El Empecinado

Empecinado, El

 

(real name, Juan Martín Díaz). Born 1775 in Castrillo de Duero; died Aug. 19, 1825, in Roa. Spanish revolutionary.

During the Spanish Revolution of 1808–14, El Empecinado commanded partisan detachments fighting against French troops, and he was promoted to the rank of general by the Central Junta. After the return of Ferdinand VII to Spain in March 1814, however, El Empecinado was exiled to Valladolid. At the beginning of the Revolution of 1820–23, he was appointed military governor of Samora, and he subsequently directed military operations against counterrevolutionary forces. After the defeat of the revolution, he fled to Portugal. When he returned to his homeland, El Empecinado was arrested and executed.