Biography Blas de Lezo

1 biography

1.1 missions , injuries
1.2 first posting americas
1.3 return mediterranean
1.4 general commander , battle of cartagena de indias
1.5 death , blame

biography
early missions , injuries

born in pasajes, in basque province of guipúzcoa in spain, blas de lezo y olavarrieta commenced naval career in french navy in 1701 midshipman. in 1704 fought in war of spanish succession crew member in franco-spanish fleet fought combined forces of great britain , netherlands @ indecisive battle of vélez málaga. @ time, left leg hit cannon-shot , later amputated under knee. promoted ensign, present @ relief of peñíscola, spain, , palermo in sicily; service in these , other actions resulted in promotion ship lieutenant. participating in 1707 defence of french naval base of toulon cost him left eye. in 1711 served in spanish navy under orders of andrés de pez. in 1713 promoted captain. in 1714 lost use of right arm in siege of barcelona. later in campaign, ship captured stanhope commanded john combes, claimed 70-gun 20-gun merchantman.

thus, age 25 or 27, depending on sources, de lezo had lost left eye, left leg below knee, , use of right arm. modern sources focus on these salient features , refer lezo nicknames such patapalo (pegleg) , mediohombre (half-man). there no contemporary proof these (or others) used during lezo s lifetime.

a 19th-century depiction of blas de lezo s frigate towing prize, stanhope (ca. 1710).


first posting americas

lezo served in pacific in 1720-1728. although has been claimed took many prizes during period, documentary evidence indicates in fact took 2 french frigates , not in pacific in atlantic. reached callao them in january 1720 although had left spain in 1716 second-in-command of nuestra señora del carmen or lanfranco part of expedition commanded juan nicolás de martinet. separated expedition while attempting sail past cape horn. prizes attributed lezo taken martinet, reached callao in june 1717 , left pacific in 1719 before lezo s arrival. lezo married in peru in 1725.

return mediterranean

in 1730 returned spain , promoted chief of mediterranean fleet; force went republic of genoa enforce payment of 2 million pesos owed spain had been retained in bank of san jorge. deeming honour of spanish flag @ stake, blas de lezo threatened city bombardment.

in 1732, on board santiago, , josé carrillo de albornoz commanded enormous expedition oran , mers-el-kébir more 300 ships , around 28,000 troops, comprising infantry, cavalry , artillery. in battle of aïn-el-turk recaptured cities lost ottoman empire in 1708. after defeat, bey abu l-hasan ali managed reunite troops , surrounded city of oran. lezo returned aid 6 ships , 5,000 men , managed drive off algerian pirate after hard fight. dissatisfied took 60-gun flagship corsair s refuge of mostaganem bay, bastion defended 2 forts , 4,000 moors. inflicted heavy damage on forts , town. in following months established naval blockade, preventing algerians receiving reinforcements istanbul, thereby gaining valuable time securing of oran s defense, until epidemic forced him return cadiz.

general commander , battle of cartagena de indias

in 1734 king promoted him lieutenant general of navy. returned south america ships fuerte , conquistador in 1737 general commander of spanish fleet stationed @ cartagena de indias, in modern-day colombia. took new post prior conflict between great britain , spain become known war of jenkins ear , later subsumed war of austrian succession.

de lezo lieutenant general of spanish navy

in stages of conflict, british admiral edward vernon undertook attacks on various spanish outposts in america. 1 victory involved capture of portobelo (panama), dismantling of fortifications , withdrawal of british forces having left place defenceless.

admiral vernon tested cartagena de indias on 3 separate occasions. both vernon , edward trelawny, british governor of jamaica, considered spanish gold shipping port prime objective. first attempt, in march 1740, reconnaissance in force squadron including ships of line, 2 fire ships, 3 bomb vessels, , transport ships. vernon s intention gather information on topography , troop strength , provoke response might give him better idea of defensive capabilities of spanish.

in may, vernon returned cartagena de indias in charge of 13 warships, intention of probing city s defences.

the actual attack on cartagena de indias took place on march 13-may 20, 1741. british concentrated fleet consisting of 196 ships, including 2,620 artillery pieces , more. there 10,000 soldiers, 12,600 sailors, 1,000 jamaican slaves , 4000 recruits virginia. defences of cartagena de indias comprised between 3,000 , 6,000 combatants, including regular troops, militia, indian archers , crews of 6 spanish warships. blas de lezo s advantages consisted of formidable primary fortress , numerous secondary fortifications.

blas de lezo statue in cartagena de indias

on evening of april 19, british mounted assault in force upon san felipe. 3 columns of grenadiers supported jamaicans , several british companies moved under cover of darkness, aid of intense naval bombardment. british fought way base of fort s ramparts unable overcome defence , withdrew. after comprehensively destroying forts in possession, british began orderly withdrawal jamaica.

death , blame

lezo died 4 months after siege raised , contemporary source indicates cause of death epidemic typhus: unas calenturas, que en breves días se le declaró tabardillo . site of grave unknown.

blas de lezo blamed not having used naval forces full effect , having sunk own ships no gain , @ immense cost crown. later honoured part in siege of cartagena de indias square , avenue in city of cartagena named after him. modern statue stands in front of castillo san felipe de barajas. in 2011, during conference on blas de lezo s place in history , honouring 270th anniversary of cartagena de indias defence, plaque placed on wall @ plaza de los coches, clock tower portal. , in november 2014, 35,000 kilo statue of lezo erected in madrid s plaza colón.