# Churruca — Trafalgar character guide

> Churruca in Trafalgar by Benito Pérez Galdós.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the hapless Churruca

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A brilliant, melancholy Spanish admiral who foresees his own death at Trafalgar and refuses to surrender his ship, even to the bottom of the sea.

## Who they are

Churruca appears first as a guest at Doña Flora's, handsome and strong but marked by an intense sadness, and later as the subject of Malespina's harrowing account of the battle. He had voted against sailing, distrusted Villeneuve, and told his brother-in-law he would blow up his ship rather than strike. His death at forty-four, after twenty-nine years as soldier, navigator, and man of science, becomes the novel's emblem of doomed honor and the human cost of bad command.

## Relationships

### [Don Alonso Gutierrez de Cisniega](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/don_alonso_gutierrez_de_cisniega)

_professional_

Churruca and Don Alonso are fellow Spanish naval officers, likely colleagues in the fleet.

### [Godoy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/godoy)

_professional_

Churruca and Godoy interact as a naval commander and the Spanish prime minister, with tension over military decisions.

### [Flora de Cisniega](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/flora_de_cisniega)

_romantic_

Churruca and Flora de Cisniega share a romantic relationship, with Churruca being her suitor or lover.

### [Napoleon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/napoleon)

_rivalry_

Churruca and Napoleon are enemies in the Napoleonic Wars, with Churruca opposing French imperial ambitions.

### [Don Alonso Gutierrez de Cisniega](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/don_alonso_gutierrez_de_cisniega)

_professional_

Churruca and Don Alonso are fellow Spanish naval officers, likely colleagues in the fleet.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as the friend who sent Don Alonso a letter about the fleet's plans.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/viii)

Visits Don Alonso and Doña Flora; passionately describes his ship the San Juan Nepomuceno and recounts the council of war where he and other Spanish commanders opposed Villeneuve's plan to sail.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xii)

Reported killed in the battle.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xiii)

Churruca is the heroic commander of the Nepomuceno, who dies in battle after inspiring his crew with religious and military fervor.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xiv)

The narrator recalls Churruca's noble life and untimely death at age 44, remembering his sad expression at Doña Flora's house.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/churruca
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters