Domingo Bartolomé Francisco Matheu (4 August 1765, in

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the ''comarca'' of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sa ...

. Spain – 28 March 1831, in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was a Spanish-born Argentine businessman and politician. He was a member of the Primera Junta, the first national government of modern Argentina, and the second president in the end of the Junta Grande from August to September 1811.

Biography

Domingo Bartolomé Francisco Matheu was born on August 4, 1765, in

. His parents were Juan Pablo José Benito Matheu Ros and Antonia Chicola. He studied in the school "Pías" of Mataró, and then focused in math and naval studies. He became a pilot, and visited other Spanish territories as La Habana,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and 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 ...

. He moved to Buenos Aires in 1791 and opposed the trade regulations of the time. He sought both economic and political support among the local society. Matheu joined the Regiment of Miñones during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata. He was appointed lieutenant of the second company, under the command of

Juan Larrea Juan Larrea may refer to: *Juan Larrea (poet) (1895–1980), Spanish poet *Juan Larrea (politician) (1782–1847), Argentine politician * Juan Larrea (fencer) (born 1935), Argentine fencer * Juan Larrea (footballer) (born 1993), Argentine footballe ...

. On August 19, 1806, a few days after the liberation of Buenos Aires from British rule, Matheu, Larrea and other neighbours requested authorization to create a new military unit, "Urbanos Voluntarios de Cataluña". Viceroy Santiago de Liniers approved it on September 26. As Larrea got ill, Matheu led this unit during the second British attack in 1807. He retired from the combats in Miserere and waged

urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and t ...

from the buildings of the city. He was awarded by a Real Order in January 1809 for his role in the defense of Buenos Aires. The

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

in Spain, along with the capture of the king

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

and the fall of the Junta of Seville, escalated political disputes in Buenos Aires that led to the

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

. Several criollos thought that the viceroy

Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros y de la Torre (6 January 1756 – 9 June 1829) was a Spanish naval officer born in Cartagena. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against Napole ...

, appointed by the fallen Junta, did not have legitimacy, and requested an

open cabildo The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political action for convening citizens to make important decisions. It is comparable to the North American town hall meeting. History Colonial period The open c ...

to discuss it. Azcuénaga attended it, and voted for the creation of a

Junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

with deputies from all the provinces, with the Cabildo ruling in the interregnum. However, the majority agreed with the creation of a junta, but with another junta of people from Buenos ruling in the meantime. The viceroy tried to stay in government as president of the Junta, which was resisted by the criollos. The reasons of Matheu's inclusion in the Junta are unclear, as with all its members. A common accepted theory considers it to be a balance between Carlotists, Alzaguists, the military and the clergy. The May Revolution began the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de Argentina, links=no) was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín a ...

, which was complicated by the lack of weapons in the country. Without enough resources to buy them, the Primera Junta established armories. The first director, Juan Taragona, was soon replaced by Matheu. Working alongside German gunsmiths as Juan Frye and Fernando Lamping, he directed the creation of several muskets and some pieces of artillery. The armory of Buenos Aires, located at the site of the modern Palace of Justice, had only 90 employees, including seven slaves and seven natives. They had limited technical knowledge but managed to build and repair nearly three hundred muskets and a hundred of carbines. Matheu gave financial support to the armory with his own wealth. Eduard Holmberg was appointed director in 1813, replacing Matheu, but Matheu kept working for the armory anyway. He supervised as well the armory of the Tucumán Province. He directed later the manufacture of military uniforms.National..., pp. 305-307 After the departure of Cisneros following the

he was designated vocal of the Primera Junta. The Primera Junta became the Junta Grande afterwards, and Matheu was designated its president when Cornelio Saavedra left it to join the battles in the north. Matheu and Larrea supported the national government with the money they obtained from commerce. He retired from political life in 1817, staying just in commercial activities until his death in 1831.

Legacy

Domingo Matheu led the first armory of Argentina. General Manuel Nicolás Savio organized the construction of an arsenal in

Rosario, Santa Fe Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

, named after Matheu. The cornerstone was placed on October 3, 1942, and worked for many decades. The place was used as a detention center during the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

in the 1970s.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Biography by the Education ministry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matheu, Domingo Members of the Primera Junta Argentine businesspeople Argentine people of Catalan descent Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery People from Mataró 1765 births 1831 deaths Businesspeople from Catalonia