Cristobal Lechuga

Cristóbal Lechuga
Born	1557 Baeza
Died	1622 Unknown place
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation	Military Engineer
Known for	Treatise on Artillery and Fortification
Signature

Cristóbal Lechuga (Baeza (Andalucia), ca 1557 - 1622) was a military and mathematician, known to have published a treaty of artillery and fortification.

Life

Little is known of his life before 1585. As explained by himself, he entered in the army when he only was 18 years old.^[1] In 1585, he was sergeant in Francisco of Bobadilla's army highlighted to Flandes, where in 1590 he had some participation in a mutiny for which he was imprisoned for some time.^[2][3]

From 1593, as official of artillery in the Spanish army, he intervened in the wars of Spain against Henry IV of France and against the Flemish rebels and, in this rol, he took part in the sieges of La Chapelle (1594), Doullens, Cambray (1595), Calais (1596) and in the defense of Amiens, occupied by the Spanish army in 1597.^[4] In this period he meet his main sponsor: Pedro Enríquez of Acevedo, count of Fuentes, who asked for him in being appointed governor of Milan in the year 1600.^[5][6]

From 1600, as inspector of fortificacions of the Duchy of Milan, he carried out numerous secret missions for the kingdom of Spain, and also he took part in the foundation of the Academy of Artillery of Milan, for what Fuentes had obtained the approval of the king of Spain Philip III.^[7][8] From Milan, he recommended to the king of Spain the creation of a similar academy in Madrid.^[9]

The death of the count of Fuentes in 1610, left Lechuga without any political support.^[10] Yet, in 1613 he achieved to be transferred to the Royal Navy of the Sea "Océano" based in Cadiz and he was appointed Lieutenant General of Field.

The 1614 he took part in the expedition against La Mamora, now Mehdya (Morocco), distinguishing in his military actions, to the extent of being appointed governor of the once conquered place, and he was commissioned to build the fortificacions of a strong castle in territory enemy.^[11]

In 1620 the place suffered a bullying for the Moroccans of the zone, that he could contain. The reinforcements arrived from Cadiz broke the siege in 1621. And this date is the last references that we have of Cristóbal Lechuga.^[12] In September of 1622 already was governor of La Mamora Diego of Escobedo, and it si not known if the appointment was due to the death or the resignation of Cristobal Lechuga.

Grave of Cristóbal Lechuga in the Baeza's Cathedral

However, in the years 1618-1619, perhaps during a permission to his natal village, Baeza, he erected a familiar chapel in the Romanesque church of Santa Cruz, where he wanted to be buried. This chapel-sepulcre was moved to Baeza's Cathedral, when the church was "desamortitzada" in 1835 and we can see it, still today, in this place.

Works

Lechuga Is known to have written two works of military technics:

• Discurso en el que trata del cargo de Maestro de Campo General (Milan, 1603), probably written while he was in Flandes, but published some years after.^[13] This speech is done to show that the experience and the antiquity can not be the criteria of evaluation of the merit of the military officials, but it have to be the professional preparation and the technical capacity.^[14]
• Discurso en el que trata de la Artilleria con un tratado de Fortificación (Milan, 1611). He continues doing emphasis in the professionalism of the military and, considering that the Artillery is the most important of the arms of a modern army, he study it deepened, recommending normalization of calibrate, building and location of the pieces, etc. All this thought from a scientific and technical point of view.

References

1. González de León, pàgina 135.
2. Martínez Laínez & Sánchez de Toca, pàgina 227.
3. Martínez Laínez & Sánchez de Toca, pàgina 228.
4. Giannini, pàgina 486.
5. Martínez Laínez, pàgina 183.
6. Giannini, pàgina 487.
7. Martínez Laínez, pàgina 184.
8. Martínez Laínez, pàgina 185.
9. González de León, pàgina 139.
10. Giannini, pàgina 488.
11. Giannini, pàgina 489.
12. Giannini, pàgines 490-491.
13. Giannini, pàgina 499.
14. Giannini, pàgina 501.

Bibliography

• Giannini, Massimo Carlo. «Pratica delle Armi e istruzione militare: Cristóbal Lechuga ufficiale e scrittore nella Milano di inizio Seicento». In: José María Merry Peyrón, M. Rizzo, G. Mazzocchi (eds.). La espada y la pluma: il mondo militare nella Lombardia spagnola cinquecentesca (in Italian). Mauro Baroni Editore, 2000, p. 483-515. ISBN 9788882091408.
• González de León, Fernando. The Road To Rocroi: Class, Culture and Command in the Spanish Army of Flanders (in English). Leiden: Brill, 2009. ISBN 978-90-04-17082-7.
• González de León, Fernando. "Doctors of the Military Discipline": Technical Expertise and the Paradigm of the Spanish Soldier in the Early Modern Period (in English). Sixteenth Century Journal. Vol 27, No 1, 1996. ISSN 0361-0160, doi:10.2307/2544269.
• Martínez Laínez, Fernando. Una Pica en Flandes: La epopeya del Camino Español (in Spanish). Madrid: EDAF, 2007. ISBN 978-84-414-1947-6.]
• Martínez Laínez, Fernando; Sánchez de Toca, José María. Los Tercios de España: La infantería legendaria (in Spanish). Madrid: EDAF, 2006. ISBN 978-84-414-1847-9.
• de los Ríos, Vicente. "Discurso sobre los ilustres autores e inventores de la Artillería" (in (Spanish)). Memorias de la Real Academia de la Historia [Madrid], Tomo IV, 1805, pàg. 1-65.

External links

• Lechuga, Cristóbal. "Discurso del capitan Cristoual Lechuga, en el que trata de la artillería, y de todo lo necesario a ella, con un Tratado of Fortificación" (in Spanish). Google books, 1611. [Query: 8 November 2015].
• "Cristóbal Lechuga y García" (in Spanish). The Época of los Tercios. [Query: 10 November 2015].