Meléndez Valdés (Ribera del Fresno, Badajoz, 1754 - Montpellier, France, 1814) is considered one of the best poets of the 18th century. He was university professor in Salamanca, where he maintained friendship with Cadalso and Jovellanos. He worked as a jurist, occupying destinies in Zaragoza, Valladolid and finally in Madrid, where he worked as public prosecutor of the Supreme Court. Once that his mentor, Jovellanos, fell in misfortune before Godoy, his exile to Medina del Campo was ordered, later to Zamora and finally to Salamanca. He was pro-French during the War of Independence and he avoided being shot in Oviedo, but he had to exile himself after the defeat of the French army.