FRANCISCO FERNÁNDEZ GOLFÍN
Francisco Fernández Golfín was the third son of Francisco-Lorenzo Fernández Ulloa, the 4th Marquis of La Encomienda and Catalina Casimira Golfín Fernández. He was born on November 20, 1767. He joined the Badajoz Provincial Regiment as a cadet in 1786 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1794, taking part in the war against the French Republic. In 1796, he was promoted to captain. He participated in the War of Portugal and was defending Madrid in 1808. Continuing his military career, he was assigned as a colonel to the General Staff of the III Division in 1811.
In 1812, he was elected as a deputy to the Cortes of Cádiz. He was executed by firing squad on the beaches of Málaga, along with the rest of the rebels led by General Torrijos, in 1831.
As a deputy for Extremadura in the General and Extraordinary Cortes (1810-1813), he was elected on July 23, 1810, at the Palacio de la Junta Superior de Badajoz and took the oath of office on September 24.
A prominent liberal, he actively participated in the Cortes and was a member of the commission of five deputies responsible for drafting the Internal Regulations of the Cortes (September 25, 1810) and the War Regulations (October 4, 1810).
He was one of the signatories of the Constitution of 1812. With the return of absolutism, he was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in the Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante, according to a decree signed by Fernando VII himself.
As a member of the Freemasonry with the pseudonym Baleris, during the Liberal Triennium, he served as the political leader of Alicante and was once again elected as a deputy for Extremadura in the Cortes of 1820-1822, where he continued to stand out as a forefront figure of liberalism. He unsuccessfully tried to promote a project recognizing the independence of the American colonies.
After the absolutist reaction of 1824, he went into exile. In 1831, while being a member of the Junta in Lisbon, he was one of those who offered the Spanish Crown to Don Pedro, the Emperor of Brazil. In the same year, he joined Torrijos' expedition, assisting from Tangier, along with former consul Zenón de Orúe, in obtaining provisions and reinforcements for their attempt.
However, captured in Malaga, he was executed by firing squad at the age of sixty and almost blind. The painter Gisbert immortalised this painful scene.
Ubication: C/ Ricardo Romero, 7
