Rafael Maroto Yserns (15 October 1783-25 August 1853) was a Spanish general who served in the South American Wars of Liberation and the First Carlist War.
Biography[]
Rafael Maroto Yserns was born in Lorca, Murcia, Spain in 1783, and he served in the Spanish Army during the War of the Oranges and the Peninsular War before receiving a position in Peru amid the Chilean War of Independence. He married Antonia Cortes Garcia, a Chilean, in 1816 and battled the Chilean patriots until his defeat at the 1817 Battle of Chacabuco. Afterwards, he proclaimed the 1820 Spanish constitution in Charcas and suppressed the Potosi garrison's rebellion in 1821. In 1825, he resigned due to his rivalry with Jose de Canterac, and he fought for the Carlist cause during the First Carlist War. He escaped from liberal captivity with the help of friends and smugglers, commanding the Army of Biscay and later heading the Carlist forces in Catalonia. He became controversial for his execution of four generals who had allegedly conspired against him at Estella, and, after the Carlist cause's defeat, he resumed the rank of lieutenant-general. In 1846, he emigrated to Chile, inhabiting his late wife's hacienda at Concon until his death at Valparaiso in 1853.