 don miguel ricardo de Ãlava y esquivel order of santiago, order of charles iii, kcb, mwo (7 july 1770 â 14 july 1843) was a spanish general and statesman. he was born in the basque country of spain, at vitoria-gasteiz, in 1770. Ãlava holds the distinction of having been present at both trafalgar and waterloo, fighting against the british on the former and with them on the latter.summerville p.3 alava served as a naval aide-de-camp during the time of spain's alliance with france but switched sides following napoleon's invasion of his homeland in 1808.summerville p.4 later he joined the headquarters of the british peninsular army as a military attachÃ© and became a close friend of the duke of wellington.encyclopÃ¦dia britannica during the waterloo campaign in 1815, alava was the spanish envoy to the court of king william i of the netherlands, which allowed him to be at wellington's side during the battle. ==war of the third coalition== Ãlava served first in the navy, and had risen to be captain of a frigate when he exchanged into the army, receiving corresponding rank. he was present as a marine at the battle of trafalgar on board the flagship of his uncle admiral ignacio Ãlava. ==peninsular war== at the assembly of bayonne in 1808, he was one of the most prominent of those who accepted the new constitution from joseph bonaparte as king of spain. after the national rising against french aggression, and the de
1770_births 1843_deaths Government_ministers_of_Spain People_from_Vitoria-Gasteiz Prime_Ministers_of_Spain Progressive_Party_(Spain)_politicians Spanish_commanders_of_the_Napoleonic_Wars Spanish_diplomats Spanish_generals Spanish_untitled_nobility