Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (August 2011) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at [[:es:Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|es|Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán
Born	25 March 1744 Burgos, Spain
Died	4 April 1816(1816-04-04) (aged 72) Madrid, Spain
Allegiance	Spanish Empire
Service / branch	Spanish Royal Navy
Battles / wars	Siege of Havana
Secretary of State for Navy of Spain
In office 9 March 1783 – 13 November 1795
Monarchs	Charles III Charles IV
First Secretary of State	Count of Floridablanca Count of Aranda Manuel Godoy
Preceded by	Pedro González de Castejón
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Secretary of State for War, Treasury, Commerce and Navigation of Indies of Spain
In office 8 July 1787 – 25 April 1790
Monarchs	Charles III Charles IV
First Secretary of State	Count of Floridablanca
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Position abolished

Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán (25 March 1744 – 4 April 1816) was a Spanish navy officer of the Royal Navy.^[1]

He entered the navy at the age of 13. He distinguished himself in the defence of Morro Castle and San Salvador de la Punta Fortress during the Battle of Havana (1762). He also fought against the Barbary Coast pirates in 1767.

In 1781, he became director of the Royal Artillery Factory of La Cavada, and reorganised it to that extent that he was promoted to become inspector general of the Spanish Navy. In 1783, at the age of 38, he became Navy Minister and continued the modernisation of the Spanish Navy.

In 1785, among 12 flags that he drew, one was chosen to become the Spanish naval ensign flag by Charles III.

He became a knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1797.

The settlements of Valdez, Alaska and Valdez, Florida were named after him, as well as Bazan Bay in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The oil tanker Exxon Valdez, that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound spilling its cargo of crude oil into the sea on March 24, 1989, was named after the Alaskan town which had been named after Valdés.