Francisco Milans del Bosch


Francisco Milans del Bosch was a Spanish general. He entered the Spanish Army as a cadet. In February 1793, he becomes an alférez and participated in the War of the Pyrenees under general Antonio Ricardos, against the French. He became a lieutenant alférez in May and was wounded in the Battle of the Black Mountain in November 1794. He became a lieutenant in 1796.
Later, Milans del Bosch participated in the Peninsular War of 1807–1814, commanding irregular Catalan and Valencian mountain light troops—the Migueletes—in Catalonia. After Iberia's independence and the return of an absolute monarchy under Ferdinand VII, Milans del Bosch is on the side of the liberals.
In 1817, Milans del Bosch and General Luis de Lacy organized a pronunciamento, which differs from a typical coup d'êtat because of its open declaration of opposition to an incumbent government. General Lacy was promptly arrested and sentenced to death; forcing Milans del Bosch to flee. He made several subsequent attempts at ousting the Spanish government from his hideout in the Pyrénées-Orientales, before getting arrested by French authorities in Laroque-des-Albères on, near the Spanish border. He launched a final rebellion in Empordà in 1830, but failed to gain momentum as before.
Milans del Bosch's grandson, Joaquín Milans del Bosch, became a high-ranking officer in the Spanish Army.