Global InformationMarquessate of the Valley of Oaxaca information
| Marquessate of the Valley of Oaxaca | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Creation date | 1529 |
| Created by | Charles V |
| Peerage | Spain |
| First holder | Hernán Cortés, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca |
| Present holder | Álvaro de Llanza y Figueroa, 15th Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca[1] |
| Heir apparent | Claudia de Llanza y López-Quesada |
| Remainder to | Absolute primogeniture |
The Marquessate of the Valley of Oaxaca (Spanish: Marquesado del Valle de Oaxaca) is a hereditary marquessal title in the Spanish nobility and a former seignorial estate in New Spain. It was granted to Don Hernán Cortés, conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire, by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1529. Despite its name, the marquessate covered a much larger area than the Oaxaca Valley, comprising a vast stretch of land in the present-day Mexican states of Oaxaca, Morelos, Veracruz, Michoacán and Mexico.
The title was held by Cortés' descendants through 1814, when the Constitución de Apatzingan abolished hereditary titles in Mexico.[2] After the 12th Marquess died in 1859, his successors as Duke of Monteleone appear to have not renewed this title until 1916, when the 16th Duke of Monteleone became the 13th Marquess of the valley of Oaxaca. The title again became dormant on his death in 1938. A member of a cadet branch of the family (descendant of the 7th Marchioness) asked for the resumption of the title in 1973, and it was granted to him. The descendants of the 13th Marquess, a family established in Italy, has claimed the title, but has not taken any legal action in Spain against the legal holder. Given the multiple claims, the 1535 Mayorazgo (entailment) guaranteeing the continuation of the Marquessate was conditioned on (among others) loyalty to the King of Spain.
The current and 15th Marquess is Álvaro de Llanza y Figueroa, a private equity fund manager and former Citigroup investment banker.[3] He was born on 26 January 1960 and married Isabel López-Quesada in the chapel of the Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro in June 1988. They have 3 children.[4]
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) - 17 October 2001
- ^ Constitución de Apatzingán Article 25
- ^ Citywire: Professional curriculum of Álvaro de Llanza y Figueroa
- ^ Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía. Vol. X. (2007). Vol. 10. Madrid: RAMHG. p. 284.