# Baltasar Alvarez de Medrano

Baltasar Francisco Álvarez de Medrano (Cervera, 1657 – 1725) was a Spanish jurist, nobleman, aristocrat, professor and magistrate from the House of Medrano who held various prominent judicial and administrative positions in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He studied at the Colegio Mayor de Santa Cruz of the University of Valladolid, where he later served as rector. He was appointed Alcalde del Crimen of the Chancery of Valladolid in 1690 and later served in Granada, Madrid, and Barcelona, holding positions such as oidor, Alcalde de Casa y Corte, and Minister of the Royal Council of Finance, corregidor of Logroño, and ultimately retiring as corregidor of Cuenca.

## Early life

Baltasar Francisco Álvarez de Medrano, born in 1657 in Cervera, in the historic and royal County of Cervera, was a distinguished jurist and administrator. A member of the noble Medrano family, he served alongside his relatives during the reigns of Charles II of Spain and Philip V, holding key judicial and governmental roles. He was born during the reign of Philip IV of Spain, who was engaged in the Franco-Spanish War, which concluded with the Treaty of the Pyrenees two years later.

## Education

Born in Cervera, Baltasar Álvarez de Medrano pursued his studies at the Colegio Mayor de Santa Cruz of the University of Valladolid, one of Spain’s most prestigious institutions at the time. He obtained a Law degree, which laid the foundation for his career in the highest judiciary and public administration roles alongside García de Medrano, 1st Count of Torrubia, Andrés de Medrano, 2nd Count of Torrubia, Pedro Antonio de Medrano, regent of Navarre, and José Velaz de Medrano y Navarra, 4th Viscount of Azpa, among many others from the distinguished and noble Medrano family.
Tractatus ad 20 quaestiones Cervidii Scaevolae by Joannes Altamirano is a 17th-century manuscript owned by Joseph Roque de Medrano Álvarez de Arellano y Echauz, a guest student at the Colegio Mayor de Santa Cruz in Valladolid, where Baltasar Álvarez de Medrano also studied. Tractatus ad 20 quaestiones Cervidii Scaevolae discusses Roman law, focusing on contracts, inheritance, and judicial duties. It reflects the era's revival of Roman Law, and the Medrano family's legal tradition, which prepared them for service in the Spanish monarchy’s judiciary.

## Rector of the Colegio Mayor de Santa Cruz

After completing his education, Baltasar Álvarez de Medrano remained at the University of Valladolid, in the Palacio de Santa Cruz, where he served as rector of the Colegio Mayor de Santa Cruz in 1687. This role provided him with valuable administrative experience that would later aid his judicial career.
Among his staff was his relative, Pedro Antonio de Medrano, who, during Baltasar’s tenure as rector, taught De Legatis, the First Book of the Institute, and De cautione fructuaria tam in usufructo quam in quasi usufructum (On the Security of Fruits Both in Usufruct and in Quasi-Usufruct) in 1687.
The Colegio Mayor Santa Cruz in Valladolid was Spain’s second oldest university institution, founded by Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. Known for training political and administrative elites throughout the 16th to 18th centuries, it ceased to exist following the liberal confiscations of the 19th century.

## Marriage

Baltasar Álvarez de Medrano married Mariana de Contreras, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Maria Anna of Neuburg, a prestigious position within the Spanish royal court. This marriage significantly enhanced his social standing and career prospects. His appointment as Alcalde del Crimen of the Chancery of Valladolid in 1690 was granted as part of his wife’s dowry, revealing the political and financial advantages of the union with the noble House of Contreras.
Landing near Ferrol on 6 April 1690, the arrival of Maria Anna of Palatinate-Neuburg in Madrid as the future queen consort and second wife of King Charles II of Spain led to the formation of an informal court faction known as the German Chamber.

## Judicial and Administrative Career
### Alcalde del Crimen of Valladolid

Baltasar Francisco Álvarez de Medrano’s judicial career began on 6 May 1690, when he was appointed Alcalde del Crimen of the Chancery of Valladolid, a position granted as part of his wife’s dowry. As the Alcalde del Crimen, he served as a judge or magistrate within the Royal Audiencia and Chancillería of Valladolid, responsible for overseeing criminal cases on appeal in the designated criminal chamber.
Spain entered into the Nine Years War in June 1690, which proved a disastrous decision; the state declared bankruptcy two years later.

### Alcalde del Crimen of Granada

On 28 December 1690, he was transferred to the Chancery of Granada as a supernumerary alcalde del Crimen. However, in 1692, a judicial reform eliminated supernumerary positions, leading to his dismissal. Despite this, he retained half of his salary in exchange for part of his wife's dowry, which was held in the royal treasury. In June 1692, he secured a permanent position, replacing Alonso Ramos de Castilla.

### Oider in the Civil Chamber

His career progressed further when he was appointed oidor (judge) in the Civil Chamber in 1698.

### Alcalde of Casa y Corte

By 1714, Baltasar de Medrano moved to Madrid, capital city of the Crown and royal court of Philip V of Spain, where he assumed the prestigious role of Alcalde de Casa y Corte ("Magistrate of the Royal House and Court") on 15 January 1714.

### Togado Minister of the Royal Council of Finance

In December 1714, he was promoted to togado (gown-wearing) minister of the Council of Finance (Consejo de Hacienda), a position he would hold until retirement. Under the Decrees of Nueva Planta issued by Philip V after the War of the Spanish Succession, the Council of Finance took control not only of Castile’s revenues but also of the treasury of the Kingdom of Aragon in 1713.

### Oider of Barcelona

In 1715, another reform led to his demotion to oidor of the Audiencia of Barcelona on 4 November 1715.

### Corregidor of Logroño and Cuenca

By 1717, Medrano had been appointed corregidor of Logroño, and continued his public service in 1720, when he was appointed corregidor (chief magistrate) of Cuenca.

### Retirement and death

He ultimately retired as a minister of the Royal Council of Finance, spending his final years in Cervera, where he would die in 1725.

## Legal dispute

In 1717, Baltasar Álvarez de Medrano, then a member of the Royal Council of Finance and corregidor of Logroño (La Rioja), became involved in a legal dispute against Juan Francisco de Navascués y Orobio, a resident of Cintruénigo, Navarra.
Baltasar Álvarez de Medrano filed a legal dispute, documented in the High Court of Navarra, revolved around the execution of assets to settle a financial obligation. The litigation stemmed from a debt of 12,000 reales de vellón, which had been issued by José Guardamino y Compañía, a Madrid-based financial entity. Álvarez de Medrano sought the seizure of Navascués y Orobio’s assets to recover the outstanding amount. The case was processed across multiple jurisdictions, including Logroño (La Rioja), Cintruénigo (Navarra), and Madrid. The judicial proceedings spanned from September 1, 1717, to October 29, 1718, and were part of the Lorente-Sentenciados judicial series.
The dispute remained unresolved, as in 1719, Baltasar Álvarez de Medrano, still serving as Corregidor of Logroño and a member of the Royal Council of Finance, became involved in another legal case, this time against Andrés de Muniaín, a procurator of the Royal Audiences. Residing in Ágreda, Soria, Álvarez de Medrano pursued litigation over the execution of assets to recover an outstanding debt of 12,000 reales de vellón. The case, registered in the High Court of Navarra, involved Teresa Alfonso y Enríquez, wife of Juan Francisco de Navascués, and her two sons, for whom Muniaín acted as legal guardian. The defendants counterclaimed, arguing that the assets were dowry property (bienes dotales) and thus protected from seizure. The trial took place between April 6, 1719, and May 18, 1720, spanning Logroño, Ágreda, and Cintruénigo, and was recorded in the Lorente-Sentenciados judicial series with 64 folios in the High Court of Navarra’s archives.