John of Austria

John of Austria, in Spanish, Juan de Austria (1547-1578), Spanish general, an illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, born in Regensburg, Germany. Charles recognized his son, who was commonly called Don Juan, in his will and entrusted him to the care of his legitimate son King Philip II of Spain. In 1568 John was given the command of a squadron that operated against the Barbary pirates of North Africa, and in 1569-1570 he suppressed a revolt of the Moors who were located in Granada. In 1571, when the pope, Spain, and Venice formed the Holy League to put down the Ottoman Turks, John was given supreme command of a large fleet of galleys, with which he won a great victory over the superior forces of the Turks at the naval Battle of Lepanto. He took Tunis from the Turks in 1573. In 1576 Philip II appointed him governor-general of the Netherlands, which at that time was rebelling against Spanish rule. In 1578 he defeated the Dutch in the Battle of Gembloux, but his campaign failed shortly before his death because of lack of Spanish support.