Pascual Cervera y Topete was born in Medina-Sidonia in the province of Cadiz, the son of a Spanish Army officer who fought against French invasion of Spain during the Napoleonic Wars.

[3][4] Later, Cervera was deployed to the Spanish Philippines, where, under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez, in September 1864 he took part in the storming of Fort Pagalungan against the Moro rebels.

[1] Due to the political instability that persisted in Spain since Napoleon's invasion, Cervera took part in putting down the Cantonal rebellion during one of the Carlist Wars.

From 1885 to 1890, he served on the shipbuilding commission of the battleship Pelayo and became its first commander, but had to fight against the bureaucratic procedures of the Spanish Navy that caused delays in her construction.

But the newly promoted flag officer made the prime minister promise to not lower the naval budget in return, which Mateo accepted.

However, it was not long before the prime minister broke that promise and so Cervera resigned from the position in 1892, but not before trying to make efforts to improve the Spanish Navy's efficiency.

The rear admiral was appointed as the naval attaché in London shortly afterwards, where he witnessed the technical innovations being made by the British Royal Navy, a post he held until the situation in Cuba began escalating around 1896–97.

[1][4][6] The admiral viewed the escalation of tensions between the kingdom and the United States with alarm, as he believed their defeat would be inevitable in a war because of the U.S. Navy's advancements between 1892 and 1896.

Nonetheless, he accepted the posting of commander of the Cuban squadron on 20 October 1897 and immediately organized training exercises to prepare the crews, since the last time naval drills had been carried out was 1884 (during tensions with the German Empire over the Caroline Islands).

Cervera sought to correct the numerous deficiencies in the fleet within a short time period, including lack of training and inadequate supplies.

"Cervera later sent his chief of staff under a flag of truce to give a note to Admiral Sampson informing him that the collier's crew was alive and safe.

"[11] The fleet remained mostly inactive in harbor for the next month until July 2, when Ramón Blanco, the military governor of Cuba, gave orders for a sortie against the American blockade.

After that, the American ships began rescue operations for the Spanish sailors of the destroyed squadron, and among those captured from the wreck of the Infanta Maria Teresa was Admiral Cervera.

[4] Admiral Cervera continued to be a popular figure in the years following his death, to the point that even the Spanish Navy acknowledged him as a symbol of patriotism by naming a light cruiser after him.