Matías Cousiño Jorquera (1810–1863) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an coal

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

and patriarch of the wealthy Cousiño family. Cousiño's most emblematic coal mine was found in Lota a small coastal town on the coast of the Bío-Bío Region, where steam ships that crossed the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...

could be resupplied with coal.

Early and personal life

Matías Cousiño was born in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

as the son of José Agustín Cousiño Zapata and Josefa de Jorquera y Alfaro, a family of Galician and Spanish descent. During the War for Independence, his family lost their wealth, and Matías was forced to work at an early age. He worked in the post office of

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

, where his father was the boss. He went on to succeed his father in 1828. During this time, he married Loreto Squella y Lopetegui, who died giving birth to his first son, Luis Cousiño Squella. Matías Cousiño studied in Santiago without excelling in his academics, but doing so in business. In 1841, he married Luz Gallo Zavala, who had 2 children. Thanks to his economic power, he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, representing the

Petorca Petorca is a Chilean town and commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of . Since 2010 Petorca has been affected by a long-term drought aggravated by poor water administration that have allowed lim ...

(1849–1852) and

Quillota Quillota is a city located in the valley of the Aconcagua River in Valparaíso Region, Chile. It is the capital and largest city of Quillota Province. It is surrounded by the localities of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay, and San Pedro. It is ...

(1852–1855). He was elected

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

between 1855 and 1864 but died on March 21, 1863, in Santiago.

Birth of the entrepreneur

He quit his work at the post office to begin exporting animals to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and the success of this business led him to search for new ventures, one being the new silver mines in

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

. At the end of the 1840s, he expanded into the milling industry in Concepción. He organized a milling association that exported flour and wheat to the Pacific coast. His mining career began as a butler in the mines of Ramón Ignacio de Goyenechea, an investor in the silver mine of ''Descubridora de

Chañarcillo Chañarcillo is a town and mine in the Atacama Desert of Copiapó Province, Atacama Region, Chile, located near Vallenar and 60 km from Copiapó. It is noted for its silver mining. The town grew after the Chañarcillo silver mine, discovered on ...

'' in the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barre ...

. He continued ascending in position until his marriage in 1841, widow of Ignacio de Goyenechea, allowed him to combine the two fortunes. His fortune continued to grow when in 1844, along with Rafael Torreblanca, he invented a new machine to extract metals. He obtained an exclusive permit for its use from

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure who was President of Chile from 1841 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the ...

' government for ten years. In 1850, Matías became director of The Copiapó Mining Group, the most powerful association in Chile.

References

La Tercera (), formerly known as (), is a daily newspaper published in Santiago, Chile and owned by Copesa. It is s closest competitor. is part of Periódicos Asociados Latinoamericanos ( Latin American Newspaper Association), an organization of fourte ...

: Icarito - Biografía Matías Cousiño

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousino, Matias 1810 births 1863 deaths Businesspeople from Santiago, Chile Chilean people of Galician descent Chilean people of Spanish descent Deputies of the IX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the X Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Chilean billionaires Chilean businesspeople in mining Chilean philanthropists 19th-century philanthropists