Francisco Ramón de Vicuña Larraín (; September 9, 1775 – January 13, 1849) was a
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 ...
an
political figure
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He served twice as
acting President of Chile in 1829. Francisco Vicuña was of
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
descent.
Early life
He was born in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
on 1775, the son of Francisco de Vicuña Hidalgo y Zavala and of María del Carmen Larraín Salas y Vicuña. He married
Mariana de Aguirre, and had 11 children with her.
In 1810, Vicuña participated in
Chile's war for independence and organized the first
firearms production in the country. In 1811, he represented
Osorno in the congress, which was to give Chile a constitution, in 1814, he moved to the
Senate of Chile
The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's bicameral National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile.
Composition
According to the present Constitution of Chile, the Senate is composed of forty-t ...
. Then, he was arrested for
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...
against the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
crown and banished into exile. Only after Chile's victory at the
battle of Chacabuco
The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, occurred on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, led by Captain–General José de San Martín, defeated a Spanish fo ...
in 1817, was he able to return to his home land.
Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Alth ...
appointed him as a government representative to the northern provinces.
Political life
In 1823 he became the head of the administration of
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
and then as a delegate to the constitutional convention that year. He was one of the main defenders of the Federalist position championed by
José Miguel Infante y Rojas. In 1825 the
Supreme Director of Chile Ramón Freire
Ramón Freire Serrano (; November 29, 1787 – December 9, 1851) was a Chilean political figure. He was head of state on several occasions, and enjoyed a numerous following until the War of the Confederation. Ramón Freire was one of the pr ...
appointed him to be his deputy as well as foreign and interior minister and at times acting war, naval, and finance minister.
In 1829, when
Francisco Antonio Pinto
Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente (; July 23, 1785 – July 18, 1858) was a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile between 1827 and 1829.
Early life
He was born in Santiago, the son of Joaquín Pinto and Mercedes D ...
was elected
President of Chile
The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is r ...
, the runners-up were
Francisco Ruiz-Tagle Portales, a liberal federalist, and
José Joaquín Prieto Vial, a conservative centralist, who both received the same number of votes. Nonetheless, congress, the majority of which was liberal, declared
Joaquín Vicuña Larraín, a distant third and brother of Francisco Ramón (who was president of the senate)
Vice President of Chile
The Vice president of Chile is a temporary post provided by the Constitution of Chile. The "vice president" is a person who fulfills the duties of the president of Chile when cases of incapacity and vacancy occur. This post is held by the Mi ...
. The centralists outraged decided for armed resistance and the
Chilean Civil War of 1829 broke out.
In the ensuing
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
between the conservative centralists and the liberal federalists, Pinto was forced twice to leave the post of president to Vicuña. First, from July 14 to October 19, when Vicuña assumed as President Delegate, and then finally when he resigned on November 2 and Vicuña assumed power. On December 7, 1829 the conservative troops under
José Joaquín Prieto Vial approached Santiago from the South. The government under Vicuña fled northward to
Coquimbo
Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...
, where they were, however, imprisoned by the victorious conservative troops. Then, Chile was without a leader for a few weeks (from December 7 to 24, 1829) until a
Government Junta was organized and took control under
José Tomás Ovalle
José Tomás Ovalle y Bezanilla (; December 21, 1787 – March 21, 1831) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as provisional president of Chile.
Early life
He was born in Santiago, the son of Vicente María Ovalle Guzmán and of María ...
.
Under the centralist governments of
José Joaquín Prieto Vial and
Manuel Bulnes, the liberal Vicuña could not hold any governmental positions. He died in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
on January 13, 1849.
Cabinet
See also
*
Vicuña family The Vicuña family in Chile became politically influential since the beginning of the 19th century, and played a very significant role in Chilean politics. Among its most prominent members we find:
* Francisco Ramón Vicuña Larraín (1775-1849), p ...
*
Chilean Civil War of 1829
*
Chilean Civil War of 1829–1830
The Chilean Civil War of 1829–1830 ( es, Guerra Civil de 1829–1830) was a civil war in Chile fought between conservative Pelucones and liberal Pipiolos forces over the constitutional regime in force. This conflict ended with the defeat of ...
Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vicuna Larraín, Francisco
1775 births
1849 deaths
People from Santiago
Presidents of Chile
Chilean Ministers of the Interior
Foreign ministers of Chile
Chilean Ministers of Defense
Chilean people of Basque descent
People of the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30
Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians
Presidents of the Senate of Chile
Vicuña
The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which live ...
Francisco
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...