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have changed the course of Spanish and
European history. Philip II accepted the
defeat of the Armada, despite its heavy loss
of ships and men, with his usual stoicism
and did not even reproach the admiral upon
his belated arrival back in Spain. Instead
the king continued his schemes to defeat
the English, crush the rebellious Dutch
Republic, and put a puppet king on the
French throne during the remaining years
of his reign. He passed this mission on to his
son, P
HILIP
III, who proved more interested
in the religious than the political aspect of
his father's vision.
onment. Overcoming charges of “conspir-
acy against the republic,” Asencio was
appointed in the summer of 1938 to lead a
series of successful flanking attacks against
Nationalist forces. With the civil war draw-
ing to a close, Asencio was sent to the
United States to seek support for what was
still recognized as the legitimate govern-
ment of Spain. After the triumph of the
Nationalists he settled in New York, sup-
porting himself by editorial work, giving
lectures, and teaching Spanish.
An able tactician and a respected military
leader, Asencio was hampered throughout
the civil war not only by the shortcomings
of his ill-equipped and largely amateur sol-
diers but by the factional disputes and
obsessive suspicions that denied him the
consistent backing of the Loyalist regime.
Asencio Torrado, José
(1892-1961)
Spanish soldier
This leading Loyalist commander during
the S
PANISH
C
IVIL
W
AR
fought against his
military academy classmate F
RANCISCO
F
RANCO
. A veteran of campaigns in
M
OROCCO
and an officer of the General
Staff, Asencio was widely regarded as the
most brilliant mind among the officers who
remained loyal to the government. With
the rebel Nationalist forces advancing on
several fronts during the summer of 1936,
Asencio was selected to organize the defense
of M
ADRID
. He was able to divert the Nation-
alists toward T
OLEDO
and gain the time nec-
essary to reinforce the capital, which
subsequently withstood a 28-month siege.
Due to the heightened level of suspicion in
Madrid Asencio was transferred from field
command to the nominal position of under-
secretary of war. He was returned to com-
mand in the field later in 1936, but what
was originally described as the “heroic”
retreat of his forces from the area around
M
ÁLAGA
during the following year was
made the basis for his removal and impris-
asiento
A Spanish term for a contract or royal pat-
ent granted by the government to an indi-
vidual or group of interested parties for the
exclusive provision of certain goods or ser-
vices. The best-known
asiento
was that
granted by the Crown for the delivery of
slaves to the American colonies between
approximately 1543 and 1834. The practice
of enslaving captives had been introduced
in Spain during the wars of the Christian
kings against the Muslims during the Mid-
dle Ages. When Spain began to develop her
colonial system in the New World various
forms of compulsory service were imposed
among the Amerindians (including the
ENCOMIENDA
system), but proved unsatisfac-
tory and was opposed by certain of the
clergy who viewed the native peoples as
potential Christians protected by their sta-
tus as subjects of the sovereign.
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