) Spanish statesman and general. He rose to prominence in the armies of Emperor Charles V. A stickler for discipline and a master of logistics, he contributed significantly to the defeat of the German Protestants at the battle of Mühlberg (1547). Philip II sent him as governor-general to deal with unrest in the Netherlands in 1567, but his notorious ‘Council of Blood’ executed or banished over a thousand men, and was responsible for sparking off the Dutch Revolts against Spanish rule. He was recalled to Spain at his own request in 1573, and in 1580 Philip gave him command of the forces which conquered Portugal.