José Miguel de Carvajal-Vargas, 2nd Duke of San Carlos

In this Spanish name, the family name is Carvajal-Vargas.

José Miguel de Carvajal-Vargas The Duke of San Carlos
Portrait by Francisco Goya
Prime Minister of Spain
In office 4 May 1814 – 15 November 1814
Monarch	Ferdinand VI
Preceded by	Jose Luyando
Succeeded by	Pedro Cevallos Guerra
Seat R of the Real Academia Española
In office 10 November 1814 – 27 September 1828
Preceded by	Ramón Cabrera y Rubio
Succeeded by	Javier de Burgos
Director of the Real Academia Española
In office 10 November 1814 – 27 September 1828
Preceded by	Ramón Cabrera y Rubio
Succeeded by	José Gabriel de Silva-Bazán
Personal details
Born	José Miguel de Carvajal-Vargas y Manrique de Lara Polanco (1771-05-08)8 May 1771 Lima, Peru
Died	Paris, France
Nationality	Spanish

José Miguel de Carvajal-Vargas y Manrique de Lara Polanco, 2nd Duke of San Carlos, (8 May 1771 in Lima, Peru – 27 September 1828 in París), 6th conde de Castillejo and 9th conde del Puerto was an Absolutist military and noble. A favourite of Ferdinand VII of Spain, he became his Mayordomo mayor and Secretario de Estado (Prime minister).

Biography

He was the son of Mariano Joaquín de Carvajal-Vargas y Brun, 8th conde del Puerto, (deceased April 1796), and Maria Manrique de Lara Polanco y Carrillo, daughter of the II Marquis of Lara. His paternal grandfather was Fermín Francisco de Carvajal-Vargas y Alarcón, born in Chile, deceased in 1797, 1st duke of San Carlos and Grandee of Spain.
He started a career in the Spanish Army in Peru.

He travelled to Spain in 1788, where he became a confidant of the heir to the throne Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias. He was promoted to Colonel in 1793, Brigadier in 1794, Mariscal del Campo in 1795 and Lieutenant General in 1802. He was Viceroy of Navarra during part of the year 1807.
In 1808, he participated actively in the Tumult of Aranjuez, which removed Manuel Godoy and King Charles IV of Spain from power, and installed Ferdinand as new King of Spain. When Napoleon forced Ferdinand to abdicate, Carvajal followed Ferdinand into exile. In 1813 he drafted the Treaty of Valençay with France, which prepared the return to power of King Ferdinand VII.

After the Absolutist Restauration under King Fernando VII of Spain in 1814, he became Secretary of State (Prime Minister of Spain) between May and November 1814. Later, he was Spanish ambassador or envoy in Saint-Peterburg, Paris, Vienna, Lisbon and London (1817-1820), Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece (1814), Knight of the Military Order of Alcantara and other knighthoods in France, Naples, Prussia, Hungary, and Russia. He was also the director of the Royal Spanish Academy from 1814 to 1828, three times Mayordomo mayor to the King, Captain general of the Army (1827-1828) and Director of the problematic Banco de San Carlos, founded in 1782 by the French – Spanish financier Francisco Cabarrus.

Marriage and children

He married twice : first with María del Rosario de Silva, Countess of Fuenclara, Duchess of Arenberg, First Class Grandee of Spain, from whose marriage he had no children. After her death in 1802, he married the next year María Eulalia de Queralt y Silva (1787-1863), daughter of the Counts of Santa Coloma, Grandee of Spain and niece of his previous wife.

From this marriage he had 6 children, including :

• José Fernando de Carvajal-Vargas y Queralt (1808-1872), III Duke of San Carlos and heir to all his father's titles.
• Maria Luisa (1804-1843), married in Bordeaux, France in 1821, Vicente Osorio de Moscoso, 13th Count of Altamira, (1801–1864), and holder of 14 Grandees of Spain.

Sources

• Real Academia de la Historia
• asasve