Casto Méndez Núñez

Casto Secundino María Méndez Núñez (July 1, 1824 – August 21, 1869) was a Spanish naval officer. In 1866 during the Chincha Islands War between Spain, Peru and Chile, he was general commander of the Spanish fleet in the Pacific. As such, he bombarded and destroyed the port of Valparaíso, and fought the Battle of Callao (during which he was injured nine times).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Méndez and the second or maternal family name is Núñez.
Casto Méndez Núñez

When Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, the American Minister to Chile, learned that Commodore Méndez Núñez was to bombard the port of Valparaíso, he asked the American naval commander Commodore John Rodgers to attack the Spanish fleet. Méndez Núñez famously responded with "I will be forced to sink [the US ships], because even if I have one ship left I will proceed with the bombardment. Spain, the Queen and I prefer honor without ships than ships without honor (España prefiere honra sin barcos a barcos sin honra.)"

Spanish Navy ships

Four Spanish Navy warships were named Méndez Núñez in his honour, including:

The municipality of Mendez, Cavite, Philippines, was also named in his honor.

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Casto Méndez Núñez.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.