Andrea Aguyar, nicknamed Andrea il Moro, (?,
Montevideo,
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
- 30 June 1849,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
) was a former Black
slave from
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
who became a follower of
Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...
in both South America and Italy, and who died in defence of the
revolutionary Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
of 1849.
In Uruguay
Aguyar was born in Montevideo to black slave parents, and was a slave until his young adulthood. The
abolition of slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
in Uruguay was directly linked to the outbreak of the
Uruguayan Civil War
The Uruguayan Civil War, also known in Spanish as the ''Guerra Grande'' ("Great War"), was a series of armed conflicts between the leaders of Uruguayan independence. While officially the war lasted from 1839 until 1851, it was a part of armed c ...
in 1838. Both sides - the Liberal "Colorados" and the Conservative "Blancos" proclaimed the emancipation of slaves in 1842, in order to mobilize the former slaves to reinforce their respective military forces.
During the siege of Montevideo, the newly-freed slaves, who formed a contingent 5,000 strong, and the community of foreign exiles and expatriates, were mostly responsible for the defence of the city.
Among the latter
Giuseppe Garibaldi - then a young Italian exile starting to make a name for himself as a daring revolutionary and guerrilla leader - headed the "Italian Legion". It was at that time that Aguyar's association with Garibaldi began.
In his memoirs, Garibaldi greatly praised these freed slaves: "True sons of freedom. Their lances, longer than normal length, their dark black
'nerissimi''faces, their robust limbs used to permanent and demanding work, their perfect discipline". Most of these freed slaves did not, however, follow Garibaldi when he returned to Europe in 1848 - which Andrea Aguyar did.
In Rome
Aguyar travelled with Garibaldi on the latter's 1848 return to Italy, and was likely at his side during Garibaldi's earlier phases of participation in the
First Italian War of Independence at Piedmont and Lombardy, and Garibaldi's victories at
Luino and
Morazzone. However, Aguyar came into the public gaze mainly during the months of the Roman Republic's tenacious resistance - which turned out to be the last months of Aguyar's own life.
To a considerable degree, the beleaguered Roman Republic's struggle was waged in the international press as much as on the actual battlefield. Numerous journalists were present in Rome and reporting back to their countries, a large part of them openly sympathetic to the Italian Nationalist cause. In their reports Aguyar often figured, being given special attention as a single "exotic" Black man among Europeans.
"
The Illustrated London News
''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...
", which especially sent a reporter and an illustrator to cover the struggle in Rome, published on July 21, 1849, a drawing of Aguyar riding a horse behind Garibaldi, with the caption "''Garibaldi and his negro servant''". The attached report referred to Aguyar as "A fine fellow, his dress a red loose coat and a showy silk handkerchief tied loosely over his shoulders". The drawing (see above) also showed him wearing a hat with an ostrich feather, similar to the hat worn by Garibaldi himself in the same drawing
In the memoirs of international volunteers who joined Garibaldi, Aguyar is mentioned as a fellow-fighter of exceptional abilities. "A moor
'moro''of vast proportions who had followed
aribaldifrom America, in a black cloak with a lance garnished with a red pennant" was the description of the
Swiss volunteer Von Hofstetter.
The Dutch painter
Jan Koelman, also a volunteer with Garibaldi, wrote of "A Hercules of ebony colour, a freed slave who followed Garibaldi from Brazil (sic) and who astonished everyone in battle by throwing a
lasso
A lasso ( or ), also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish an ...
over enemy soldiers and pulling them off their horses" - a
gaucho
A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...
trick completely unfamiliar to European soldiers. More prosaically, he also used the lasso in order to collect riderless horses running around after a battle.
Aguyar also appeared in hostile caricatures published by a conservative Roman paper, which depicted Garibaldi as "a treacherous long haired brigand, followed by a large black man"
[Garibaldi, Arte e Storia, Florence, 1982; quoted in Rial, op.cit.,p. 93, p. 409 note 147]
Though illiterate, Aguyar was considered highly skilful and competent, especially an accomplished horseman. He was reputed to have saved Garibaldi's life several times, at risk to his own. In one specific episode, during battle with soldiers of the
Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies at
Velletri
Velletri (; la, Velitrae; xvo, Velester) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring comm ...
, Aguyar saved Garibaldi when the commander was thrown of his horse and was in concrete danger of being captured.
Off the battlefield, Aguyar is mentioned as offering his saddle as a pillow for Garibaldi to sleep on during breaks in marching, and improvising an awning to protect him from the sun.
Aguyar also took care of Guerrillo, Garibaldi's three-legged dog who was saved and adopted after being hit by a stray bullet in the Battle of San Antonio in February 1846, and whom Garibaldi eventually took with him from Uruguay to Italy. Guerrillo was mentioned as "always running either under Garibaldi's horse or under Aguyar's (the dog's ultimate fate is unknown).
Death
When the above-mentioned report and drawing appeared in ''The Illustrated London News'', on July 21, 1849, the Roman Republic had already fallen and Aguyar - mentioned in the article as "now dead" - had fallen in its desperate last struggle.
With the French forces breaking into Rome on 30 June 1849, Andrea Aguyar - appointed a Lieutenant by Garibaldi in recognition of his abilities - was mortally wounded when hit by a shell near the Church of
Santa Maria in Trastevere
The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere); en, Our Lady in Trastevere) is a titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and ...
. Reportedly, while bleeding he managed to cry out: "Long Live the Republics of America and Rome!". He was carried into the Church of
Santa Maria della Scala
Santa Maria della Scala (English: Mary of the Staircase) is a titular church in Rome, Italy, located in the Trastevere rione. Cardinal Ernest Simoni took possession of the titular church on 11 February 2017. Santa Maria della Scala is a titular ...
in the same neighbourhood, used at the time as a hospital, where he died.
His name is often linked with that of
Luciano Manara
Luciano Manara (23 March 1825 – 30 June 1849) was a Milanese soldier and politician of the Risorgimento era, who took part in the Roman Republic.
Life
Manara was born in Milan in 1825.
A friend of Carlo Cattaneo, in 1848 he participated in the ...
, also killed on the same day.
The Italian commemorative web page "''Andrea Aguyar, il Moro di Garibaldi''
deplores the fact that there is no bust of Andrea Aguyar to be found among those of the fallen Garibaldian heroes placed on the
Janiculum
The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...
hill. However, the name "Andrea il Moro" was given to a flight of stairs (''scalea'') in the region between the
Trastevere and
Monteverde
Monteverde is the twelfth canton of the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. It is located in the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range. Roughly a four-hour drive from the Central Valley, Monteverde is one of the country's major ecotourism des ...
parts of Rome, not far from where he was killed.
See also
*
List of enslaved people
Slavery is a social-economic system under which people are enslaved: deprived of personal freedom and forced to perform labor or services without compensation. These people are referred to as slaves, or as enslaved people.
The following is a ...
References
External links
Relevant online pages from Lucy Riall's "Garibaldi, Invention of a HeroNotice of a commemorative guided visit to the place where Aguyar was killedReference to Aguyar in "The Three Romes: Moscow, Constantinople, and Rome" By Russell Fraser
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguyar, Andrea
Uruguayan expatriates in Italy
People of the First Italian War of Independence
1849 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Afro-Uruguayan
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Uruguayan Civil War
19th-century slaves
Italian military personnel killed in action