Sancho d'Avila (21 September 1523-1583) was a Spanish general during the Dutch Revolt and the War of the Portuguese Succession.
Biography[]
Sancho d'Avila was born in 1523 in Avila, Spain, and he served as the Duke of Alba's bodyguard; he was responsible for the capture and execution of Lamoral, Count of Egmont in 1568, leading to the Dutch Revolt breaking out. D'Avila became a Spanish general during the ensuing conflict, and he slew Louis of Nassau and Henry of Nassau-Dillenburg at Mookerheyde in 1574 after delivering a crushing blow to the Dutch. In 1576, as commander of the Spanish troops in the Citadel of Antwerp, he was responsible for the "Spanish Fury", which left 7,000 Antverpians dead. In 1580, d'Avila assisted the Duke of Alba with the defeat of the Prior of Crato at Alcantara during the War of the Portuguese Succession, and he died of a wound infection in Lisbon in 1583 during a raid into Portugal.