Patricio Montojo (7 September 1839 – 30 September 1917) was a Spanish naval officer who was most notable for his role in the attempted defense of the Philippines colony during the Spanish-American War.
Biography[]
Born in the northern region of Galicia in Spain, Montojo joined the Spanish Navy after graduating from the Naval School in Cadíz in 1855 and later fought in the Chincha Islands War. By the late 1870s Montojo received a staff posting at the Secretariat of the Admiralty. Afterwards he spent some time commanding the Havana naval station. As a rear admiral, Montojo was in command of the Spanish Armada's Pacific Squadron, based in the Philippines, which was destroyed in 1898 during the Battle of Manila Bay by the US Asiatic Squadron. For this defeat Montojo was court-martialed and discharged from the Spanish Navy.