WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.860 I want you to picture a Venn diagram in your 00:00:01.860 --> 00:00:04.179 head. And in the circle on the left, you're going 00:00:04.179 --> 00:00:07.179 to put the American founding fathers. OK. So 00:00:07.179 --> 00:00:10.300 think, you know, wool coats, powered wigs, Independence 00:00:10.300 --> 00:00:13.419 Hall, the whole rejection of monarchy and the 00:00:13.419 --> 00:00:15.640 birth of a brand new republic. Right, right. 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.539 The all men are created equal crowd revolutionaries. 00:00:18.579 --> 00:00:22.239 Exactly. Now, in the circle on the right. visualize 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:26.699 the absolute highest, most rigid echelon of 19th 00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:29.559 century Spanish nobility. Oh, wow. Yeah. We are 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:33.460 talking dukes, grandees of Spain, the royal court 00:00:33.460 --> 00:00:36.539 of Queen Isabella II, ancient bloodlines, and 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:39.320 extreme hierarchy. Which is, I mean, a world 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:41.759 that is diametrically opposed to everything the 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:43.399 founding fathers stood for. You would assume 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:45.820 these two circles do not touch at all. They are 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:47.340 different worlds, different centuries, different 00:00:47.340 --> 00:00:50.500 philosophies. But today for this deep dive, we're 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:52.780 going to talk about the one man who sits right 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:56.159 in the tiny microscopic sliver where those two 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:59.200 circles overlap. It really is one of those historical 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:02.159 paradoxes that makes you do a double take. Because 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:05.340 we're looking at a figure who perfectly bridges 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:08.560 the gap between revolutionary Philadelphia and 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.280 aristocratic Madrid. We're talking about a man 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:14.159 born in Washington, D .C., a man whose grandfather 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:16.439 signed the U .S. Declaration of Independence, 00:01:16.700 --> 00:01:18.780 and yet he grew up to become the prime minister 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:21.439 of Spain. It sounds like alternative history 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:24.599 fiction. But the historical records and biographical 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:26.840 lists are completely clear on this. His full 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:29.680 name is Don Carlos Fernando Martinez de Urujo 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:31.560 y McKeon. Who would eventually become the Duke 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:34.180 of Sotomayor. Just hearing that name, Martinez 00:01:34.180 --> 00:01:36.819 de Urujo y McKeon, you can practically hear the 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:39.200 collision of cultures. And that is our mission 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:41.469 today. We aren't just reading a standard biography 00:01:41.469 --> 00:01:43.569 here. No, definitely not. We are digging into 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:46.329 biographical records, genealogical lists, and 00:01:46.329 --> 00:01:49.030 political rosters from Queen Isabella II's reign. 00:01:49.230 --> 00:01:51.730 We want to see how a single lineage can connect 00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:54.739 Thomas McKeon to the modern House of Alba. It's 00:01:54.739 --> 00:01:57.459 a fascinating case study in what historians call 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.599 transatlantic history. We often think of history 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:03.099 as happening in these neat little silos, you 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:04.859 know, American history here, Spanish history 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:07.859 over there. But this deep dive proves that the 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:10.979 elite classes of the 19th century were incredibly 00:02:10.979 --> 00:02:14.039 fluid. So let's unpack this life because it starts 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:15.939 in a place that I think really sets the tone 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:18.879 for the whole contradiction. December 14th, 1802, 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.280 Washington, D .C. We really have to pause and 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:25.479 visualize Washington, D .C. in 1802 because this 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:27.439 isn't the city of marble monuments that you know 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:29.460 today. Not at all. It was a construction site. 00:02:29.710 --> 00:02:32.210 I mean, it was often described as a city of magnificent 00:02:32.210 --> 00:02:35.289 intentions. But in reality, it was muddy roads, 00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:38.169 swampy terrain, half -built government buildings. 00:02:38.550 --> 00:02:40.590 The United States government had only just moved 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:42.810 there from Philadelphia two years prior. So in 00:02:42.810 --> 00:02:45.289 this raw, brand -new capital of a brand -new 00:02:45.289 --> 00:02:48.330 republic, a baby boy named Carlos is born. Now, 00:02:48.349 --> 00:02:49.889 his father fits the description of what you'd 00:02:49.889 --> 00:02:52.409 expect in a European court. Carlos Martinez de 00:02:52.409 --> 00:02:55.169 Urujo y Erice, the first Marqués of Casa Urujo. 00:02:55.229 --> 00:02:58.409 He was a diplomat. Specifically, he was the minister 00:02:58.409 --> 00:03:01.889 of Spain to the United States. So he's over there 00:03:01.889 --> 00:03:04.169 representing the Spanish crown, representing 00:03:04.169 --> 00:03:06.689 the old world right in the heart of the new world. 00:03:06.830 --> 00:03:09.430 But the mother, and this is where the plot really 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:12.550 twists, her name was Sarah McKeon. And for anyone 00:03:12.550 --> 00:03:15.050 who knows their early American history, that 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:19.330 surname, McKeon, is heavy. It's monumental. According 00:03:19.330 --> 00:03:22.330 to the biographical records, Sarah McKean was 00:03:22.330 --> 00:03:24.590 the daughter of Thomas McKean. We need to make 00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:27.530 sure we appreciate who Thomas McKean was. He 00:03:27.530 --> 00:03:29.409 wasn't just a guy who signed a piece of paper. 00:03:29.550 --> 00:03:32.349 He was a titan of the American Revolution. He 00:03:32.349 --> 00:03:34.650 was a delegate to the Continental Congress. He 00:03:34.650 --> 00:03:36.689 served as the president of Congress for a time, 00:03:36.770 --> 00:03:38.710 and he was the governor of Pennsylvania. The 00:03:38.710 --> 00:03:40.710 sources specifically highlight that he was a 00:03:40.710 --> 00:03:42.990 signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:45.889 Which means he was a man who legally and publicly 00:03:46.090 --> 00:03:48.729 committed treason against the King of England 00:03:48.729 --> 00:03:51.909 because he believes so fiercely in self -governance. 00:03:52.009 --> 00:03:54.490 Right. And we should also mention Carlos's grandmother, 00:03:54.830 --> 00:03:57.409 Sarah Armitage McKeon, who was the first lady 00:03:57.409 --> 00:04:00.069 of Pennsylvania. So you have the daughter of 00:04:00.069 --> 00:04:03.009 this radical Democratic family marrying a Spanish 00:04:03.009 --> 00:04:04.930 Marquess. It was actually the talk of the town. 00:04:05.069 --> 00:04:07.930 In that early federal period, even though the 00:04:07.930 --> 00:04:10.949 Americans had rejected titles, the American elite... 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:13.919 And the European diplomatic corps mingled constantly. 00:04:14.060 --> 00:04:16.199 It was a massive power match. But think about 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:19.360 the identity crisis for young Carlos. He is born 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:22.500 an American citizen in Washington, D .C. He literally 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:25.459 has the DNA of the American Revolution. But he 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:28.639 is the heir to a Spanish noble title. And eventually, 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:31.939 the Spanish side of his heritage wins out. The 00:04:31.939 --> 00:04:34.920 family moves back to Europe. Carlos leaves the 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:37.060 land of his grandfather to enter the land of 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:39.259 his father. That transition must have been jarring, 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:41.519 going from the rough and tumble democracy of 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:44.459 the U .S. to the rigid court of Madrid. Immense 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:46.939 culture shock. Spain in the early 19th century 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:49.199 was deeply traditional. It was hierarchical. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:52.220 But Carlos wasn't entering as an outsider. He 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:54.459 was the son of a Marquess. He had the pedigree 00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:57.040 to fit in, even if his middle name was McKeon. 00:04:57.139 --> 00:04:58.779 Let's talk about that name again, because it's 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:01.899 so unique. The source lists him fully as Carlos 00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:05.560 Fernando Martinez de Ruja y McKeon. Right, which 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:08.079 follows the traditional Spanish naming custom, 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:10.519 where you take the paternal surname first and 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:12.819 the maternal surname second. But when you look 00:05:12.819 --> 00:05:15.240 at the historical lists of Spanish nobility from 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:18.000 that era, lists that are just full of names like 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:21.579 Guzmán, Toledo, Bourbon, seeing McKeon right 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:23.680 there in the middle is striking. It definitely 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:25.639 stands out. It's a permanent stamp of his dual 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:28.500 heritage sitting amongst these ancient Iberian 00:05:28.500 --> 00:05:31.759 lineages. So he grows up and the records show 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:35.120 that in 1824, he succeeds his father. He officially 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:37.939 becomes the second Marquess of Casa y Rujo. Which 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:40.439 is a very respectable title. Being a marquess 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:42.379 gets you invited to the right parties. It gives 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:45.399 you real social standing. But Carlos was clearly 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:48.279 ambitious. He wasn't content with just inheriting 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:50.779 his father's status. He wanted to climb higher. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:52.699 And the most effective way to do that in the 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:55.439 19th century, as in many centuries before, was 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:58.980 marriage. Strategic marriage. Exactly. In 1844, 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:02.120 he marries Gabriela de la Cazar. And she wasn't 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:05.259 just anyone. She was the seventh duchess of Sotomayor. 00:06:05.709 --> 00:06:07.930 This is a crucial pivot point in his life, and 00:06:07.930 --> 00:06:10.189 the sources use a very specific legal term here, 00:06:10.709 --> 00:06:13.610 jura uxoris. Yes, I saw that in the records, 00:06:13.829 --> 00:06:16.490 jura uxoris. It sounds like something straight 00:06:16.490 --> 00:06:19.110 out of a medieval law textbook. How did that 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:21.509 actually work in practice? It translates to by 00:06:21.509 --> 00:06:25.430 right of his wife. See, Gabriela was the duchess 00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:27.870 in her own right. She held the title. But under 00:06:27.870 --> 00:06:29.870 the laws and customs of the Spanish nobility 00:06:29.870 --> 00:06:32.629 at the time, when a man married a woman who held 00:06:32.629 --> 00:06:35.610 a peerage, He effectively assumed the administration 00:06:35.610 --> 00:06:38.470 and the dignity of that title during their marriage. 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:41.089 So he became the Duke of Sotomayor strictly because 00:06:41.089 --> 00:06:43.250 he married the Duchess. Exactly. He wasn't born 00:06:43.250 --> 00:06:45.870 a duke. He didn't inherit the duke from his father. 00:06:45.970 --> 00:06:49.189 He acquired it through this alliance. And Sotomayor 00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:51.509 isn't just a random title. The records note that 00:06:51.509 --> 00:06:54.209 through this marriage in 1844, he attained the 00:06:54.209 --> 00:06:56.970 status of Grandee of Spain. We hear that term 00:06:56.970 --> 00:06:59.110 grandee thrown around in historical dramas all 00:06:59.110 --> 00:07:01.209 the time. But break down what it actually meant 00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:04.370 to be a grandee in 1840s Spain. Was it just a 00:07:04.370 --> 00:07:07.089 fancy badge you wore? Oh, no. It was the absolute 00:07:07.089 --> 00:07:09.449 highest dignity in the Spanish peerage. It sat 00:07:09.449 --> 00:07:12.089 just below the royal family itself. And historically, 00:07:12.230 --> 00:07:14.370 it came with a lot of highly guarded courtesies. 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:16.529 Like what? Well, the most fairest privilege was 00:07:16.529 --> 00:07:18.589 the right to keep your hat on in the presence 00:07:18.589 --> 00:07:21.009 of the king or queen. Which, to a modern ear, 00:07:21.149 --> 00:07:23.529 sounds like a really minor fashion choice. It 00:07:23.529 --> 00:07:25.589 does. But I promise you, it symbolized something 00:07:25.589 --> 00:07:28.550 huge. It symbolized that you were not just a 00:07:28.550 --> 00:07:30.970 regular subject. You were considered a cousin 00:07:30.970 --> 00:07:33.889 to the monarch of the official address. But practically 00:07:33.889 --> 00:07:36.829 speaking, beyond the hat, it meant access. Access 00:07:36.829 --> 00:07:40.370 to power. Yes. Grandees had privileged access 00:07:40.370 --> 00:07:43.050 to the royal palace and to the inner circle of 00:07:43.050 --> 00:07:45.509 the government. In a system where the monarch 00:07:45.509 --> 00:07:48.850 still held significant sway, having that access 00:07:48.850 --> 00:07:51.449 was everything. It defined your political leverage. 00:07:52.009 --> 00:07:54.290 So let's quickly recap this climb because it's 00:07:54.290 --> 00:07:56.949 wild. The grandson of a U .S. revolutionary leaves 00:07:56.949 --> 00:08:00.209 America, inherits the title of Marquess, marries 00:08:00.209 --> 00:08:02.930 a duchess, and by right of his wife becomes a 00:08:02.930 --> 00:08:05.569 grandee of Spain and one of the highest ranking 00:08:05.569 --> 00:08:08.209 nobles in all of Europe. It's a meteoric rise. 00:08:08.550 --> 00:08:11.470 And that immense social elevation is exactly 00:08:11.470 --> 00:08:13.329 what positioned him for his political career. 00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:15.389 He simply couldn't be a prime minister in this 00:08:15.389 --> 00:08:17.410 era without that kind of heavyweight aristocratic 00:08:17.410 --> 00:08:19.939 backing. And that leads us directly into the 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:22.339 next part of our DUP dive, the political career, 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:24.720 because he didn't just sit around wearing his 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:27.139 hat in front of the queen. He actually ran the 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:29.519 country. He did. The source documents identify 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:31.699 him as the president of the Council of Ministers. 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:34.019 Which is the formal title for the prime minister 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:36.639 of Spain. Correct. The head of government. But 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:39.100 I have to point out the dates listed in the sources 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:41.600 here, because if you blink, you miss it. He takes 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:45.480 office on January 28th, 1847. Okay. And he leaves 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:49.139 office on March 28th, 1847. Exactly two months. 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:51.970 Two months. Now, if you look at modern politics, 00:08:52.169 --> 00:08:55.690 if a leader lasts two months, we assume there 00:08:55.690 --> 00:08:58.509 was a massive scandal or a total collapse of 00:08:58.509 --> 00:09:00.789 government. Was he just terrible at the job? 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:02.990 No, not necessarily. And this is where we have 00:09:02.990 --> 00:09:04.970 to look closely at the historical list of prime 00:09:04.970 --> 00:09:07.370 ministers under Queen Isabella II that the source 00:09:07.370 --> 00:09:10.669 provides. If you look at that list, it reads 00:09:10.669 --> 00:09:13.169 like a ticker tape. It is a complete revolving 00:09:13.169 --> 00:09:15.990 door. Yeah, I see names just flying by on this 00:09:15.990 --> 00:09:19.659 list. Estudis Pacheco Narvaez. Exactly. You see 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:22.279 a really high turnover rate. He was preceded 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:25.100 by Francisco Javier de Asturias and succeeded 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:28.340 by Joaquin Francisco Pacheco. Spain was going 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:31.080 through intense growing pains during this era. 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:33.620 You had a constitutional monarchy that was constantly 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:36.139 being tugged at by different factions, palace 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:39.539 intrigues, military generals launching soft coups. 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:42.559 It was chaotic. So lasting two months wasn't 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:45.059 a personal failure. It was practically the norm. 00:09:45.529 --> 00:09:47.470 The fact that he was appointed at all shows he 00:09:47.470 --> 00:09:49.590 was a heavy hitter. He was brought in to try 00:09:49.590 --> 00:09:52.470 and balance these warring factions. And the political 00:09:52.470 --> 00:09:55.090 rosters show he wasn't just a figurehead. He 00:09:55.090 --> 00:09:57.029 was also serving as minister of state during 00:09:57.029 --> 00:09:59.870 that exact same two -month window. Right, pulling 00:09:59.870 --> 00:10:02.409 double duty. Managing Spain's foreign affairs 00:10:02.409 --> 00:10:04.610 while simultaneously trying to keep the domestic 00:10:04.610 --> 00:10:06.429 government from falling apart. And he didn't 00:10:06.429 --> 00:10:08.570 just disappear after March. He came back to the 00:10:08.570 --> 00:10:11.190 cabinet. He did. The records show he returned 00:10:11.190 --> 00:10:14.639 later that same year. in October 1847, serving 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:16.899 strictly as Minister of State this time. And 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:20.720 he held that post until July 29th, 1848. Serving 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:22.539 under the Duke of Valencia, according to the 00:10:22.539 --> 00:10:25.559 list. Yes, and preceding the Marqués Appeal. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:28.820 Operating at that level, alongside the most powerful 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:31.519 politicians in Spain. really proves he was a 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:34.279 serious political operator. Now, the Soros categories 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:36.960 classified him as a politician of the moderate 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.620 party. And as impartial observers of these historical 00:10:40.620 --> 00:10:43.899 texts, we have to look at what that meant. It's 00:10:43.899 --> 00:10:46.120 an interesting label given his background. His 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:49.299 grandfather, Thomas McKeon, was a radical Republican. 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:52.240 You'd almost expect the grandson to lean toward 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.480 the progressive factions. It is a fascinating 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:57.360 paradox. But we're just looking at the facts 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:00.279 of the era. The moderate party in mid -19th century 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:03.120 Spain wasn't moderate in the modern centrist 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:04.799 way we use the word today. They were the party 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:07.789 of order. Right. Based on historical classifications, 00:11:07.889 --> 00:11:09.529 they supported the monarchy, they supported the 00:11:09.529 --> 00:11:11.450 church, and they fiercely protected property 00:11:11.450 --> 00:11:14.230 rights. They wanted a constitution, sure, but 00:11:14.230 --> 00:11:16.570 they wanted a strong central authority to prevent 00:11:16.570 --> 00:11:19.289 social chaos. So while Thomas McKeon was actively 00:11:19.289 --> 00:11:21.570 fighting against a king to create a republic, 00:11:21.830 --> 00:11:24.470 his grandson was fighting to uphold a queen and 00:11:24.470 --> 00:11:26.909 maintain conservative order. Precisely. They 00:11:26.909 --> 00:11:28.850 operate in completely different political systems. 00:11:29.210 --> 00:11:31.590 We should also mention his other major role listed 00:11:31.590 --> 00:11:34.250 in the categories. He was the ambassador of Spain 00:11:34.250 --> 00:11:37.389 to France. Which was a massive appointment. In 00:11:37.389 --> 00:11:39.750 the mid -19th century, Paris was the center of 00:11:39.750 --> 00:11:42.169 the diplomatic universe. Being the ambassador 00:11:42.169 --> 00:11:44.509 to France was arguably more prestigious than 00:11:44.509 --> 00:11:46.730 being a domestic cabinet minister. He was the 00:11:46.730 --> 00:11:48.990 face of Spain in the most important capital in 00:11:48.990 --> 00:11:51.730 Europe, a guy born in Washington, D .C. He really 00:11:51.730 --> 00:11:53.730 embodied the international nature of the elite 00:11:53.730 --> 00:11:56.370 classes at the time. He wasn't defined by a single 00:11:56.370 --> 00:11:58.899 border. Now, I want to pivot to the final part 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:01.840 of our deep dive, the lineage and the legacy, 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:04.440 because this is where the story connects to the 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:06.220 present day in a way that is just incredible. 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:08.860 We've looked at his American ancestors. Let's 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:10.639 look at his Spanish descendants. This is where 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:13.320 the genealogical lists get really fun. So the 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:15.340 records detail the issue of his marriage to the 00:12:15.340 --> 00:12:17.460 Duchess of Sotomayor. They had children. Yes. 00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:20.980 The sources list a son, Carlos Martinez de Grujo 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:25.409 y de la Casa, who lived from 1846 to 1909. And 00:12:25.409 --> 00:12:28.370 a daughter, Maria de Apia Martinez de Rujo y 00:12:28.370 --> 00:12:31.070 del Alcázar. And the son basically continues 00:12:31.070 --> 00:12:34.169 the family business, right? He becomes the eighth 00:12:34.169 --> 00:12:36.889 Duke of Sotomayor and the third Marqués of Casa 00:12:36.889 --> 00:12:39.710 de Rujo. Right, keeping those heavy titles securely 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:42.190 in the family. Yeah. And the daughter, Maria, 00:12:42.450 --> 00:12:45.350 married the sixth Marquis of La Romana. But the 00:12:45.350 --> 00:12:49.269 source explicitly reveals a connection to the 00:12:49.269 --> 00:12:53.429 modern House of Alba. Yes. This is the big genealogical 00:12:53.429 --> 00:12:55.590 reveal. For listeners who might not track European 00:12:55.590 --> 00:12:57.769 nobility, can you explain what the House of Elda 00:12:57.769 --> 00:13:00.799 is? The House of Alba is one of the most prominent, 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:04.159 wealthy, and famous noble houses in Europe today. 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:06.860 They're deeply woven into the fabric of Spanish 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:09.320 history. And Carlos, our American -born prime 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:11.740 minister, is connected to them. He is a direct 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:14.480 male line ancestor of the reigning Duke of Alba. 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:16.580 That is just wild to think about. That connects 00:13:16.580 --> 00:13:18.620 the signer of the U .S. Declaration of Independence 00:13:18.620 --> 00:13:21.139 directly to one of the most famous aristocratic 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:23.980 families in modern Europe. Exactly. If you trace 00:13:23.980 --> 00:13:26.500 the family tree, it goes from Independence Hall 00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:29.570 in Philadelphia through Sarah McKeon to the prime 00:13:29.570 --> 00:13:32.070 minister born in D .C., straight down to the 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:34.230 current House of Alba. Before we wrap up his 00:13:34.230 --> 00:13:36.990 life, there is one last honor mentioned in the 00:13:36.990 --> 00:13:38.809 biographical records that we have to touch on. 00:13:39.210 --> 00:13:42.210 It says he was a knight of the Golden Fleece 00:13:42.210 --> 00:13:45.970 of Spain. Ah, yes. The Order of the Golden Fleece. 00:13:45.990 --> 00:13:47.909 That sounds like Greek mythology. It is based 00:13:47.909 --> 00:13:51.000 on the myth, yes. But historically, it is a very 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:53.960 real, very prestigious order of chivalry. It's 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:56.700 not just a standard royal commendation. Definitely 00:13:56.700 --> 00:13:59.299 not. It is one of the highest orders of knighthood 00:13:59.299 --> 00:14:02.399 in the world. To be inducted as a Knight of the 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.559 Golden Fleece is the ultimate stamp of approval 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:07.159 from the European establishment. And he achieved 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:09.840 all of this, the dukedom, the prime ministership, 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.740 the Golden Fleece by the time he died in 1855. 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:15.539 According to the records, he died in Madrid on 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:19.470 December 26, 1855. He was only 53 years old. 00:14:19.690 --> 00:14:21.830 It's a relatively short life, but look at the 00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:24.769 sheer distance he covered. Born in 1802 in Washington, 00:14:24.950 --> 00:14:27.490 D .C., carrying the blood of American revolutionaries. 00:14:27.830 --> 00:14:30.789 He crosses the ocean, navigates the treacherous 00:14:30.789 --> 00:14:33.250 politics of the Spanish court, marries into the 00:14:33.250 --> 00:14:35.909 highest nobility, and ends up as the head of 00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:38.610 the Spanish government. It really is an incredible 00:14:38.610 --> 00:14:42.710 summary. A boy from D .C. who became a duke, 00:14:42.769 --> 00:14:45.730 a knight of the golden fleece, and a prime minister. 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:49.159 It challenges the rigid boxes we usually put 00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:52.460 history into. It does. Our key takeaway from 00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:54.600 these sources is that history is often less about 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:58.279 rigid borders and more about these fluid transatlantic 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:00.679 networks of families and influence. It makes 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:02.679 you wonder what else we are missing when we just 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:05.200 look at standard national histories. Well, that's 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:06.779 the provocative thought I want to leave everyone 00:15:06.779 --> 00:15:09.320 with today. If a descendant of a signer of the 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:11.179 Declaration of Independence could become the 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:13.039 prime minister of Spain just two generations 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:16.679 later. How many other American lineages are currently 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:19.360 woven into the highest levels of European history? 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.679 Hidden in plain sight. Exactly. Connections we 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:25.019 simply haven't noticed because we only look at 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.000 history through the lens of strict national borders. 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:29.500 Well, that brings us to the end of this deep 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:31.840 dive into the life of the Duke of Södermeyer. 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:34.480 A massive thank you to you for helping us connect 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:37.159 all these historical dots today. It was a pleasure 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:39.220 digging into the records with you. And thank 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:41.740 you for listening. Keep asking questions and 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:43.480 we will catch you on the next deep dive.