African nickname for King of Spain Alfonso 13. Alfonso X the Wise

The first monarch to officially accept the title “King of Spain” was the Spanish King Philip II. This happened in 1556. But this does not mean that Spanish kings and queens did not exist before him. In the 14th century, Spanish kings ruled the separate kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Leon and Navarre. As a single state, Spain appeared on the world map only at the end of the 15th century, after the Spanish king Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile concluded a dynastic union and completely expelled the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. In 1492, the Spanish King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I received the keys to Granada from the hands of the last Arab emir in Spanish territory. All the kings of Spain come from five dynasties. And the complete list of kings of Spain includes 22 names.

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Alfonso XIII Spain

Historical data

Total information

EU

real

dock

Booking

Armament

Main caliber artillery

• 8 305 mm/50 Vickers systems.

Mine artillery

• 20 × 1 102 mm/50.3 Vickers Mk.E systems.

Flak

• 2 guns 47 mm/50;
• 4 × 1 7.62 mm Maxim machine gun.

Same type ships

Alfonoso XIII - (Russian "Alfonso XIII") named after the then reigning Bourbon king of Spain Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) renamed "España" (Russian "Spain") in 1931, was the second of a series of three ironclad battleships built in Spain at the beginning of the twentieth century. With the advent of the Second Republic and the overthrow of the king, the battleship changed her name to "España", both to avoid allusion to the influence of the deposed monarchy on the new Spanish Republic, and to return the name "España" to the flagship battleship of the Spanish fleet after the loss off the coast of Morocco in 1923, the battleship España - the first ship of this class of battleships built - and the named class of battleships "España". The construction of the ship took place in Ferrol in northern Spain.

general description

Schematic representation of the Spanish dreadnought Alfonso XIII

The ships had a rather attractive appearance: with a large continuous deck, a captain's bridge slightly shifted forward, one large chimney right in the center, a small additional bridge at the stern, two masts mounted on tripods, and a small breakwater. The battleship had the following characteristics: length 140 m, width 24 m, forestay 12.74 m, draft 7.70 m, standard displacement 15,700 tons and 16,450 tons at full load. To propel the ship, there were 12 coal-fired Yarrow boilers and 4 Parsons turbines that turned four propellers with a power of 11,270 hp. at normal boiler load and 20,000 hp. at maximum load at all speeds. The maximum speed was 19.5 knots. The ship could take on board from 900 to 1900 tons of coal and 20 tons of oil, which made it possible to obtain a cruising range of up to 7500 miles at a speed of 10 knots. The battleship's armor was 23 cm below the waterline, 15 cm in the middle of the side and an average of 7.5 cm closer to the deck. The armor was thicker at the bow of the ship - up to 10 cm and gradually thinned closer to the stern up to 5 cm. The crew consisted of 850 sailors.

The main armament of the vessel consisted of 8 Vickers 305 mm / 50 caliber cannons, mounted two each on 4 rotating turrets. The two towers farthest from each other were placed centrally along the ship - one closer to the bow and one towards the stern. The other two towers were shifted from the central axis - the front one to the starboard side, and the rear one to the left. Each projectile of the 67-ton cannon weighed 385 kg and flew out of the barrel with an initial speed of 902 m/sec - the maximum projectile range was 21,500 m and firing was carried out at a speed of 1 shot per minute. The ship was also equipped with 20 101.6 mm guns, 2 47 mm guns and 2 76 mm anti-aircraft guns, installed later - in the 20s.

Service history

Early years of service

In 1907, the conservative Antonio Maura (Rus. Antonio Maura) came to power, and Captain Jose Ferrándiz y Niño (Rus. Jose Ferrándiz y Niño) was appointed Minister of the Navy. On January 7, 1907, mainly thanks to the support of A. Maur, the law of naval reform (better known as the Ferrándiz plan) was approved almost unanimously. The main idea of ​​the above plan was the construction of three Dreadnought-class battleships, but their low displacement made them the smallest Dreadnoughts in the world. All three battleships were built in Ferrol by the newborn SECN (Spanish Society of Shipbuilding), and these were the first and last battleships of the same type built in Spain. In the competition for the project, held on April 23, 1908, the Italian company Ansaldo and the British Vickers-Armstrong presented their project and the latter won. The project can be considered as a lightweight copy of the British Tireless class cruisers, while giving priority to the power of weapons by reducing speed and armor. The total cost of the 3 ships was 130 million pesetas, about 2870 pesetas per ton.

The battleship Alfonso XIII began construction on 23 February 1910, was launched on 7 May 1913 and was commissioned into naval service on 16 August 1915. Its first missions, like those of the battleship Spain, were to patrol the Spanish coast during the First World War . In 1920 he made a goodwill passage with the Spanish flag, entered the port of Havana, where he was given a great reception, because... as it was the first Spanish warship to enter Cuba after its independence, with the exception of the naval training ship Nautilus, which was there in 1908. At that time she entered the port of San Juan Puerto Rico, where she was also given a large reception, and finally entered the port of New York. In November 1923, together with her classmate battleship Jaime I and other units of the fleet, she headed to Italy to escort the Kings and General Primo de Rivera (Russian: Primo de Rivera).

During the Rif War in August 1923, she participated with the battleship España in the so-called Alfrau landing. In September 1925, again with Jaime I and the French battleship Paris, she participated in the landing of Alhucemas, receiving several shots without any consequences. Later, the battleship Alfonso XIII would take part in several official trips of the kings to the Moroccan protectorate and would also be present at the large gathering of ships in Barcelona in 1929 on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition.

In 1931, with the advent of the Second Republic, its name was changed to "España", thus marking the continuity of the nation, regardless of the political regime. At the same time, she went into reserve and was moored at Ferrol with limited supplies, was used as a storage warehouse, and gradually lost combat and operational capabilities.

Against the 1936 uprising

On July 20, 1936, several officers of the naval base of Ferrol (A Coruña) rebelled against the Spanish Republic and removed from power leaders and officials who remained loyal to the ruling government. The crew of the ships España and Almirante Cervera fought as best they could against the rebels, who were supported by the forces of an artillery regiment and marines. They tried to unite with those who resisted in other parts of the arsenal and suppress the uprising, but they were isolated from other forces, without leaders and almost without weapons, they were unable to do anything. The ship could not weigh anchor and put to sea in order to escape from the naval base, as Almirante Cervera tried to do, and its crew was forced to surrender after almost two days of siege. By then, the rebellion against the Republic had failed in most of the country, but the revolt of the colonial army in Africa was general, and the situation quickly led to civil war.

Since most of the ships of the Spanish Armada remained loyal to the Republic, the battleship España became a valuable asset for the Nationalists. After several years of inactivity, the ship's condition was deplorable and its military operational capabilities were minimal, so it was used more as a floating command headquarters, but its strategic potential was very important, especially given the serious lack of the rebels' own ships. Within a few days, they managed to restore two powerful 305 mm and six 101.6 mm guns, and carry out minimal repairs so that the ship could go to sea again.

In the service of the rebels

In July-August 1936, out of 8 Vickers 305 mm guns, only 6 worked, because one of the towers was used as a source of spare parts to repair the other three. Of the 20 101-mm guns, 12 were operational and were very worn out.

On August 12, 1936, the ship went to sea to operate in the Bay of Biscay, accompanied by the ship "Velasco". He maintained a constant blockade of the Republican coastline, except for the period from September 28 to October 13 of 1936, when the Republic fleet, consisting of several ships, including the battleship Jaime I, entered the Bay of Biscay. He took an active part in the bombardment of Santurce's fuel reserves and various ground targets in Guipuzcoa to force the capitulation of San Sebastian, Irún and Hondarribia, as well as in support of the Simancas headquarters, direct blockades of the cities of Bilbao and Santander, and even captured several ships carrying materials for Republicans.

The battleship was the target of several attacks, of which "Grandfather", as it was affectionately called by sailors, came out unscathed, as was the case with a torpedo launched by a Republican submarine that struck the bow of the ship but did not explode, or an attack by enemy aircraft when the bombs missed their target. But his luck ran out and his star faded shortly after 7 a.m. on April 30, 1937, when España was hit by an underwater mine near Santander, possibly planted a few days earlier by the national destroyer Júpiter. On this day, España and Velasco were patrolling the Bay of Biscay when an English cargo ship bound for Santander appeared in the north. Velasco went out to intercept, and España performed a number of maneuvers to get between the cargo ship and the ground, but this maneuver put it too close to Cape Galisano and it ended up in a minefield. Velasco managed to intercept the freighter after firing several warning shots as the cargo ship tried to escape, and it looked like the pair would score another haul when an explosion rocked the battleship España and the game was over. Velasco left their victim and headed towards the battleship, which had already begun to list a little.

On España, only five people died as a result of a mine explosion, and the remaining crew members were rescued by the Velasco, for which it entered a minefield and almost sank from much damage and even survived an unsuccessful attack by enemy aircraft. It was impossible to stop the flow, and in less than three hours the Grandfather sank in front of a crowd of people who had gathered at that moment at Cape Galisano.

Literature and sources of information

1. - Manrique García, José María; Lucas Molina Franco. Las armas de la Guerra Civil española. Esfera de los libros. p. 354. ISBN 84-9734-475-8.

External links

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Alfonso XIII was brought up under the direct supervision of two women: his mother, Queen Maria Christina, and her aunt, Infanta Isabel, who had a strong influence on the development of his personality. Without a doubt, they patronized the willful character of young Alphonse, who from early childhood demonstrated lordly manners. The future king grew up in a strict and prim atmosphere, imbued with a strong clerical spirit and practically protected from external trends. Unlike his father, who studied in Vienna and England during his exile, Alfonso XIII grew up in Spain and was taught by a group of selected teachers. Most of them were military men, nobles and priests. Yet, over the course of his reign, he managed to break through this isolation. He often traveled abroad and strengthened relations with other European countries, especially, after his marriage to Victoria Eugenia, with the English court.

Despite his extremely elitist upbringing, which significantly isolated him from the outside world, after his coronation Alfonso XIII showed himself to be an extremely liberal, European-minded monarch, ready for renewal. His aunt, Infanta Eulalia, wrote in her Memoirs: “His main merit and proof of his talent is that he overcame his upbringing and managed to become a liberal, although he grew up among those who always agreed with him and was exposed to unhealthy influences , on the basis of which he, strictly speaking, should have become an autocrat.”

Not being an authoritarian monarch, he, however, knew how to cope with parliamentary liberalism. However, he still failed to dissociate himself from the dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera and open the country to democracy. Perhaps this partly explains the fall of the monarchy in 1931 and the king's lifelong exile.

Although Alfonso XIII cannot be called an intellectual, we can say with complete confidence that he was an enlightened, cultural polyglot monarch. He was fluent in German, French, English and Italian. But still, his main passion was various sports (primarily horse riding, sailing and auto racing). He had very good physical characteristics. According to one biographer, he was “slender but muscular, without excess fat, broad-chested and hairy, as one might guess from his blond appearance, but his mustache was just a pitiful tuft of hair, reminiscent of two sharp mouse tails.”

When the reign of Alfonso XIII began in 1902, the wounds caused by the loss of the last colonies: Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines had not yet healed. The end-of-the-century crisis provoked a violent reaction from a group of intellectuals and politicians to the general backwardness of the country. It was proposed to focus on Europe, without abandoning national characteristics, and to renew political life. Alfonso XIII himself, who was called an innovative monarch, became one of the initiators of this policy and on numerous occasions contrasted royal Spain with the future of official Spain, which was dominated by an oligarchy, ruled by cliques of local bosses, “caciques,” the church and the army, which enjoyed enormous power. It was not for nothing that they formed the backbone and support of the system of government of former Prime Minister Canovas del Castillo, who died in 1897.

Just three years after his coronation, Alfonso XIII was already faced with the first institutional conflict that arose as a result of the army's intervention in political life. In November 1905, a group of officers attacked the editorial office of the newspaper La Veu de Catalunya, the mouthpiece of the separatist Catalan party Lliga. It was about retaliation for a series of articles and cartoons published by this newspaper and the weekly Cut-Cut in which the army was subjected to satirical attacks and criticism. This event not only led to the fall of the liberal Prime Minister Eugenio Montero Rios, but also led to the adoption in May 1906 of the Law on Judicial Procedure, which limited freedom of speech and gave military courts the right to conduct trials in the case of expression of punishable opinions concerning the military . This law violated the unity of jurisdiction provided for by the Constitution of 1876 and at the same time served to strengthen the corporatist spirit of the military, as well as their influence on political institutions, which, on occasion, could even lead to military dominance. The king never dared to speak out against the military, and they could always count on his support, even when the conflict with the government or political parties was their fault.

Another event that contributed to the crisis of the system and forced the monarch to intervene also concerned the army and, above all, colonial policy in North Africa. The general opposition to the Moroccan War found its clearest expression in the so-called "tragic week" in Barcelona, ​​between 26 and 31 July 1909, during which the masses were outraged by the government's decision to send reservist units to defend the city of Melilla, which was violently stormed by Rif tribes. Deep antipathy towards the army and government policies in Morocco mixed with social protest and anti-clerical feelings among a large part of Barcelona's inhabitants. Therefore, the king was faced with a serious task: in violation of the practice of agreed rotation of governments, to replace the conservative Prime Minister Antonio Maura with the liberal Sigismundo Moret, without which the government crisis threatened to worsen.

In view of the fierce campaign launched abroad against Maura and supported by the majority of the Spanish parties, Alfonso XIII had no choice but to sacrifice this conservative politician. He was made responsible for the execution of the anarchist Francisco Ferrer Guardia, accused without sufficient evidence of being the instigator of violent attacks during the "tragic week." This position of the monarch, taken by him in order to avoid conflict with half of Spain and the European world, did not please the leader of the conservatives. He never forgave the king for interfering in government affairs.

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The appointment of the liberal José Canalejas as Prime Minister in 1910 can also be characterized as the intervention of the monarch. This was done without consulting Moret or Montero Rios, the two leaders of the most important factions within the Liberal Party. But, undoubtedly, there was a brilliant choice, which proved the spirit of renewal and progressive sentiments of the monarch. Alphonse not only placed his trust in this restoration politician, who with the greatest zeal sought the integration of republicans and socialists into the political system. He also secured support for his reform activities, much criticized by the church and army, during the two years of Canalejas's reign.

To better understand this king's desire for intervention, it is necessary to bear in mind that in the complex political system of the Restoration era the monarch occupied a central position and, like almost all his colleagues in Europe, had very wide constitutional powers, as well as important powers in military affairs and foreign affairs. politics, sharing sovereignty with the Cortes. His main influence on politics was undoubtedly based on his decisive role in the formation of the government, in which he used the so-called "royal prerogatives" to appoint and remove the head of government. His goal was to facilitate a coordinated change of government and to “convene” new Cortes, in which the party that came to power would have a sufficient majority to dominate.

This system, which assigned the role of the king not as a mediator but as a political instrument for the formation of government, strongly subordinated the government to the monarch and supported the crown's tendency to interfere in internal party affairs. During the reign of Alfonso XIII, interference in government affairs occurred quite often. Examples include the forced resignation of Maura in 1909, the pressure exerted by the crown in matters of the army and foreign policy, the unjustifiably frequent creation without the cooperation of parliament of a "concentration government" between 1918 and 1923, and the unfounded objections of Alfonso XIII to the liberal "concentration" in 1922 and 1923. During the crisis of the restoration era, dynastic parties began to split into many factions. In most cases, it was the king who had to decide which of the liberal or conservative groups would transfer government responsibility. And Alphonse invariably found himself in a difficult situation, causing hostile reactions from disadvantaged political groups. In addition, he was accused of interfering in internal affairs and favoring some candidates over others, since the appointed head of government was expected to also take over party leadership. This was the case, for example, in 1913 with the appointment of Datos to replace Maur, or with the appointment of Count Romanones to replace Manuel García Prieto in the same year.

Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) Bourbon King of Spain
reigned from 1886 to 1931. Son of Alfonso XII and Maria of Austria, grandfather of the now reigning King Juan Carlos I.

• Parents: Alfonso XII and Maria of Austria

Alphonse was born six months after his father's death. For 16 years, his mother Maria Christina served as regent of the kingdom.

She did not oppose raising her son as a “soldier king.” From a young age, Alphonse's life was connected with the army. He was 12 years old when Spain, having been defeated in the war with the United States, lost its overseas territories: Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. He belonged to the so-called “98” generation, which experienced the loss of the empire as a national catastrophe and personal humiliation. Having sworn in before the Cortes in May 1902, the king wrote in his diary: “It depends on me whether Spain will remain a Bourbon monarchy or become a republic: I got a country devastated by past wars, an army with a backward organization, a fleet without ships, desecrated banners, governors and mayors who do not obey the law."

On May 17, 1902, the heir to the throne turned 16 years old, and Maria Christina handed over the crown to her son with great relief. From that time on, she devoted her life to charity and family.

In 1906, Alfonso XIII married Victoria Eugenia de Battenberg.

• Victoria Eugenia Battenberg (full name Victoria Eugenia Julia Ena) - Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena (1887-1969)- Princess of the Battenberg family, after her marriage Queen Consort of Spain. Great-grandmother of the current reigning King of Spain, Philip VI.

Princess Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg was born on October 24, 1887 at Balmoral Castle, Scotland (UK).

Christening of Princess Victoria Eugénie of Battenberg at Balmoral, 23 November 1887

She received these names: Victoria- in honor of his maternal grandmother, Queen Victoria, Evgenia- in honor of the godmother, Empress Eugenie, Julia - in honor of the paternal grandmother, Julia Gauke, Ena - Scottish name, in honor of the place of birth.

• grandmother Queen Victoria (1819-1901) Queen Victoria, post about her “The Age of Queen Victoria” | Queen Victoria

• grandfather Prince Albert (1819-1861), Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

• Empress Eugenie (1826-1920), post about her The last empress of France - Eugenie Montijo and here the Last monarch of France - Napoleon III | Bonaparte Dynasty

Ena's parents were Queen Victoria's youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg, born from the morganatic marriage of the Prince of Hesse and a Russian maid of honor.

• mother - Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (1857-1944)

• father Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858-1896)

Victoria and her brothers

Ena was brought up at the English court, lived mainly in England, Queen Victoria loved her little granddaughter very much, calling her her anniversary gift (Ena was born on the fiftieth anniversary of her grandmother's reign).

Victoria Eugéne, Queen of Spain, daughter of Prince Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice

In 1905, 19-year-old Spanish King Alfonso XIII made an official visit to Great Britain. Victoria Eugenie's uncle, King Edward VII, gave a dinner at Buckingham Palace in honor of the guest.

During a visit to England, An Opera performance: Edward VII and Alfonso XIII of Spain with family and courtiers attending in the royal box at the Opera House.

The king's attention was attracted by a graceful girl with blond hair. She was Ena of Battenberg. He began to court her and, returning to Spain, constantly sent her postcards. The king's mother, Maria Christina of Austria, did not approve of her son's choice:
1.) because of the desire to find a bride for his son from her own family, the Habsburgs;
2.) the Anglican religion of the British princess...that the princess was not a Catholic;
3.)The third cause was hemophilia, a disease that Queen Victoria passed on to some of her descendants.

A year later, Maria Christina of Austria finally approved her son's choice. In January 1906, in a letter to Princess Beatrice, Victoria Eugenie's mother, she told about Alfonso's feelings for her daughter. In February, at Versailles, Victoria Eugenie converted to the Catholic faith. On April 3, 1906, King Edward VII gave her niece the title of Her Royal Highness.

The bride and groom were happy! Smiling Ena gracefully waved her hand, welcoming her people. However, after a few minutes, the luxurious wedding turned into a terrible nightmare... Suddenly, the driver of the carriage in which Ena and Alfonso were stopped, although it was about a 5-minute drive to the palace. At the same moment, a huge bouquet was dropped from the nearest balcony, a bright orange-red flash literally blinded everyone - a bomb was hidden in the bouquet. 37 people were killed and about 100 were injured. The king and queen miraculously survived...

In a dress stained with blood, Ena remained outwardly calm, worried about the others, saying: "Please take care of yourself, you are injured, don't think about us." When Alfonso asked if she was okay, she replied: "I'm not hurt, I swear. I know how to behave and I know what it means to be Queen."

In one of her letters to a friend, Ena will recall: “My wedding is a perfect nightmare, I shudder, remembering this day. This explosion was such a surprise that until the very end I didn’t understand what happened, I wasn’t even scared. I realized everything The horror of what was happening was only when I moved to another carriage and saw the victims, then I realized what danger we were in. My poor husband saw his best friend, a young officer, dead and terribly mutilated. Now, when we are together in the old palace in the mountains, all this. seems like a nightmare to us."

Victoria Eugenia married King Alfonso XIII at the Royal Convent of San Jerónimo in Madrid on May 31, 1906.

After the birth of two sick children, cracks appeared in Ena and Alfonso's marriage. The king, who insisted on marrying the Princess of Battenberg because he wanted to live his life with a woman he would love, lost interest in Ena over the course of several years.

• Alphonse (1907–1938), Prince of Asturias and Count of Covadonga, hemophiliac, married twice;
• Jaime (1908-1975), Duke of Segovia, deaf and mute, married twice; pretender to the French throne

Ena subsequently bore him 5 more children:

• Beatrice (1909–2002), married to Alessandro Torlonia
• Fernando (1910-1910)
• Maria Cristina (1911–1996), married to Enrico Marone-Cinzano

• Juan (1913-1993), Count of Barcelona; pretender to the Spanish throne, father of Juan Carlos I.
• Gonzalo (1914–1934), hemophiliac

Queen Victoria Eugenie with her children

Despite her husband’s constant infidelities and concern for her sons’ lives, Ena always behaved with dignity in public.

In 1931 it became clear that the days of Alfonso XIII's reign were numbered. At this time, the former prime minister, José Sánchez Guerra, shared with the queen his plan to preserve the monarchy in Spain. He invited Ena to become regent for her healthy son, Juan. However, the queen, unlike her husband, was not capable of such betrayal and refused; she was as loyal to him as he was not loyal to her." The king considered abdication and exile to be the only way out of this situation. April 16 1931 Ena and the children left Spain, the king had left the day before.

Living in exile, Ena never gave up the dream that one day the monarchy would be restored in Spain and her son Juan would become king.

During World War II, Ena lived in Lausanne with the family of her son Juan, her favorite grandson being Juan Carlos. And when Juan Carlos grew up and married Princess Sophie of Greece, Ena was completely delighted with this couple. Princess Sofia recalled: “My husband loved her madly. And so did I. She was a real grandmother to us.”

In 1968, Ena visited Spain, to which Franco gave his consent. The reason for the visit was the christening of her great-grandson Felipe. A year after this visit, Queen Victoria Eugenia, more often called Ena, passed away. Her dream of restoring the monarchy came true. Now the reigning king of Spain is her beloved grandson Juan Carlos.