Jaime Velaz de Medrano y Barros, Marqués de Tabuérniga

Jaime José Ignacio Vélaz de Medrano y Barros, 3rd Marquess of Tabuérniga (Santa Eulalia de Gorgullos, Tordoia, 6 February 1693 – Pinto, December 1753) was an aristocrat and nobleman from the House of Medrano. He served as Lieutenant of the Spanish Royal Guards and a respected courtier, later labeled a 'conspirator' by royal authorities for his role in a political movement critical of Queen Isabel de Farnesio's influence during the reign of Philip V. He married Petronila de Bracamonte y Villalón, the daughter of the 4th Marquess of Fuente el Sol. He played a pivotal role in secret peace negotiations between Spain and Britain during the War of Jenkins’ Ear, where he delivered British terms to First Secretary of State, Sebastián de la Cuadra y Llarena.

Birth and ancestry Jaime Velaz de Medrano was baptized on 6 February 1693 in the parish of Santa Eulalia de Gorgullos de Tordoya, in the region of Ordes, in the kingdom of Galicia.

Jaime Vélaz de Medrano was raised until he was five years old in La Coruña, in the house of his maternal grandparents. From this age, he was claimed by his father and came to reside at court with him. When he was not yet seven, his mother died in a drowning accident in the Jarama River. He then went on to live with his uncle, Antonio, with whom he lived until he joined the army.

Ancestry Jaime's ancestry traces back to the ancient Lords of the Palace of Vélaz de Medrano in Igúzquiza. Among the direct ancestors of Jaime Vélaz de Medrano, his grandfather Antonio Vélaz de Medrano, I Marquess of Tabuérniga (Labastida, 1637 – Spa, 1683) a prominent soldier in the reign of Carlos II, Knight of the Order of Santiago, Sergeant General of Battle, he held the position of governor of Nieuwpoort in West Flanders and who in 1680 carried out a curious diplomatic initiative when negotiating with the United Provinces of the Netherlands to crown himself prince of the island of Tobago.

His great-grandfather, Pedro Vélaz de Medrano (Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 28 July 1603 – Coímbra, c. 1659), Lord of Tabuerniga, Knight of the Order of Santiago and page of King Philip III. He was a prominent sailor and soldier in the reign of Philip IV who fought in the Battle of the Dunes in 1639 and was Captain General of the Armada de Barlovento and custodian of the New Spain Fleet, but who betrayed the crown in 1648, going to France, for whose King made several corsair raids in the Caribbean.

His great-great grandfather Antonio Vélaz de Medrano y Mendoza had served as a soldier in Naples and Sicily and would later become magistrate in the towns of Malaga (1609–12) and Cuenca–Huete (1612–14).

Political intervention of the Marquess of Tabuérniga

Jaime José Ignacio Vélaz de Medrano, 3rd Marquess of Tabuérniga, sought to intervene in the succession crisis of Philip V out of a conviction that the monarchy, and Spain itself, were in decline under the influence of Queen Elisabeth Farnese. Far from an act of rebellion, his initiative reflected a broader struggle within the court, one which historian Pedro Luis Lorenzo Cadarso describes as "a series of conflicts that pitted different sectors of the ruling elite, both political and economic, among themselves or against the superior authority."

The 3rd Marquess of Tabuérniga served as a lieutenant in the Spanish Royal Guards, an elite corps reserved for men of noble lineage, admission to which required documented purity of blood. His position not only confirmed his aristocratic status but also gave him direct access to the inner circles of courtly and dynastic power.

Through ministers such as José Patiño and Manuel de Benavides y Aragón, 10th Count of Santiesteban, she consolidated royal power through direct command, secrecy, and surveillance, transforming the court into an instrument of centralization. Amid this expansion of control, the House of Medrano endured through figures like Pedro Medrano, Knight of the Order of Santiago, who had served as Secretary of War for the Navy and later as senior Second Official of the Secretariat of State for the Negotiation of Italy under Elisabeth Farnese. Pedro Medrano formed part of a wider Medrano juridical and administrative network that preserved the doctrinal equilibrium of the monarchy from within the very Italian and military institutions Elisabeth Farnese sought to centralize.

The Intervention of Tabuerniga Painting of Philip V and Elisabeth Farnese, c. 1739. The portrait symbolizes the transfer of authority within the Spanish monarchy during a period of political centralization. The so-called "Tabuérniga conspiracy" unfolded during one of the most politically volatile periods of 18th-century Spain. At the time, the royal court had been relocated to Seville due to the fragile health of King Philip V, who was contemplating abdication for the second time. His wife, Elisabeth Farnese, fiercely opposed any shift in control and sought to maintain her influence over the king, resisting any prospect of retirement to La Granja de San Ildefonso. Her residence became an informal center of political gravity, drawing together courtiers dissatisfied with the direction of the monarchy.

Ferdinand VI's Political Isolation (1734) Portrait of Prince Ferdinand in 1731, painted during his formal instruction under Giovanni Antonio Medrano, who educated him in the Doctrine of Medrano for 5 years between 1729 and 1734. The Representacion al Principe Don Fernando marked a decisive moment in the tension between doctrinal counsel and tightening political control at the Bourbon court. Jaime Velaz de Medrano composed the memorandum privately in 1730, addressing the prince's moral and juridical formation. The monarchy's reaction exposed growing anxiety over reformist influence and the degree to which court politics had become shaped by suspicion, factional rivalry, and the expanding authority of Queen Elisabeth Farnese and her ministers.

Following Ferdinand's education under Giovanni Antonio Medrano, historians note that from 1734 onward the prince and his wife Barbara of Braganca lived almost entirely removed from public affairs, and at times in formal disgrace, a condition attributed to the sustained influence of Elisabeth Farnese.

Sir Benjamin Keene later observed that the new king would love peace as much as his father had loved war,

Prisoner at the fortress of Velez-Malaga

Jaime Vélaz de Medrano prepared for a prolonged imprisonment, but soon developed a rapport with the Alcaide of the fortress, who gradually eased the conditions of his confinement. This leniency allowed Medrano to leave the castle to attend mass and interact with members of the local nobility, subtly restoring elements of his courtly life despite official custody.

Royal investigation Far from granting their consent, the monarchs dispatched Pedro de la Cueva, "of the Council of His Majesty, his mayor of the crime of the Royal Chancery of Granada," to investigate the circumstances surrounding the unauthorized marriage negotiations. Cueva uncovered the lenient treatment extended to Tabuérniga during his confinement, his unauthorized communications with the court in Lisbon, and his earlier escape to the neighboring kingdom. In response, Philip V ordered the Marquess’s imprisonment to be reinforced, his isolation to be intensified, and the Alcaide—who had permitted his contact with the Marquesses of Fuente el Sol—to be incarcerated. Despite these measures, Tabuérniga, with the assistance of a servant and his brother-in-law, devised and executed an escape plan.

The talks ultimately faltered over disagreements concerning the future of Naples and broke down, though Spain remained open to further negotiations at a later stage. While the Lisbon mission ended in failure, Jaime Vélaz de Medrano maintained considerable influence—so much so that the Austrian envoy, Count Philipp von Orsini-Rosenberg, signed a memorandum advocating for his appointment as Spain’s First Secretary of State. Medrano remained in Lisbon, hopeful of securing the position, but his aspirations were ultimately unfulfilled. Instead, he laid the diplomatic groundwork for the official Spanish envoy, Sir Benjamin Keene, who would later arrive to lead formal negotiations. A nonconformist by nature, the Marquess of Tabuérniga leveraged his proximity to the British court to surveil the Prince of Wales and his inner circle, relaying sensitive information to the Duke of Newcastle, one of Britain’s leading ministers. The outbreak of war between Spain and Britain only heightened his relevance.

Despite efforts to secure a higher pension—including diplomatic maneuvers by the Portuguese ambassador—these attempts ultimately failed, leaving Medrano in a precarious financial situation. With Spain assuming partial responsibility for his support, London was relieved of its previous pension obligations. However, this arrangement proved insufficient. Soon after, the Marquess of Tabuérniga confided to his English correspondent, John Roberts, that he was in such dire financial straits that he had no choice but to reside in Villaverde, a small village outside Madrid, in the palace of the Marquess of Fuente el Sol. This forced exile kept him away from the court and the levers of power, while he remained burdened by outstanding debts in London—particularly those owed to the gentleman Ossorio—for which he still hoped to receive continued support from the English pension.

Death

Jaime sent Letters to Carvajal, Ensenada, Ordeñana and even to the confessor Rávago, trying to gather support. In these dealings, Jaime was surprised by death in 1753. He died as a result of a tabardillo (A form of murine typhus that occurs in Mexico), in his prime, in the town of Pinto, near Madrid.

A few days later, Carvajal gave a curious order to one of his subordinates. He told him to go to Villaverde to see the widowed Marchioness of Tabuérniga. The king ordered that all the papers of the deceased Marquess of Tabuérniga be collected and bring them to his power to keep them away from public business. Even after his death, Jaime continued to make the Spanish chancellery tremble with the unconfessable secrets that could be contained in his writing office. Jaime never acknowledged accomplices in a clear-cut way, but it is difficult to imagine that there were none. The fact that he tried to exert epistolary pressure on certain occasions on Don Carlos de Arizaga, lieutenant of Fernando VI while he was prince, it is suspected that this personage, or even his superior, the Count of Salazar, were aware of his intrigues and encouraged them.