Juan de Escobedo facts for kids

Juan de Escobedo was born in 1530 in Colindres, Cantabria, Spain. He died on March 31, 1578, in Madrid. He was a Spanish politician and served as a secretary to John of Austria, who was a famous military leader. Escobedo is mostly known for his mysterious death in the 16th century.

Escobedo started his career working for Ruy Gómez de Silva, the Prince of Eboli. The prince was a very trusted minister of King Philip II.

Escobedo was given an important job for life: he became a Regidor in Madrid. This meant he was a legal representative for the king in the city. He also worked with Antonio Pérez as one of the king's secretaries. Their job was to help the king deal with the different government groups in Spain.

Working with Don John of Austria

After the famous Battle of Lepanto in 1571, Don John of Austria started to make his own plans. These plans were sometimes risky. So, Escobedo was sent to be Don John's secretary. His main job was to keep an eye on Don John and stop him from making bad decisions.

However, Escobedo became very involved in Don John's ideas. He started to ignore orders from Madrid. He even got caught up in secret plans that aimed to influence or control the king.

The Mystery of His Death

In July 1577, Escobedo returned to Spain from Flanders. Don John was the governor there at the time. Escobedo came back even though the king had told him not to.

Some people believed that Escobedo found out about a secret love affair. This was supposedly between Antonio Pérez and the widowed Princess of Eboli, Ana de Mendoza e de la Cerda. But this was just a rumor.

What is certain is that Escobedo was involved in many secret plans. King Philip II believed that a ruler could act for the good of the country, even if it meant bending the rules. So, the king ordered Antonio Pérez to get rid of Escobedo.

There were two attempts to poison Escobedo at Pérez's house. Both failed. Finally, on the night of Easter Monday in 1578, Escobedo was killed by hired attackers. An old story says the murder happened outside the church of St. Maria in Madrid. This church was later torn down in 1868.

See also

In Spanish: Juan de Escobedo para niños

• Antonio Pérez
• La Conjura de El Escorial (film)