Diego López de Pacheco, 2nd Duke of Escalona facts for kids
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Diego López de Pacheco (born in Villena, 1456 – died in Escalona, November 26, 1529) was an important Spanish noble. He was the 2nd Duke of Escalona and the 2nd Marquis of Villena.
Diego López Pacheco was the son of Juan Pacheco, who was a very powerful politician at that time, and María Portocarrero. In 1468, when Diego was 12 years old, his father gave him the title of 2nd Marquis of Villena. At the same age, Diego married Juana de Luna. She was also 12 and the granddaughter of Álvaro de Luna. This marriage was part of a plan by Diego's family to gain control of some land and money. Juana Pimentel, Juana de Luna's grandmother, tried to stop the marriage. But King Henry IV of Castile stepped in, and the marriage happened.
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Fighting for the Throne
During the War of the Castilian Succession, Diego and his father supported Juana la Beltráneja. She was fighting for the throne but eventually lost. After his father died in October 1474, Diego became the 2nd Duke of Escalona. In 1476, he tried to become the Grand Master of the Order of Santiago, a powerful knightly order, but he wasn't chosen.
After this, he decided to support Isabella I of Castile, who had won the throne. He was forgiven for supporting Juana. However, a year later, he had to give up his fortified town of Escalona after it was captured.
Later Life and Family
Diego's first wife, Juana de Luna, passed away in 1480. In 1484, Diego married again to Juana Enríquez y Velasco. She was the sister of Fadrique Enríquez de Velasco, who was the Admiral of Castile.
Diego López Pacheco was a general who fought against the Moors. The Moors were people from North Africa who had lived in parts of Spain for many centuries. He was part of the final Siege of Granada in 1492. This important battle ended the Moorish presence in Spain.
In 1504, after Queen Isabella died, Pacheco supported her eldest daughter, Queen Juana, and her husband King Felipe. They were against King Ferdinand of Aragon's group. In 1519, Diego became a Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece. This was a very special and important honor.
Supporter of Learning and Arts
Diego was a big fan of Desiderius Erasmus, a famous thinker. He welcomed people like Isabel de la Cruz and Pedro Ruíz de Alcaraz to his castle. These people were called alumbrados, who had new ideas about religion.
Diego also strongly supported culture and the arts. Francisco de Osuna dedicated his book El tercer abecedario espiritual (The Third Spiritual Alphabet) to him in 1527. Two years later, Juan de Valdés also dedicated his book Diálogo de la doctrina cristiana to Diego.
Juana Enríquez and Diego López Pacheco are buried together. Their resting place is in the El Parral monastery in Segovia.
Children
With Juana de Luna:
- Juan Pacheco de Luna (died 1490)
With Juana Enríquez:
- Diego López Pacheco (1506–1556), who became the third Duke of Escalona
- Isabel Pacheco
- Magdalena Pacheco
See also
In Spanish: Diego López Pacheco y Portocarrero para niños
