Ancient Acuña History
The story of the Acuña’s begins in ancient times in the land we now know as Portugal & Spain on the Iberian Peninsula of southern Europe. The whole peninsula was part of the Roman Empire. The Romans called it Hispania. The Roman empire gave way to the Visigoths who ruled until 711. That year, the Moors came by sea from the continent of Africa and began to invade the peninsula. Their armies conquered all but the northern coast of Hispania. There, the Christian Kingdom of Asturias, stood ground against the invaders. From Asturias, Christian Kings sought to defend and reclaim the land. Under their leadership, Asturias restored Christian rule to the kingdoms of Galicia and León.
By the year 910 the three kingdoms of Asturias, Galicia, and León were ruled by one king, Don Alfonso III. In that year King Alfonso divided the kingdom between his three sons:
(Note: Don is not a proper name, but means “Sir” or “Lord”. Doña means “Lady”; Infante means “Prince” ; Infanta means “Princes.”)
Don Fruela II, Infante, was made King of Asturias
Don Ordoño II, Infante, was made King of Galicia
Don Garcia I, Infante, was made King of León
King Fruela II was born in 875. His Father was King Alfonso III of Asturias; and his mother was Queen Jimena of Navarre (Pamplona). King Fruela II married Doña Urraca of Tuleda. It is said that Doña Urraca was the daughter of the Banu Qasi governor of Tuleda.
King Fruela II maintained good relations with his brother Ordoño II. They cooperated in the “Reconquista,” the effort to drive the Moors from Iberia and reestablish Christian rule. When Ordoño died in 924, the nobles ignored his heirs and made Fruela II, king. Don Fruela consolidated the kingdoms. They would later become the Kingdom of Castile. He reigned a mere 14 months over the combined kingdoms and died in 925 and was buried in the Cathedral of Oviedo.
The Decendents of King FruelaII
Infante Aznar Fruela was the son of King Fruela II. Aznar was the father of Don Pelayo Fruela. Pelayo Fruela married Infanta Aldonza Ordoñez. the daughter of Don Sancho Ordoñez, King of León. They had a son, Pelayo Palaéz. He was lord of many estates in Asturias & Galicia and was known in
History with his brothers as the “Princes of Carrión.” Pelayo Palaéz married Doña Mayor Gonzales and had a son: Don Gutiérrez Palaéz. Don Gutiérrez married Doña Maria Pérez and their son became Count Pelayo Gutiérrez, known as “de Silva,” an abbreviation of his Titles: “Lord of La Quinta & Torre de Silva.”
Count Pelayo Gutiérrez, served King Alfonso Enríquez I of Portugal, which separated from the Kingdom of León in 1143. Count Pelayo was according to the chronicles of his time, “a brave and arduous Knight.” The Count fought along side his King in numerous battles against the Moors. It was during the Siege of Lisbon in 1147, that Count Pelayo, sealed the city gates under the cover of darkness, so that no one could escape the city. He did this by placing wedges in each of the gates of the city wall. On October 21st, 1147, after four months siege, the Moorish rulers agreed to surrender the city due to the hunger felt inside the walls. The Christians reclaimed Lisbon, and King Alfonso Enríquez I, honored Count Pelayo with the Portuguese title, “Senhor da Cunha,” (Señor de Acuña) The king granted Count Pelayo a coat of arms with nine azure wedges and bearing the blue shields of Portugal. He was given the Castle of Torresnobas.
King Alfonso III, of Asturias
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King Fruela II, of Asturias & Galicia
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Prince Aznar Fruela
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Don Pelayo Fruela –married- Princess Aldonza Ordoñez
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Don Pelayo Palaéz -married- Doña Mayor Gonzales
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Don Gutiérrez Palaéz –married- Doña Maria Pérez
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Count Pelayo Gutiérrez, “de Silva” “Senhor da Cunha”
-Married- Doña Usenda Herminguez Alboazar
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Fernando Palaéz “Senhor da Cunha”
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Don Lorenzo Fernándes da Cunha
(First to use the surname da Cunha)
Count Pelayo Gutiérrez married Doña Usenda Herminguez Alboazar (second wife) and their first son was Fernando Palaéz (sometimes spelled Fernán Páez). This son was the second “Senhor da Cunha,” and lived at Altura Cunha (Acuña Alta), which bore his name, in Portugal near the Monte de la Estrella. His decendants bore the surname da Cunha. It was his first son, Don Lorenzo Fernández da Cunha, who first used the surname.
Don Lorenzo Fernández da Cunha had five sons: Martín Vásques da Cunha, Gil Vásques da Cunha, Lope Vásques da Cunha, Vasco Martinez da Cunha, and Estéban Martinez da Cunha.
Three of the brothers: Martín, Gil, and Lope left Portugal for Spain in 1396. The King of Castile welcomed them with open arms.
Martín’s name was changed to the Castilian form: Martín Vásques de Acuña. He became the 1st Count of Valencia and built the 13th Century Castillo de los Acuña (Castle of the Acuña’s). He married Doña Maria de Portugal, daughter of Prince Juan and grand-daughter of King Pedro I of Portugal.
Lope left Portugal with his brothers. He also took the Spanish name “de Acuña.” It is from Lope Vásques de Acuña, that the counts of Buendia descend; as well as the Marquess of Vallecerrato.
Martín and Lope are the ancestors of all the Acuñas scattered across the earth. In the year 1520, King Carlos V, recognized the great Houses of Spain – 20 Houses corresponding to 25 surnames. Two of these great Houses descend from the House of Acuña through the female line: The Marques de Villena, with the last name Pacheco, and the House of Ureña, with the last name Gíron.
Gil Vásques da Cunha, left with his brothers for Spain, but he returned to Portugal 6 years later. He and his brothers, Vasco & Estéban are the ancestors of the Portugese Cunhas scattered across the earth.
The Acuñas have a rich heritage rooted in the royalty of the Kingdom of Asturias and the nobility of Spain. They are participants in the early history of Portugal and its capitol city, Lisbon. This link to Portugal is memorialized in the family coat of arms granted by the first king of Portugal. Acuñas in history include Captain Pedro de Acuña, who accompanied Hernan Cortéz in the conquest of Mexico and the Aztecs. Rodrigo de Acuña , accompanied Garcia de Loaisa 1525-27 in the first expedition to explore the Amazon of Brazil and the adventures of the ship San Gabriel in the almost unknown seas off South America.
Other notable Acuñas include, Pedro Bravo Acuña, appointed by Spain as governor of the Phillipines 1602-1606. Antonio Osorio de Acuña, Spanish ambassador to Rome. Hernando de Acuña, Spanish Poet.
This history compiled by Mark Acuña, Astoria, Oregon USA. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Permission granted to all descendants of the Acuña’s of Bisbee, Arizona, to copy and distribute unedited, without charge. All other uses by permission only.