Vicente Folch was born in Reus, near Barcelona in the Catalonian province of Tarragona,[REF][REF] on March 8, 1754 [REF].
After finishing his studies in 1774, Folch fought in military campaigns in North Africa and the Mediterranean for several years,[REF][REF] including the Siege of Melilla (1774-75), the Invasion of Algiers, and the siege of Gibraltar (1780) [REF].