Domingo Cullen (1791 – 21 June 1839) was the governor of
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Santa Fe,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
during 1838.
Biography
Cullen was born in
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
,
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
, but moved to Argentina in the 1820s after establishing commercial activities (linked with fluvial trade) in the area. He met Santa Fe's ''
caudillo
A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...
''
Estanislao López
Estanislao López (26 November 1786 – 15 June 1838) was a ''caudillo'' and governor of the , between 1818 and 1838, one of the foremost proponents of provincial federalism, and an associate of Juan Manuel de Rosas during the Argentine Civ ...
when serving as a deputy of the Cabildo of
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
. After being involved in activism related to the independence of
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 ...
and the resistance against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(see
Cisplatine War
The Cisplatine War (), also known as the Argentine-Brazilian War () or, in Argentine and Uruguayan historiography, as the Brazil War (''Guerra del Brasil''), the War against the Empire of Brazil (''Guerra contra el Imperio del Brasil'') or t ...
), he returned to Santa Fe, settled in a
ranch
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...
, and married Joaquina Rodríguez del Fresno, the young widow of Pedro Aldao and sister-in-law of López. In 1828 he became a counselor of López, and his Minister of Government in 1833.
At the time of López's death on 15 June 1838, Cullen was 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 ...
as representative of Santa Fe, trying to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing
French blockade of the port (caused by a law of 1821 that obligated resident foreign citizens of the province of Buenos Aires to serve in
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
).
Cullen argued that the blockade was the result of a provincial law and therefore the other provinces were not bound to help Buenos Aires.
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Althoug ...
, the powerful governor of Buenos Aires, contended that this violated the
Federal Pact
The Federal Pact ( es, Pacto Federal) was a treaty first signed by the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos and Santa Fe on 4 January 1831, for which a Federal military alliance was created to confront the Unitarian League. Other p ...
.
When Cullen returned to Santa Fe, he became governor, but his election was not acknowledged by Rosas and by
Pascual Echagüe, governor of the neighbouring
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos (, "Between Rivers") is a central province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires (south), Corrientes (north) and Santa Fe (west), and Uruguay in the east.
Its capital is Paraná ( ...
. Without López's support, he faced opposition from his personal enemies in the province and from those loyals to Rosas. In the end, all provinces including Santa Fe ended up supporting Buenos Aires against the French, and Cullen was forced to resign and go to
exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
.
Accused of conspiring with the Unitarians (enemies of Rosas) and the French, he sought asylum in
Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...
, but he was betrayed by his host and delivered to Rosas's men, to be tried in Buenos Aires. However, right after crossing the
Arroyo del Medio
The Arroyo del Medio (Spanish, lit. "Middle Creek" or "Middle Stream") is a small river of Argentina, located on (and serving as) the border between the provinces of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe. Its catchment basin comprises about . The Arroyo empt ...
and entering the territory of Buenos Aires Province, his captors announced they had orders to kill him. Cullen was assisted by a priest in
San Nicolás de los Arroyos
San Nicolás de los Arroyos (usually shortened to ''San Nicolás'') is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the western shore of the Paraná River, from Rosario. It has about 133,000 inhabitants (). It is the administrative seat ...
and wrote a letter to his wife; he was then killed by a firing squad, on 21 June 1839. He was buried in the spot.
In 1840 the army of General
Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo Lavalle (17 October 1797 – 9 October 1841) was an Argentine military and political figure.
Biography
Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José Lavalle, general accountant of rents and t ...
passed by the place on its way to Santa Fe, and Cullen's body was exhumed at the request of Pedro Rodríguez del Fresno, an officer of Lavalle's and Cullen's brother-in-law. He was taken to the Convent of Saint Dominic in Santa Fe, where they remain today, next to the bodies of his son Patricio and several other important leaders.
Descent
Cullen's family was of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
origin, descended from Thomas Cullen Maher, who emigrated from
Kilkenny to the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
in 1793. Domingo Cullen (full name: Domingo Alejandro Lorenzo Cullen y Ferraz), born in
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
, was Cullen Maher's third grandson, the son of Guillermo Felipe Cullen and Ángela Isidra Ferraz de la Guardia.
Cullen emigrated to the
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...
region, first settling in
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
,
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 ...
, in 1811, and moving then to Santa Fe in 1823. This Argentine branch of the family has given Santa Fe many influential characters in the field of politics.
Domingo Cullen
at IrishGenealogy.com.ar.
Cullen had seven children. José María Cullen, his firstborn, and Patricio Cullen, his second son, both served as governors of Santa Fe (Tomás Cullen, his youngest son, was also ''ad interim'' governor). His third child, Joaquina, was the wife of Nicasio Oroño
Nicasio V. Oroño (July 20, 1825 in Coronda, Santa Fe – October 12, 1904 in Santa Fe) was an Argentine politician and lawyer, and governor of Santa Fe between 1865 and 1868.
Youth in the military
Oroño was born to Unitarian Coronel Santiago ...
, governor and political chief of Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, and the fourth, Josefa, was married to Juan María Gutiérrez Granados, member of the Constitutional Assembly that crafted the Argentine Constitution of 1853
The Argentine Constitution of 1853 is the current constitution of Argentina. It was approved in 1853 by all of the provincial governments except Buenos Aires Province, which remained separate from the Argentine Confederation until 1859. After ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullen, Domingo
1791 births
1839 deaths
Governors of Santa Fe Province
Executed Spanish people
People executed by Argentina by firing squad
Extrajudicial killings
Executed politicians
19th-century executions by Argentina
Argentine people of Irish descent
Argentine people of Spanish descent
Executed Argentine people
People of the Spanish American wars of independence
People of the Latin American wars of independence
Río de la Plata
Deaths by firearm in Argentina
People from Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Spanish people of Irish descent