Domingo Cullen (1791 – 21 June 1839) was the governor of

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

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 List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

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, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...

, 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 when serving as a deputy of the Cabildo of

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and 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 . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...

. 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 Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

). 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. Although ...

, the powerful governor of Buenos Aires, contended that this violated the Federal Pact. When Cullen returned to Santa Fe, he became governor, but his election was not acknowledged by Rosas and by

Pascual Echagüe Pascual Echagüe, (16 May 1797 – 2 June 1867) was an Argentine soldier and politician. He served as Governor of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe provinces and Minister of War and Navy during the governments of Urquiza and Derqui. He participat ...

, 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 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 origin, descended from Thomas Cullen Maher, who emigrated from

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

to the

in 1793. Domingo Cullen (full name: Domingo Alejandro Lorenzo Cullen y Ferraz), born in

, 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

, 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, governor and political chief of

Rosario 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 ...

, 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