House of Tagle

The Tagle family holds great importance in the Spanish nobility, as it was one of the most important noble families in Spain and Mexico in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries. The ancient lineage of Tagle, originating in the place of Tagle, near Santillana del Mar, in the Mountains of Santander, Cantabria where in the sixteenth century an ancient tower was built. Founded in March 1483, the land was a donation of Sancho de Tagle as a gift to his eldest son. The name exists in the village at least since 1237, when a Juan de Tagle confirms a deed of the Collegiate Hall.
Origins
It is said that the family line comes from the great house of Velarde, who flourished in the mountains of Santander, The origin of the family was said to have came from a gentleman named Sancho Velarde, who was found in the court of Pelagius; King of Asturias. Pelagius (Spanish: Pelayo, Portuguese: Pelágio; died in 737) was the founder of the Kingdom of Asturias, ruling from 718 until his death. He is credited with beginning the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, in so far as he established an independent Christian state in opposition to Moorish hegemony, but there is no strong evidence that he either intended to resuscitate the old Visigothic kingdom or was motivated by any religious desire.
Sancho Velarde was presented to the King and he said: "My Lord, this brave knight of yours waited three days to answer the challenge of the foul serpent (the Moors), and yet none dared to go to combat such, I swear by God that hears me, that your knight will die if he fails to bring the head of the infidel". The king gave his support to Sancho Velarde and even promised to marry his daughter to the brave knight once he proved to be victorious. The cavalier fought until Sancho Velarde defeated the Muslims and cut off the head of the Moorish leader, whose rulers and troops were filled with terror and dispersed and thus the city was free again. King Pelagius fulfilled his promise and he married the noble and his daughter Infanta Iñiga of Asturias, and thanked him. Since then he and his descendants held the Lordship of the land of Tagle and the tittle Vizcondado de Tagle, where he built his tower, the Tower of Solariega which is now in ruins.
Coat of Arms
The Noble Family of Tagle holds the ancient arms which depict a knight in armor mounted in on a horse that is killing a green scaled serpent next to a lady (princess) wearing a blue skirt and a red royal mantle. In addition they often add the motto “Tagle se llamó el que la sierpe mato y con la Infanta casó” which translates as "Whom serpent slayed and Infanta espoused, Tagle was called".
This is confirmed in office crest of the Marquis de Torre Tagle and another was issued in Madrid on March 26 1779 by Don Juan Felix de Rújula in favor of Don Francisco Antonio Ruiz-Tagle. Another version of the arms depicts a shield divided into four sections: the first is a knight on horseback with a spear in his hand, killing a snake.
The second one shows a cypress with an eagle on the top. A princess in the third and the fourth one depicts a hound with two fleur-de-lis (a symbol that has appeared on countless European coats of arms and flags over the centuries. It is particularly associated with the French Monarchy in a historical context, and continues to appear in the arms of the King of Spain and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, members of the House of Bourbon) above it.
Mexico
A descendant of the Tagle family in the Mexican nobility was a founding member of the now defunct Mexican Imperial Family. The first Emperor of Mexico, Agustin I, married Ana María de Huarte y Muñiz, the daughter of the nobleman Isidro Huarte y Arrivillaga and Ana Manuela Muñíz y Sánchez de Tagle. She was the Grandaughter of the Marquis of Altamira. The aristocratic title of 'Marquis of Altamira' was created by favor of His Majesty King Philip V of Spain on the 23rd of December 1702. It was a promotion from the previous title of 'Vizcondado of Tagle' given to Don Luis Sánchez de Tagle, but certain records show that the family has held the title of 'Marquis' since the 1600’s during the time of Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, Marquis of Altamira and Knight of the Order of Calatrava. Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle is considered the Father of Tequila.
Emperor Agustin I of Mexico, born Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu, was originally a Mexican Army General who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821; decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence from Spain. Agustin’s father, Joaquín de Iturbide, came from a Basque noble family who received their title from King Juan II of Aragon. After the declaration of independence on September 28, 1821, it was the intention of the Mexican Parliament to establish a commonwealth whereby Ferdinand VII of Spain would also be Emperor of Mexico—both countries were to be governed by separate laws and with their own legislative offices.
Should the king refuse the position, the law provided for a member of the House of Bourbon to accede to the Mexican Throne. Ferdinand VII, however, did not recognize Mexico's independence and demanded that no other European prince take the throne of Mexico. After Mexico was declared and recognized as an independent state, Agustin Iturbide was backed and influenced by Mexico's conservadores who favored an independent Mexico with a monarch from one of the European Royal Families as head of state. When no European royals accepted Mexico's offer (as Spain still had hopes of taking Mexico back), Iturbide was persuaded by his advisers to be named Emperor in the manner of Napoleon I. Accounts stress that Iturbide initially rejected the offer in favor of persuading King Fernando VII of Spain to change his mind about ruling Mexico but then reluctantly accepted. Agustin Iturbide's official title was “Por la Divina Providencia y por el Congreso de la Nación, Primer Emperador Constitucional de México” which translates as “By Divine Providence and the National Congress, First Constitutional Emperor of Mexico". His coronation took place on July 21, 1822, in Mexico City.
Emperor Agustin I and Empress Ana Maria of Mexico founded the House of Iturbide which ruled Mexico from 1821 to 1823. The Royal House still continues today, but the male line died out with Agustín de Iturbide y Green and Salvador de Itúrbide y de Marzán—the two adoptive sons of the next emperor, Maximilian I of Mexico. The Imperial House is still continued today through the line of Don Salvador's daughter, Doña Maria Josepha Sophia de Iturbide, Princess Imperial of Mexico. The House of Iturbide holds no recognition from the Mexican government, not even in protocolary events.
Peru
From the mountains of Santander, a branch of the family went to Peru. One member of the family, Don Jose de Tagle y Bracho; who was then the Treasurer to the Spanish Royal Armada proved his nobility in 1715 in the Order of Santiago, Calatrava on 1734 and 1749 and in the Royal Chancery of Valladolid on 1721 , 1723, 1733, and in the Royal Society of Marine Guardias 1762 and was created Marquis of Torre Tagle on 26 November 1730 by the courtesy of His Majesty King Philip V of Spain and Juan Antonio Tagle y Bracho, Captain Militias of Lima, was created Count of Tagle in House of Trasierra on August 25 1744. Being one of the most powerful man in Peru and member of the most important aristocratic families in Spain, the Marquis of Torre Tagle issued the construction of a palace to serve as his personal residence. The majestic palace is the Torre Tagle Palace located in the city of Lima.
During the Peruvian War of Independence from Spain, a member of the Tagle Family played a very important role. The man accredited to this was José Bernardo de Tagle; 4th Marquis de Torre Tagle and Marquis of Trujillo. José Bernardo was the President of Peru from 1823 to 1824. Born in Lima, 21 March, 1779, he was the son of José Manuel Tagle y Isasaga; 3rd Marquis of Torre Tagle and María Mercedes Zamudio y Portocarrero; both aristocratic Peruvians of Spanish ancestors and belonged to one of the best and well known aristocratic families in Spain. He was also the Great-grandson of Don Jose Tagle y Bracho: 1st Marquis of Torre Tagle, and the man who issued the construction of the majestic Torre Tagle Palace. José Bernardo attained the rank of colonel of the army, and, being elected deputy to the Cortes, was sent to Spain in 1813 with special recommendation for his good services. Being promoted brigadier, he was appointed inspector of the army of Peru and intendant of the department of Trujillo.
When General José de San Martín landed in Peru, Tagle was the first Peruvian officer to hoist the national flag in the north, and on 24 December, 1820, proclaimed independence in Trujillo. On 26 July, 1822, he was appointed provisional president by San Martin when the latter went to meet Bolivar in Guayaquil. After the departure of San Martin for Chile, on 20 September, Tagle was elected member of the triumvirate under La March. Although some isolated stirrings for independence had manifested themselves earlier in Peru, San Martín's invasion persuaded the conservative creole intendant of Trujillo, José Bernardo de Tagle y Portocarrero, that Peru's liberation was at hand and that he should proclaim independence. It was symptomatic of the conservative nature of the viceroyalty that the internal forces now declaring for independence were led by a leading creole aristocrat, the 4th Marquis of Torre Tagle, whose monarchist sympathies for any future political order coincided with those of the Argentine liberator.
In January, 1823, congress appointed him President; but a military mutiny deposed him and proclaimed Riva Aguero on 28 February. After the deposition of the latter and his retreat to Trujillo, Tagle was appointed president by Antonio José de Sucre on 20 July, and elected by congress on 16 August, and Simón Bolívar, who on his arrival on 1 September, had been proclaimed dictator, left him in charge of the government.
When the garrison of Callao revolted, 5 February, 1824, for arrears of pay, and, Tagle failing to provide the necessary means, pronounced for Spain, Bolivar sent General Necochea to arrest him, and congress deposed him on 10 February. Fearing to be shot by order of a court-martial, he fled to Callao, where the rebels kept him a prisoner, and on the reoccupation of Lima by the Spaniards; he was offered the place as governor of the capital, but declined, preferring to remain a prisoner of war.
After the beginning of the siege of Callao, he tried several times to be admitted on board the blockading Chilean fleet, but Admiral Blanco Encalada refused to receive him except as a prisoner, and he perished with his whole family by the disease that was caused by the famine due to the protracted siege. Although he was not a traitor to his country, as charged by his enemies, he caused great misfortunes by his want of energy and vacillating policy.
Chile
In Chile, the Tagle Family also played great importance on the country’s politics. Francisco Ruiz-Tagle was a Chilean political figure. In 1830, he was briefly president of the country. Provisional President of Republic of Chile elected by Congress. He was born in Santiago; the son of Manuel Ruiz de Tagle y Jaraquemada and of María del Rosario Portales Larraín. In his youth and according to the social norms of the time, he also became a militia officer in the "Regimiento del Principe" (Prince's regiment). He married Rosario Larraín Rojas and had nine children. The son of a royalist family, he was a tepid participant in the Chilean War of Independence, specially during the period of the first Government Juntas. After the Battle of Maipu, he became an ardent independentist and joined the Conservative party.
Now, his descendant Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle has taken his mantle. Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle was the President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He is currently Senator for Los Ríos and was President of the Senate from 2006 to 2008. Frei Ruiz-Tagle is currently the candidate of the ruling Concertación coalition for the 2009 presidential election. The family of Chilean Ruiz-Tagle is a branch of the family of Spanish Tagle y Bracho, who had high social status in Peru in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and which belonged to the Marquis de Torre Tagle.
Philippines
In the Philippines where the country experienced 300 years of Spanish conquest, the Tagle family managed to find their way to the Spanish colony. One particular member of the family was Don Pedro Pérez de Tagle, an officer in the Spanish Royal Guards who settled in the Philippines about 200 years ago and would represent the colony at the Spanish Cortes at its opening in 1810. The members of the Tagle family are well known mestizos as they had married into Spanish-Tagalog mestizo families.
Nowadays the noble blood line of Tagle have conquered almost half of the entire world, spanning many generations and walks of life, traveling the world on an ocean voyage starting at Santander; Cantabria and sailing around to Peru and Southern America and getting as far as The Philippine Islands by going the long and only way around.

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