Amancio Alcorta (March 27, 1842 – May 5, 1902) was an Argentine legal theorist, conservative politician and diplomat.

Life and times

Amancio Alcorta was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, in 1842, and enrolled at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...

, where he received a '' juris doctor'', in 1867. He was subsequently elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies on the Autonomist Party ticket, as a close ally of the new Governor of Buenos Aires Province,

Adolfo Alsina Adolfo Alsina Maza (January 4, 1829 – December 29, 1877) was an Argentine lawyer and Unitarian politician, who was one of the founders of the Autonomist Party and the National Autonomist Party.Ione S. Wright and Lisa M. Nekhom, ''Histori ...

.Anuario bibliográfico de la República Argentina: Amancio Alcorta
/ref> Permitted to hold multiple posts outside Congress, Alcorta was later appointed prosecutor and judge, as well as to the board of directors of the

Buenos Aires Western Railway The Buenos Aires Western Railway (BAWR) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires), inaugurated in the city of Buenos Aires on 29 August 1857, was the first railway built in Argentina and the start of the extensive rail network which was ...

. He served Governor Alsina as Minister of Government Policy, of Economy and as President of the

Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires The Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires ( es, Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires), better known as Banco Provincia, is a publicly owned bank in Argentina and the second-largest in the country by value of assets and deposits. History The prog ...

. He was appointed Director of the National Buenos Aires College (then the nation's most prominent secondary school) in 1872, and in 1873, presented his proposal for the reform of the national code of commerce, centering on maritime law. Continuing to teach law at his alma mater, in 1878 he authored his ''Treatise on

International Law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

'', a text which drew heavily on his study of measures against

maritime piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. His ''Studies on the Use of

Scrip A scrip (or ''chit'' in India) is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitive payment of employees under truck systems; or for use in local co ...

'' in 1880, dealt with Argentine provinces' recurrent use of

local currency In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...

. Alcorta also authored texts on

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

and regarding

property right The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically ...

s, during the 1880s.''Historical Dictionary of Argentina''. London: Scarecrow Press, 1978. He had left Congress in 1880, though he continued to actively support the Autonomists' successors, the

National Autonomist Party The National Autonomist Party ( es, Partido Autonomista Nacional; PAN) was the ruling political party of Argentina from 1874 to 1916. In 1880, Julio Argentino Roca assumed the presidency under the motto "peace and administration". History The ...

. Backed by the majority of Argentina's landowners, that party' leader (

Julio Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the Generation ...

) was elected President of Argentina in 1880. Roca's successor,

Miguel Juárez Celman --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disa ...

, appointed Alcorta Minister of Foreign Relations during an institutional crisis in 1890; Alcorta was replaced following Juárez Celman's July 1890 resignation, however. His January 1895 reappointment to the Foreign Ministry by President

Luis Sáenz Peña Luis Sáenz Peña Dávila (2 April 1822 – 4 December 1907) was a lawyer and President of Argentina. He was the father of president Roque Sáenz Peña. * Biography Luis Saenz Peña was born on 2 April 1822 to Roque Julián Sáenz Peñ ...

coincided with difficult negotiations with the Government of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

regarding the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

-range border shared by the two nations. His second turn at the Foreign Ministry was devoted to the resolution of the Puna de Atacama dispute between the two nations, negotiations on which resulted in an 1898 treaty favorable to Argentina. Alcorta retired from the post in December 1899, having served three Presidents. A new diplomatic impasse led President Roca to reappoint the elder statesman to the post in April 1900. Alcorta died on May 5, 1902, at age 60 and three weeks before the signing of the May Pacts between Chile and Argentina. His personal law library, consisting of over 18,000 volumes, was donated to the National Library of Argentina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcorta, Amancio 19th-century Argentine lawyers Argentine diplomats Argentine male writers Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Province Lawyers from Buenos Aires 1842 births 1902 deaths National Autonomist Party politicians Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Patrician families of Buenos Aires