The Spanish poet, dramatist, and statesman Angel de Saavedra, Duque de Rivas (1791-1865), is best known for his drama "Don Álvaro, or the Force of Destiny," which marked the triumph of romanticism in Spain.

Angel de Saavedra, later the Duque de Rivas, was born on March 10, 1791, in Cordova, the second son of a family of grandees. In 1800 the family moved to Madrid, where Saavedra studied at the Seminario de Nobles. In 1808, at the outbreak of the War of Independence against Napoleon, he joined the Castilian army. Badly wounded in 1809, he went to Cadiz, where he met Quintana and Martinez de la Rosa, two major literary figures. Between 1814 and 1820 he wrote drama and poetry in the classical manner, publishing various poems with the title Poesías in 1814.

By 1823 Saavedra had joined the liberals against the despotic rule of Ferdinand VII. He became a deputy and secretary of...