Alonso de Contreras

Alonso de Contreras (Madrid, Spain, 6 January 1582 - 1641) was a Spanish soldier, spy, privateer, and writer, best known as the author of his autobiography; one of the very few autobiographies of Spanish soldiers under the Spanish Habsburgs and possibly one of the finest, together with the True History of the Conquest of New Spain (Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva España) by Bernal Diaz del Castillo.

He applied to different military forces to escape various crimes during his life, carving a career as a privateer and royal agent. During his first years he ventured into the waters of the Ottoman Empire, often with minor ships and crews, capitalizing on the changed strategic landscape after the Battle of Lepanto. He also deployed into the Atlantic and the Spanish Main, engaging and defeating English privateers. In his last years he became a Knight Hospitaller before writing his memoirs.