- Íñigo Vélez de Guevara, 7th Count of Oñate
Íñigo Vélez de Guevara, seventh Count of Oñate and Count of Villamediana (
1566 -Madrid october 31 1644 ) was a Spanishpolitical figure . He played an important role in theThirty Years War .He was the son of Pedro Vélez de Guevara and María de Tassis.
He married Catalina Vélez, fifth Countess of Oñate. When her only brother Ladrón was killed in battle on sea against the English in 1588, Iñigo became seventh Count of Õnate.
After the death of his cousinJuan de Tassis y Peralta, 2nd Count of Villamediana he also inherited the title of "Count of Villamediana".He served as Spain's ambassador to the
Holy See .During the
Thirty Years War , the Spanish sent an army fromBrussels underAmbrosio Spinola to support the Emperor, and, as the Spanish ambassador in Vienna, don Íñigo persuaded ProtestantSaxony to intervene against Bohemia in exchange for control overLusatia . The Saxons invaded, and the Spanish army in the West prevented the Protestant Union's forces from assisting.Oñate conspired to transfer the electoral title from the Palatinate to the
Duke of Bavaria in exchange for his support and that of the Catholic League. Under the command ofGeneral Tilly , the Catholic League army (which includedRené Descartes in its ranks) pacifiedUpper Austria , while the Emperor's forces pacifiedLower Austria ; united, the two moved north into Bohemia. Ferdinand II decisively defeated Frederick V at theBattle of White Mountain , nearPrague on8 November 1620 . In addition to making it Catholic, Bohemia would remain in Habsburg hands for three hundred years.In Spain he had ambitions to follow the
Duke of Lerma as "valido ", but the King'sfavourite and Oñigo's adversary was chosen , theCount-Duke of Olivares . He lost the King's favor andLuis de Haro became the successor of Olivares.Children
*Pedro, killed in Milan after falling off his horse
*Iñigo (1597–1658), Viceroy of Naples
*Juan, priest
*Felipe Emmanuel, killed in battle in 1642 near Perpignan
*Beltrán, Viceroy of Sardinia
*María Ana, married Don Antonio María
*Maria Angela, nun
*Catalina, nun
*Ana Maria, nun
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