A Spanish Captain Executed by His Own Men
Francisco Maldonado, Spaniard.
Death: 1517 (April)
| Year, Month | State, Condottieri Company | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1502 | Church | He serves in the pay of Cesare Borgia. | |||
| 1503 | |||||
| Jan. | Church | Rebels | Marche | He captures in Ancona Count Ferretti, ambassador of the city. The nobleman, to regain his freedom, must pay him a ransom of 200 scudi. | |
| Church | Malatesta | Romagna and Marche | He is guarding the fortress of Rimini; with other captains, he sells the fortress to Pandolfo Malatesta in exchange for a large sum of money to be paid in Venice. He sails with Sanchez aboard 3 ships to reach that city; a storm forces the two captains to land in Ancona. They are held prisoners by the inhabitants who wish to compensate themselves for damages suffered a few months before, as well as for the theft suffered by some merchants of the city of a large quantity of wheat. | ||
| 1504 | |||||
| Jan. | Marche | A papal brief devolves his goods to the people of Ancona. | |||
| 1510 | |||||
| Sept. | Ferrara | Venice | Veneto | He supports the Landsknechts in the defense of Verona. Captured in a sortie by Vincenzo Naldi, he is taken to Padua. | |
| 1511 | |||||
| May | Veneto | Imprisoned in Venice. | |||
| Sept. | Veneto | He is freed in exchange for Giacomo Novello, Alessio Bua, Niccolò Xapandi, and Giovanni Crano. | |||
| Dec. | Emilia | At the siege of Bologna. He commands a squadron of infantry. The assault ends with significant losses among the attackers. | |||
| 1512 | 500 infantry | Lombardy | |||
| 1513 | |||||
| July | Spain | Venice | Veneto | He captures Peschiera del Garda; during the action, he takes prisoner Vigo da Perugia, the castellan Ludovico Contarini, who is subjected to a ransom of 3,500 ducats, as well as the constables Bartolomeo dalla Barba and Scipione degli Ugoni. | |
| 1515 | Veneto | He is noted as being assigned to the defense of Verona. | |||
| 1516 | |||||
| Feb. | Spain | Venice | Veneto | Due to delayed pay, he leaves Verona through Porta Vescovo with Basco da Cuna and 600 Spanish infantry; they wander all night through the surrounding territory, plundering livestock. At San Martino Buon Albergo, convinced by the promise of an advance, he decides to return to the defense of Verona. On the way back, he is surprised in open countryside by 500 light cavalry commanded by Mercurio Bua. He is captured with Basco da Cuna after a violent clash in which 17 Spaniards are killed; another 180 infantry, after being repeatedly beaten, are led bound four by four to Vicenza and Venice. They are threatened with being sentenced to the oar. | |
| Lombardy | Released, he moves to the defense of Brescia. When the Spaniards are forced to surrender, he is given as a hostage with Giovanni Cerbellon to guarantee the proper execution of the agreements. | ||||
| Aug. | Veneto | At the defense of Verona. At the end of the month, he exits at night from Porta Calzari with 1,000 Spanish infantry; he is flanked by Giorgio Frundsberg and Marco Sittich with another 2,000 German infantry. The attackers march along the banks of the Adige and attack the camp of Malatesta Baglioni at Tombetta (200 men-at-arms, 1,500 infantry, and 300 light cavalry). The Landsknechts take no prisoners, killing anyone they meet; the behavior of the Spanish infantry is different. In the clash, 500 men are killed among cavalry and infantry. The booty consists of 90 good horses, 8 oxen, and 2 mules loaded with precious goods. | |||
| Sept. | Veneto | From the top of Porta Calzari, he recognizes the French captains Lescun and Saint-Pol; he joins Marcantonio Colonna and has a conversation with the two Frenchmen. In the same month, with the light cavalry of the Burgundian captain Zuchero and those of Giovanni Zafa, he supports with Spanish infantry an incursion of Marcantonio Colonna in Valpantena. | |||
| Oct. | Venice | Spain | Veneto | Due to delayed pay and the lack of provisions in Verona, he deserts to the enemy camp with other Spanish captains such as Suarez di Leon, Plazo, Cristoforo Marchio, Giovanni Perez, and Giovanni Ladrone. He immediately joins the siege of the city with 400 Spanish infantry. | |
| Nov. | Veneto | His behavior is praised by the Provveditore Generale Andrea Gritti for the way he manages to control the men of his company. | |||
| Dec. | Veneto | He is given command of a colonel of infantry. | |||
| 1517 | |||||
| Jan. | Condottieri Company | Church | 300 infantry | Lombardy | At the end of the conflict, his company is disbanded. Francisco Maldonado goes to Sermide and has some contacts with Lorenzo de’ Medici; in the end, he prefers to support Francesco Maria della Rovere in his attempt to recover the Duchy of Urbino from Lorenzo de’ Medici. |
| Feb. | Marche | He approaches Fano: the assault is unsuccessful due to both the lack of gunpowder and his not particularly active support to the Feltreschi troops while they conduct their attack on Porta San Patrignano. Francesco Maria della Rovere decides to retreat towards Mombaroccio because some reinforcements have entered the city. He is reported between Novilara and Candelara. Francesco Maldonado has contacts with the pontificals through Renzo di Ceri. | |||
| Mar. | Marche | He defeats Giovanni de’ Medici at Sorbolongo. He is in turn defeated at Tavernelle. | |||
| Apr. | Marche and Umbria | He agrees with the pontificals to hand over Francesco Maria della Rovere and Carlo Baglioni in exchange for 15,000 ducats and the promise of another 2,000 ducats in ecclesiastical benefits for a son. The negotiation is concluded on his behalf by Suarez di Leon, who has deliberately allowed himself to be captured by the adversaries to meet with Lorenzo de’ Medici in Cesena. Maldonado is also guaranteed a monthly provision of 300 ducats in wartime and an annual one of 700 ducats in peacetime; he is also given permission to carry out a reprisal against the people of Ancona for 16,000 ducats to compensate for losses suffered years before. Falling ill, he is taken by the Della Rovere to Urbino to be treated. Meanwhile, suspicions against him increase; many wagons are intercepted by the Feltreschi, which, from Fano, are heading to Pesaro: in them are found letters concerning his agreements with the pontificals. An armed man of Suarez di Leon, Antonio Ortiz, is also captured, returning from Rome where he had gone with a safe-conduct to agree on the treaty’s details. A trial is initiated by Angelo del Bufalo: when his men follow the Della Rovere in Umbria, Francesco Maldonado causes them to mutiny at Cantiano. He is invited to go to Cagli; he prefers to reach Nocera Umbra and Pianello, where he meets with the Della Rovere. The latter convenes a council of war, at the end of which Francesco Maldonado is executed at Gubbio with his accomplices Suarez di Leon, Plazo, Marchio, Perez, and Gonzales. All the Spanish captains are killed by their fellow soldiers. Maldonado‘s baggage is sacked; the women of his entourage are not spared, including his concubine, from whom a safe-conduct of Lorenzo de’ Medici and other letters are taken. |
Sources
-“Homo da conto”. SANUDO
-Con il Moriglione “Uomini illustri pe’ loro valorosi fatti.” DALLA CORTE
-“Huomo veramente degno di lode di guerra, se mosso d’avaritia, et da superbia, essendo oggimai vecchio, con quella scelleraggine, e più con bruttissima e horribil morte, non havesse macchiata la riputatione acquistata con lunga fatica.” GIOVIO
-“Il quale avaro e oltre modo ambitioso essendo di spirito inquieto e ardito, era da essere sommamente temuto quasi perpetuo fomite di seditioni e di discordie.” LEONI
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