Antonio Ricardos
(Barbastro, Spain, 1727-Madrid, 1794) Spanish military.Antonio Ricardos took part in the Italian campaigns of the War of the Austrian Succession, in which he achieved some renown.
Antonio Ricardos (detail of a portrait of Goya)
Close to the ideas of the Enlightenment, he dedicated a good part of his activity to the reorganization of the army, for which studied the Prussian model.Later, he applied his experience in various reforms both in Spain and in America and founded, in 1773, the Academia de Ocaña, from where he carried out, as inspector general, the restructuring of the cavalry.
A member of the "Aragonese party", his career at court followed in the wake of the Count of Aranda and, consequently, he faced the Count of Floridablanca.In 1778 he was exiled to Guipúzcoa, accused by the Inquisition.After being rehabilitated, he directed the operations against France as captain general of Catalonia, in which again in 1793 he proved his worth as a strategist.In spite of everything, his decision not to attack Perpignan caused considerable controversy.
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