Fernando Álvarez de Toledo , 3rd Duke of Alba Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel or Ferdinandus Toletanus Dux Albanus ( 29 October 1507 – 11 December 1582 ) , known as the Grand Duke of Alba , was a Spanish noble , soldier , and diplomat . He was titled the 3rd Duke of Alba de Tormes and 1st Duke of Huéscar , 4th Marquis of Coria , 3rd Count of Salvatierra de Tormes , 2nd Count of Piedrahita , 8th Lord of Valdecorneja , Grandee of Spain , and an Illustrious Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece . Alba was a trusted adviser and servant of Charles I of Spain ( Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ) and his successor Philip II , both chief steward and member of their Councils of State and War . He was charged with the government of the Duchy of Milan ( 1555 – 1556 ) , the Kingdom of Naples ( 1556 – 1558 ) , the Netherlands ( 1567 – 1573 ) and the Kingdom of Portugal ( 1580 – 1582 ) . He represented Philip II at Philip ' s betrothal to Elizabeth of Valois , daughter of Henry II of France , and to Anne of Austria , daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II . Considered by Spanish historians as the greatest general of his time and one of the best in history , he is considered a butcher & criminal in the rest of Europe . Alba distinguished himself in La Jornada de Túnez , and in many campaigns during the Religious Wars , including the Mühlberg , Jemmingen and Alcántara . He is most remembered in Western European history for his brutal attempts to pacify , and eradicate sedition in , the Netherlands , where he suppressed and punished a Dutch uprising by murdering , raping & looting entire towns , sometimes leaving not a single child alive . He capped his career as an old man with the succession crisis in Portugal in 1580 , conquering that kingdom for Philip II . Because of his military genius Spain achieved the unification of all the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula and the consequent expansion of the overseas territories . The most important representative of the house of Álvarez de Toledo , received a Golden Rose of Pope Paul III as a reward for their efforts in favor of Catholicism . He was comrade in arms , friend and protector of the poet and soldier Garcilaso de la Vega , who spent part of his Eclogue II to extol to the House of Alba and Duke . His motto in Latin was " Deo patrum Nostrorum " , which in English means " To The God of our fathers " . He is an important component of the Spanish black legends , which describe him as an authentic warlord , famous and intrepid but at the same time , brutal , implacable and extremely severe . Still , Alba was a clear leader , tough , strong and respectful of his men . The speeches where he referred to " gentlemen soldiers " were the delight of the Tercios , his élite troops . He used to say " Kings use men like oranges : first squeeze the juice , then discard the peel . " The life of the 3rd Duke of Alba was marked by a long series of military feats that contributed to Spain reaching its peak during the sixteenth century . Early years . Fernando was born in Piedrahíta , Province of Ávila , on 29 October 1507 . He was the son of García Álvarez de Toledo y Zúñiga , heir of Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo and Enríquez de Quiñones , II Duke of Alba de Tormes , and of Beatriz Pimentel , daughter of Rodrigo Alonso Pimentel , IV Count - I Duke of Benavente and his wife , María Pacheco . Fernando was orphaned at age of three when his father , García , died during a campaign on the island of Djerba in Africa in 1510 . Thus , when his grandfather Fadrique died in 1531 , the ducal title passed directly to his grandson Fernando as the firstborn son of García . Throughout his adulthood , he served the Spanish monarchs , beginning with King Charles I and later Philip II . Alba was educated at the ducal court of Alba by the Renaissance poet and writer Juan Boscán . At the age of six , he accompanied his grandfather on a military mission to capture Navarre . In 1524 , when he was seventeen , he joined the troops of Constable of Castile , Íñigo Fernández de Velasco , II Duke of Frías , who besieged and forced the surrender of Fuenterrabía , then occupied by France and Navarre . For his role in the successful struggle he was appointed governor of Fuenterrabía . Against the Ottomans . Having became Duke of Alba in 1532 , he answered the call of Emperor Charles V and went to Vienna , accompanied by his friend , the soldier - poet Garcilaso de la Vega , to defend the city against a new Ottoman invasion army . No battle was required : when the Turks , having lost valuable time in the Siege of Güns , decided not to advance against Vienna and retreated from the field . De la Vega later dedicated part of his Eclogue II to extolling the House of Alba and its Duke . The Duke ' s first major opportunity to fight was in the Conquest of Tunis ( 1535 ) . In early June 1535 at Cagliari , he embarked with the military force commanded by the Marquis del Vasto . On 14 July , the fortress of La Goleta was seized , and a week later the army took the city of Tunis ( which was defended by Hayreddin Barbarossa ) . In 1541 , the emperor appointed him chief steward and therefore chief of his Household . In 1542 , he led the Spanish troops against the Ottoman - supported French Army , ending the siege of Perpignan . The siege was one of the costliest defeats of Francis I in the French offensive of 1542 . In Germany and England . In 1547 , the emperor had to deal with the Protestant forces of the Schmalkaldic League . The Duke of Alba was in charge of Tercio s , the elite Spanish ground troops , who fought in the Battle of Mühlberg on the banks of the river Elbe . Alba ' s Tercios were largely responsible for the imperial army ' s victory against the Elector of Saxony . The first personal service Alba gave to King Philip II was to accompany him to England for his marriage to Mary Tudor . The Duke was one of fifteen grandees of Spain who attended the ceremony in the abbey of Winchester on 25 July 1554 . In Milan and Naples . In later years , conflict between France and Spain was centred around Italy . Alba was sent to Italy as commander in chief , and became governor of Milan in 1555 , and viceroy of Naples in 1556 . The newly appointed Pope Paul IV , visceral enemy of the Habsburgs , prompted King Henry II of France to expel the Spanish from Italy . In return , Papal troops joined the French . In July 1556 the Pope declared Philip II to be dispossessed of his title of King of Naples . Alba did not hesitate and went to Rome at the head of 12 , 000 Spanish soldiers . The Pope called for a truce , giving time for a French army commanded by Francis , Duke of Guise to enter through northern Italy and march towards Naples . However , in the wake of the landmark victory of Spain over the French at the Battle of San Quentin , the Duke of Guise was recalled to France . Without French support , the papal troops were overwhelmed by the Spanish and the victorious Duke of Alba entered Rome in September 1557 . The pope called for and received peace . In 1559 , the Peace of Cateau – Cambrésis was signed . The Peace is considered the most important treaty of sixteenth - century Europe . By this treaty , Spain began its dominant position in Western Europe and the Italian Peninsula entered a long period of tranquillity . Governor of the Netherlands . From August to October 1566 , the " Storm of the images " ( ) took place in the Netherlands , during which Calvinist Protestant followers looted or destroyed a number of monasteries and churches and defaced or destroyed Catholic images . To tackle both civil and religious rebels , King Philip II sent the 3rd Duke of Alba to Brussels on August 22 , 1567 , at the head of a powerful army . On arrival , Alba replaced Margaret of Parma , the sister of the Spanish king , as head of the civil jurisdiction . He determined that the local nobility was in open rebellion against the king and supported the new Protestant teachings , heresy in his view . A few days later , on 5 September 1567 , Alba established the " Council of Troubles " , popularly known in the Netherlands as the " Court of Blood , " to prosecute those responsible for the riots of 1566 , especially those who were deemed heretics . Alba also targeted the local Catholic nobility , who favored dialogue and opposed outside intervention . Two of the three heads of the Flemish nobility , the Count of Egmont , a Catholic General for Philip II , who had led the cavalry that defeated the French at the Battle of San Quentin , and Philip de Montmorency , Count of Horn , were quickly arrested . The court acted with extraordinary rigour and sentenced the leaders to death , along with a large group of other " heretics " . The condemned persons were executed on 5 June 1568 in the Town Hall Square in Brussels . Alba had little confidence in Flemish justice , which he perceived as sympathetic to the defendants , and so witnessed the executions in person . However , at the execution of the Earl of Egmont , who was his respected friend , Alba reportedly could not stop crying . Although he never regretted these sentences , he petitioned the king for a pension for Egmont ' s widow . The maintenance of the troops in Flanders entailed substantial economic costs that forced the Duke to impose new taxes on the population . Some cities , including Utrecht , refused to pay the " tithe " and declared a rebellion , which quickly spread through the Netherlands . The rebellion led to the outside intervention of William the Silent , the rebellious prince of Orange , who enlisted the help of the French Huguenots . William and the Huguenots took many Dutch cities by force of arms , but in 1572 the Tercios carried out the Spanish Fury at Mechelen , retaking the city with brutal force . From there , Spain retook Zutphen , Alkmaar and Naarden . The Spanish Siege of Haarlem , characterized by brutality and savagery on both sides , culminated in the surrender of the city and the execution of all the garrison , estimated at 2 , 000 men . Those terrible military campaigns and the harsh repression of the Flemish rebels earned the III Duke of Alba the nickname " The Iron Duke " in the Netherlands . However , Alba remained very popular with the Spanish troops , gaining their respect through military leadership and rousing speeches . The kings use men like oranges , first they squeeze the juice and then throw away the peel . Although military actions were constant , the political situation in Flanders did not improve . After five years of repression , more than 5 , 000 executions and numerous complaints to the Spanish court , Philip II decided to change policy and relieve the Duke of Alba . The monarch sent Luis de Requesens to replace Alba . De Requesens opted to use less harsh methods and give more concessions to the rebels . Alba returned to Spain in 1573 . Nevertheless , the Duke still had influence in the deliberations of the Royal Council . Alba belonged to the conservative Spanish faction called " Albistas " or imperialists . This faction included the Inquisitor General Fernando de Valdés y Salas , the House of Pimentel , the Duke de Alburquerque and other members of the House of Álvarez de Toledo . The Albistas advised the king to take a firm stand in the Netherlands . The Albistas ' hardline position was hotly contested by the liberal " Ebolistas " or humanists , led by Ruy Gómez de Silva , prince of Éboli and his secretary Francisco de Eraso . After the death of the prince of Éboli in 1573 , the royal secretary Antonio Pérez went on to lead the liberal faction and began his association with Ana de Mendoza de la Cerda , Princess of Éboli . Against the Albistas ' urging , King Philip II himself publicly acknowledged that " it is not possible to carry Flanders forward by way of war . " However , the subsequent performance of the Ebolistas in the affairs of state provoked the distrust of the king . Political concessions by Luis de Requesens failed in Flanders , where hostilities soon resumed , and Philip II again granted the Duke of Alba a superior position in court . Banishment . In 1566 , Alba ' s son and heir , Fadrique , broke his promise of marriage to Magdalena de Guzman , lady of Queen Anne of Austria , which led to his arrest and imprisonment in the Castle of La Mota in Valladolid . The following year he was released so he could go to Flanders with his father to serve in the military . In 1578 Philip II ordered the case against Fadrique reopened . It was discovered that in order to avoid marriage to the claimant , Fadrique had secretly married María de Toledo , daughter of García Álvarez de Toledo and Osorio , IV Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo , using a permit issued for that purpose by his father the Duke of Alba . Fadrique was confined in prison , in the Castle of La Mota and Alba was banished from the court for a period of one year for " breaking the strict court protocol . " The Duke went into exile in Uceda , where his secretaries Fernando de Albornoz and Esteban Ibarra were likewise incarcerated . Conquest of Portugal . Because of his excellent reputation and enormous popularity with the troops , Alba was quickly reinstated as general in 1580 . When his nephew Sebastian I disappeared in the Battle of Alcácer Quibir , presumed dead , leaving the throne of Portugal vacant , King Philip II needed the Duke ' s military leadership to neutralize the monarchical claims of Don Antonio , the Prior of Crato . The 72 - year - old Duke , appointed Captain General , gathered a force estimated at 40 , 000 men in Badajoz , and in June of that year crossed the Spanish - Portuguese border toward Lisbon . In late August Alba ' s troops defeated the Portuguese army , led by General Diego de Meneses , in the Battle of Alcántara and triumphantly entered the city , clearing the way for the arrival of Philip II . Philip became King Philip I of Portugal , achieving the dynastic union with the other kingdoms of the Spanish monarchy . King Philip II rewarded Alba with the titles Constable of Portugal and I Viceroy of Portugal , top posts subordinate only to the sovereign , which he held until his death . Marriage and children . His first child , Fernando de Toledo ( 1527 - 1591 ) , was an illegitimate son , the result of a relationship with a miller ' s daughter in the nearby town of La Aldehuela . The Duke was married in 1527 to his cousin María Enríquez de Toledo y Guzmán ( died 1583 ) , daughter of Diego Enríquez de Guzmán , III Count of Alba de Liste , with whom he had four children , three boys and a girl . Ancestry . Later years and death . Alba received a Golden Rose from Pope Paul III as a reward for his efforts on behalf of Catholicism . Alba died in Lisbon on 11 December 1582 , at the age of seventy - four ; he was given the last rites by the famous Fray Luis de Granada . " I can assure your majesty of this much : Firstly , that I never came across a business of any sort belonging to your majesty , no matter how unimportant , which would not supersede any of mine , no matter how important . Secondly , that I was always more careful and mindful with your property than my own and thus to this day I remain free of any debt accrued to you or your kingdom . And thirdly , that I never advanced a name to your majesty ' s favour , which was not by all means the best among those which I knew and always free of any interest or favor on my part . " His remains were transferred to Alba de Tormes , where he was buried in the convent of San Leonardo . In 1619 they were transferred to the Convento de San Esteban , Salamanca , where since 1983 rested in a chapell of the convent that contains a mausoleum proyected by Chueca Goitia and that was costed by the Provincial Diputation of Salamanca .