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ated a sprawling panorama of ideas and
emotions that had become over the preced-
ing decades a virtual obsession with her. On
an ever-expanding canvas and with an
evermore complex interweaving of charac-
ters and action she had worked, she later
said, with a kind of superstitious fear that if
she ever ended the project, she would die.
She was delighted to find herself alive and
well, and her book, warmly received by
critics. Not long afterward she was honored
by election to the Spanish Royal Academy,
the only woman member at the time.
that the duke would rely on the advice of
veteran officers. In the actual operations
against England during the summer of
1588, Medina Sidonia was overwhelmed by
the rapidly changing situation. He rejected
the counsel of his senior captains and
ordered a retreat northward around the
Scottish and Irish coasts that cost him many
of his ships.
Far from punishing the duke of Medina
Sidonia, the king gave him further assign-
ments, either because he felt some personal
guilt for insisting on the mission despite the
inexperience of its commander or because
the wealth and power of the duke's family
in Andalusia was too great to be challenged.
Medina Sidonia remained in supreme com-
mand of naval defenses in southern Spain,
with the additional responsibility of curbing
North African corsairs and Turkish raiders.
When a large English force attacked and
sacked C
ÁDIZ
in 1596, the duke once again
demonstrated his ineptitude both in pre-
paring for such an emergency and respond-
ing to it once it had occurred. Nevertheless,
the duke continued to hold all of his naval
titles and responsibilities during the reign of
P
HILIP
III, and his family was closely linked
to the duke of L
ERMA
, the all-powerful chief
minister of that monarch. As late as the
reign of P
HILIP
IV a subsequent duke of
Medina Sidonia was actually involved in a
plot to proclaim the independence of Anda-
lusia with himself as king.
Medina Sidonia, Alonso Pérez de
Guzmán, duque de
(1550-1619)
Spanish admiral
Alonso Pérez de Guzmán was the seventh
in a line of dukes who were among the
highest of the Castilian
grandes,
with a title
dating back to the 15th century. Although
his personal distinction was unremarkable
and his military and naval titles were essen-
tially a reflection of his social status, he suc-
ceeded to the command of the A
RMADA
in
1588. The death of the marqués de S
ANTA
C
RUZ
in the midst of the preparations for
this great enterprise that was aimed at
crushing all of Spain's enemies threatened
a grand design that was dearest to the heart
of P
HILIP
II. He designated Medina Sidonia
as captain general of the coasts of A
NDALU
-
SIA
and, although the duke had no naval
experience, ordered him to take charge of
the Armada. Some contemporary accounts
suggest that the duke begged to be excused
from the task, even pleading that he was
subject to seasickness. The king would
accept no refusal, for he wanted a man of
prestige and wealth to demonstrate the
importance of the Armada and assumed
Melilla
Located on the Mediterranean coast of
M
OROCCO
, this city was captured by Spain
in 1496 and currently encompasses an area
of 4.2 square miles. Repeated military and
diplomatic attempts by Morocco to regain
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