Martínez de la Rosa, Francisco

Francisco Martínez de la Rosa, 1789-1862, was influenced by the French tastes that dominated Spanish drama during the early years of the nineteenth century. He went from Granada to Cadiz and later to England. This was a period of great conflict between Spain and France. The English sided with the Spanish resistance against the French occupiers of Spain. Martínez de la Rosa was one of them and spent periods of banishment in Africa and France, but in times of favor with the Spanish crown he served as Prime Minister. Late in his life he served as ambassador to Paris and Rome, and as Director of the Royal Spanish Academy of Letters. He died in Madrid in 1862.