José Antonio de Gaztañeta

Lieutenant-General José Antonio de Gaztañeta e Iturribalzaga was a Spanish Navy officer. He was an innovator who applied a scientific approach to ship design, and was at the origin of the revival of the Spanish Navy in the eighteenth century. During the War of the Quadruple Alliance, he commanded the Spanish Mediterranean fleet at the Battle of Cape Passaro against the British Royal Navy on 11 August 1718 off the coast of Sicily, where Gaztañeta's fleet was decisively defeated. This led to his most important contribution in the field of ship building, the renovation and re-organisation of the Spanish Navy following its poor performance in the war. Gaztañeta also participated in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727 to 1729, where he successfully guided a Spanish fleet through the British blockade of Porto Bello in Panama.