Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta (3 February 1689 – 7 September 1741), also known as “Patapalo” (Pegleg), and later as “Mediohombre” (Half-man) for the many wounds suffered in his long military life, was a Spanish admiral, and one of the great strategists and commanders in the history of the Spanish Navy. He is best known for his defensive tactics at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias (1741) in modern-day Colombia, where Spanish forces crushed a far superior contingent of British maritime and ground forces.
Born in Pasaia, Gipuzkoa, Spain, Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta commenced his naval career in the French navy in 1701 as a midshipman. In 1704 he fought in the War of Spanish Succession as a crew member in the Franco-Spanish fleet which threw back the combined forces of Britain and Netherlands at the Battle of Vélez Málaga. There Lezo lost his left leg. He received a cannon-shot and he had his leg amputated under the knee without anesthesia and without saying a word or making a noise. Promoted to ensign, he was present at the battles off Peñíscola, Spain and Palermo in Sicily; his service in these and other actions resulted in his promotion to ship’s lieutenant. The defense of Toulon cost him his left eye. He demonstrated a shrewd command in a number of convoys, deceiving the Royal Navy off east Spanish coast. In 1711 he served in the Navy under the orders of Andrés de Pez. In 1713 he was promoted to captain. In 1714 he lost his right arm in the Siege of Barcelona. Later in this campaign, at the head of one frigate, he captured eleven British ships and privateers, including the East Indiaman Stanhope.
In 1730 he returned to Spain and was promoted to chief of the Mediterranean Fleet; with this force he went to the Republic of Genoa to enforce the payment of two million pesos owed to Spain that had been retained in the Bank of San Jorge. Deeming the honour of the Spanish flag to be at stake, Blas de Lezo menaced the city with bombardment.
In 1734 the king promoted him to Lieutenant General of the Navy. He returned to the Americas with the ships Fuerte and Conquistador in 1737 as General Commander of Cartagena de Indias, in modern-day Colombia. There, his greatly outnumbered forces defeated the British admiral Edward Vernon in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias (1741).
Admiral Don Blas de Lezo died, from an infection, just four months after Vernon’s withdrawal. The site of his grave is unknown.