Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, Manuel, duque de la Alcudia

Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, duque de la Alcudia (1767-1851), was born in the province of Badajoz into a poor noble family. In 1784 he entered  the royal body guard and was then appointed minister of state of King Charles IV's government and granted the title of duque de la Alcudia in 1792. That same year William Carmichael, American chargé d'affaires in Madrid, and William Short were appointed commissioners to negotiate a treaty with Spain to solve territorial disputes between the two countries. After Carmichael's death in early 1795, Short, who was named minister plenipotentiary, continued corresponding with the duque de la Alcudia about diplomatic affairs, in particular Spanish seizures of American vessels, until his departure after the signing of the Treaty of San Lorenzo, also known as the Pinckney Treaty, in October 1795. Charles IV also granted Godoy the distinction of Prince of the Peace in recognition of his negotiating efforts to put an end to the War of the Pyrenées between Spain and France, in 1795.