Alonso Perez de Guzman, who famously defended Tarifa from the Moors in the siege of 1294, when he sacrificed his son’s life to save the town, and was named El Bueno by the King as a reward. Guzman El Bueno was also given the rights to fish for tuna using the almadraba net system, which helped make his family’s fortune in the centuries that followed, and is still used to this day.
The title Duke of Medina Sidonia was bestowed on his descendant Juan Alonso Perez de Guzman in 1445, and the 7th Duke led the Spanish Armada against the British Navy (the title is still used today).
Guzman El Bueno has a mythical place in Spanish history, as someone who held out against the Moors despite extreme odds, and preferred to give up his own son than surrender.
