Miguel Buiza Fernández-Palacios

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Miguel Buiza Fernández-Palacios (25 January 1898 – 23 June 1963) was a Spanish Navy officer best known for leading the Spanish Republican Navy during the Spanish Civil War. He died in exile in Marseille, France, in 1963.

Early life
Buiza came from a wealthy Seville family that owned factories. He entered the Naval Academy in 1915 and rose to lieutenant commander by 1932. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, he commanded the tugboat Cyclope (RA-1) and refused to join the pro‑Fascist coup of July 1936, staying loyal to the Republic. His brother Francisco fought for the rebels and was killed near Madrid early in the war.

Civil War
In August 1936, Buiza captained the light cruiser Libertad and helped blockade the Strait of Gibraltar. He also took part in the Battle of Majorca in support of a Republican landing at Porto Cristo. On 2 September 1936, he was named Captain General of the Republican Fleet by Navy Minister Indalecio Prieto, while still commanding the Libertad, at the age of 38.

After a difficult restructuring of the armed forces, Buiza was replaced as commander of the Navy following the 1938 Battle of Cape Cherchell, and Luis González de Ubieta was promoted to admiral. Buiza held various posts before being reinstated as Captain General of the Republican Armada in February 1939. On 5 March 1939, Segismundo Casado led a coup and proposed an armistice with the rebels; Buiza supported ending the war. That night, he evacuated the remaining Republican ships from Cartagena. The fleet headed toward the eastern Mediterranean, but French Algeria refused to let them in. The ships were anchored at Bizerte in Tunisia and ultimately impounded by French authorities. Most crew were interned in a Meheri Zabbens camp near Meknassy, and Buiza asked to be interned with the sailors rather than as a special case.

Exile and later life
In May 1939 Buiza joined the French Foreign Legion as a foreign officer with the rank of captain. At the start of World War II he had been promoted to commander, but in 1940 he resigned after the Second Armistice at Compiègne. Some sources say he was forced out by Vichy authorities because of his antifascist past. He settled in Oran, Algeria, working as an accountant in a hotel.

In 1947 Buiza was recruited by Zeev Hadari to assist Jewish refugee movement to Palestine (Aliyah Bet). Under the alias Moshé Blum, he commanded the merchant ship Geula (the former USS Paducah). On 2 October 1947 the ship was intercepted by the British and Buiza was arrested, interned near Haifa, and later released.

Afterward Buiza returned to Oran. Following Algeria’s independence in 1962, he joined the Pied-Noirs as they moved to France and settled in France. He died of lung cancer in Marseille in 1963 and was buried in Hyères, Var. His widow published a short obituary in the Spanish paper ABC soon after his death.

Rank and legacy
Buiza is often called an admiral because of his leadership of the Republican naval forces, but some sources say he never rose above the rank of captain (Capitán de Navío).

See also
- Cartagena Uprising
- Spanish Republican Navy
- Aliyah Bet