Lucio Victorio Mansilla
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Lucio Victorio Mansilla (December 23, 1831 – October 8, 1913) was an Argentinean General, journalist, politician and diplomat. He was later governor of the territory of the
Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Gro ...
between 1878 and 1879. His best-known literary work is '' An Excursion to the Ranqueles Indians'', which was the result of a tour he undertook in 1870 through the villages of indigenous peoples.


Early life and family

Mansilla was born in a house in the Montserrat neighborhood, on the corner of Tacuarí and Potosí streets (today Alsina), known in colonial times as "the old prison" on December 23, 1831 (Saint Victoria's Day). He was the first-born son of federal colonel
Lucio Norberto Mansilla Lucio Norberto Mansilla (April 2, 1789 – April 10, 1871) was an Argentine soldier and politician. He was the first governor of the Entre Ríos Province and fought in the battle of Vuelta de Obligado. Early life Lucio Mansilla was born i ...
, the hero of the Battle of the Vuelta de Obligado, and Agustina Ortiz de Rozas, tenth sister and younger sister of
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 ...
, a 15-year-old girl who was called ''the beauty of the federation''. Her sister was the writer and journalist
Eduarda Mansilla Eduarda Damasia Mansilla Ortiz de Rozas de García (1834–1892) was a noted Argentine writer. Biography She was the daughter of Lucio Norberto Mansilla and niece of Juan Manuel de Rosas Her first novel under her own name was ''Pablo ou la via dan ...
. After finishing school, he was employed in a local firm, where he kept the accounting books. He met and fell in love with one of his cousins, Catalina, with which he would then marry.


Adulthood

After he returned to Buenos Aires, he was sent to work at the family salting plant located near San Nicolás, which was in charge of his father, where he lived in the latter's house in that town. There he entertained his leisure time reading books from the paternal library. One day he was surprised by his father reading the ''social contract'' of Rousseau, which determined that his father, fearing that such readings reach the ears of his uncle Juan Manuel, little affection to those inclinations, decided to send in committee in order to acquire goods on a trip to India, countries of the East and Europe where he knew exotic places for the time like Calcutta and Egypt, ending his trip in London and Paris. Aware of Urquiza's uprising against his uncle, and worried about the fate of his family, he returned to the country after three years of absence. In 1852 he entered the army, militating among the supporters of the Confederation. After the overthrow of Rosas, as a consequence of the
Battle of Caseros The Battle of Caseros ( es, Batalla de Caseros) was fought near the town of El Palomar, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas and the Grand Army (''Ejército ...
, he undertook another trip to Europe, accompanied by his father and brother Lucio Norberto, sharing part of the journey to Brazil with Sarmiento. After he had returned, in August 1852, the romance with his cousin Catherine was reborn. A year later their first son, Andrés Pío, would be born. Around 1856, he gained an interest in journalism, but an incident in a theater occurred, where he insulted Senator José Mármol loudly, challenging him to a duel for an injury inflicted on his family in the novel ''Amalia.'' This ended with him in prison and was exiled from the city, leading him to settle in the city of Paraná, capital at the time of Argentina. He carried out political journalism and became secretary to
Salvador María del Carril Salvador María del Carril (August 5, 1798January 10, 1883) was a prominent Argentine jurist and policy-maker, as well as his country's first Vice President of Argentina, Vice President. Life and times Early life Born in the Andes-range city of ...
.


Military and political career

After Argentina intervened in the
Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...
, He attended the battle of Humaitá and the Estero Bellaco, Tuyutí, Boquerón and Sauce battles. He suffered an injury in the hills of Curupaytí. In 1868 he reached the rank of major and later lieutenant colonel and served as military secretary.. Later he was promoted to colonel, thanks to his support for the campaign for the presidency of
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing s ...
. By virtue of this, he tried to persuade president to appoint him Minister of War of his cabinet, but Sarmiento did not agree and instead assigned him to the service of the southern border of Córdoba. Appointed commander of the southern borders of Córdoba, he devoted himself to meticulously exploring the area between the Cuarto and Quinto rivers, as a result drawing a detailed topographic map. Then he made preparations and went into the pampas accompanied by two Franciscan friars and a small escort to deal peacefully with the native people. He visited the chiefs Ramón Cabral and Baigorrita. As a result of this experience, he wrote a series of letters, first published in the Buenos Aires newspaper ''La Tribuna'' as a booklet and shortly thereafter edited in book format, an account that constitutes his best-known literary work, ''An excursion to the ranqueles indians'' . On the return of his expedition, which lasted twenty days, in Villa Mercedes, Mansilla found himself suspended from his post because, proceeding without consulting his boss, he had ordered the execution of a recidivist deserter, after a very brief council of war. President Sarmiento closed the summary making it available, with a warning in his service record. He then devoted himself to journalism, writing articles in the newspapers of the time. Two years later, his friend and president of Argentina,
Nicolás Avellaneda Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva (3 October 1837 – 24 November 1885) was an Argentine politician and journalist, and President of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education ...
, reinstated him in his military position as chief of staff in Córdoba and later chief of borders and military mayor. From 1882 on he was a deputy during the government of
Julio Argentino Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the Generation ...
, and carried out diplomatic missions abroad. At the end of 1895 his wife, Catherine, passed away, of which he learned months later, as he was on a mission in Nice. In 1896 he settled in Paris, from where he requested his discharge from the army and two years later he published a biography of his uncle Juan Manuel de Rosas with the character of a historical-psychological essay and then two political essays, "On the eve" (1903) and "A country without citizens" (1907) and sent collaborations for the Buenos Aires press. He was 71 years old when he began to write his "Memories", in which he would recall episodes from his childhood and youth. Towards the end of 1898, on a brief trip to his country, he met Mónica Torromé, widow of Huergo, whose father had installed a commercial firm in London, where she married again the following year and then settled definitively in Paris, in 1902, after carrying out several diplomatic missions in other parts of Europe, functions that he resigned in that year. In his last years he was afflicted with an incipient blindness, and died in that city on October 8, 1913.


Works

* ''From Aden to Suez'' (1855) * ''An African Revenge'' (1864) * ''An excursion to the ranqueles indians'' (1870) * ''Between us: Thursday Causeries'' (1889/90, 5 volumes) * ''Portraits and memories (1894)'' * ''Moral studies, that is, the diary of my life'' (1896) * ''Rosas'', historical-psychological essay ''(1898)'' * ''Maxims and Thoughts'' (1904) * ''My Memories'' (1904) * ''The hiker on the planet'' . Travel briefs. Selection of Sandra Contreras (2012)


References


Bibliography

* "Lucio V. Mansilla: cuestiones de método", Sandra Contreras, En: Historia crítica de la literatura Argentina. Vol III. Emecé 2010. * "Lucio V. Mansilla",
Editorial Planeta Planeta Corporación, S.R.L., doing business as Grupo Planeta (), is a Spanish mass media conglomerate operating in Spain, Portugal, France and Latin America. It is the world's leading Spanish-language book publisher. Editorial Planeta, founded in ...
, Colección Grandes Protagonistas de la Historia Argentina, dirigida por
Félix Luna Félix César Luna (30 September 1925 – 5 November 2009) was an Argentine writer, lyricist and historian. Life Luna was born in Buenos Aires to a family originally from La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja in 1925. A grandfather had found ...
, marzo de 2001, . * "Lucio V. Mansilla - La Confederación", Néstor Tomás Auza, Editorial Plus Ultra, Colección "Los Argentinos", 1978. * "Vida de Lucio V. Mansilla", Enrique Popolizio, Editorial Pomaire, Colección Biografías y correspondencias, 1985, . * "Paine y la dinastía de los zorros, Estanislao Zeballos, Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires (
EUDEBA The Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires, doing business as Eudeba, is the university press of the University of Buenos Aires, the largest university press in Argentina and one of the largest in Latin America. It was founded in 1958, taking ...
), Serie del Nuevo Mundo, 1964.


External links

* Perfil del general Mansilla escrito y publicado en 1886, en el periódico "El Nacional" de Buenos Aires.
Reedición interactiva de ''Una excursión a los indios ranqueles'' (2017)
(página 27)
Presentación en la Academia Argentina de Letras
(página 5) {{Authority control Argentine politicians Argentine generals 1831 births 1913 deaths