José de Salamanca, 1st Count of los Llanos

Salamanca studied philosophy and law at the Colegio de San Bartolomé y Santiago in Granada, finishing his studies in 1828. It was probably in Granada that he first met groups opposed to the absolutist regime of Ferdinand VII, including Mariana Pineda, who became a martyr for the Spanish liberals when she was tried and condemned to death in 1831.

Shortly after his return to his native Málaga, the liberal general José María Torrijos was detained for an attempted coup. Salamanca was probably involved in the coup; he went to Madrid in an unsuccessful attempt to seek a royal pardon for Torrijos. His revolutionary ardor was calmed for a time and, thanks to his father's friendship with Francisco Cea Bermúdez, the President of the Council of Ministers (effectively, prime minister), he was made mayor of Monòver, (province of Alicante) in 1833.

That year Ferdinand VII died, bringing to power his wife, Maria Christina, as regent for the three-year-old queen Isabella II. The revolutionary movements of the regency era first propelled the future marquess onto the national scene. In 1835 he was named mayor of Vera (province of Almería); while there he married Petronila Livermore y Salas. After serving as mayor of Vera, he was chosen to represent the province of Almería in the Revolutionary Government at Seville.

In 1837 the Mutiny of La Granja de San Ildefonso forced Maria Christina to restore the liberal Constitution of 1812, which was elaborated into the new Progressive Constitution of 1837. Salamanca was elected deputy for Málaga in the new Cortes, which brought him to the capital, Madrid to serve in this office.

During the 42 years of his life that Salamanca spent in Madrid, Salamanca had a major career as a financier and businessman. It is for this that he is most remembered. He was a founder of the Bank of Isabella II (1844) and the Bank de Cádiz (1846) Upon returning from his first exile he earned close to 300 million reales by renting out the state salt monopoly for five years. This amount was twice what he had earned since obtaining this monopoly. Not for the first time, he restored his relations with Narváez. Narváez and Agustín Fernando Muñoz, Duke of Riánsares (second husband of the queen mother Maria Christina) came to be his partners in a number of subsequent business ventures.

Salamanca was credited with development of the neighborhood of Madrid that was named for him. This was the first phase of the expansion of Madrid proposed by Carlos María de Castro.. One of his last business ventures was a similar expansion of San Sebastián in 1881.

Railways

Salamanca also invested in railways, beginning the construction of the line from Madrid to Aranjuez. On 24 December 1845 the Sociedad del Ferrocarril de Madrid a Aranjuez (Madrid-Aranjuez Railway Company) was established with a capital of 45 million reales. This time his partners were the banker Nazario Carriquiri and the Count of Retamoso, Maria Christina's brother-in-law.

The construction of the line caused Salamanca some economic difficulties, and coincided with the financial crisis of 1846, not to mention Salamanca's failure at the Bank of Isabella II and a fall from grace that sent him into exile in France for 16 months. The line was successfully completed and began service on 7 February 1851. Queen Isabella II presided over the opening of the line and more than a thousand invitees enjoyed a generous party at Salamanca's personal expense. Three months later, the line was bringing in 50,000 reales every day. On 13 August 1852, Salamanca sold the line to the state for 60.2 million reales, then rented it back for 1,500,000 reales a year.

Today, that route is part of the line from Madrid to Alcázar de San Juan, where it divides into a route to Andalusia and one to the Spanish Levante. A Sunday tourist train, the Tren de la Fresa ("Strawberry Train") keeps alive the nickname earned by the Madrid-Aranjuez line in its early years. The present-day Aranjuez station is located at a small distance from the original terminus immediately at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.

Salamanca also invested in railways from Madrid to Irún, Córdoba to Málaga, and from Aranjuez to the Mediterranean; his investments were not limited to Spain. They extended throughout Europe and the Americas, including the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in New York State, Pennsylvania, and Ohio: hence the name of the small city of Salamanca in western New York and its surrounding township.