Matías de Irigoyen (25 February 1781 – 20 September 1839) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

soldier and politician.

Life

Matías Ramón de Irigoyen de la Quintana was born 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 ...

, Argentina, on 25 February 1781. His parents were Ignacio Irigoyen Echenique (c. 11 March 1728 – 17 February 1787) and Francisca de la Quintana Riglos (24 Sep 1734 – 14 June 1815). He was the second of 13 children. His older brother was

Miguel de Irigoyen Miguel Remigio de Irigoyen (2 October 1764 – 11 June 1822) was an Argentine soldier and police chief during the period when Argentina was gaining independence from Spain. Family Miguel Remigio de Irigoyen de la Quintana Riglos was born on 2 Oc ...

(2 October 1764 – 11 June 1822). He travelled to Spain as a child, entered the navy in his youth, and was wounded at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

in 1805. He returned to

in 1809 and took part in 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 ...

in 1810. Irigoyen was the first ambassador named by the revolutionary government, to be posted in Europe. After passing through

Río de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, where he met the British ambassador,

Lord Strangford Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford (31 August 178029 May 1855) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat. Early life He was the son of Lionel Smythe, 5th Viscount Strangford (1753–1801) and Maria Eliza Philipse. In 1769, his sixteen-year ...

, he traveled to London. After a relatively short stay he returned to Buenos Aires. Between 18 and 20 April 1815 he was part along with

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and cent ...

and

Manuel de Sarratea Manuel de Sarratea, (Buenos Aires, 11 August 1774 – Limoges, France, 21 September 1849), was an Argentine diplomat, politician and soldier. He was the son of Martin de Sarratea (1743–1813), of the richest merchant of Buenos-Aires and Tom ...

, of the short-lived Third Triumvirate, after the ousting of the Supreme Director

Carlos María de Alvear Carlos María de Alvear (October 25, 1789 in Santo Ángel, Rio Grande do Sul – November 3, 1852 in New York), was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815. Early life ...

. The naming of

José Rondeau José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra (March 4, 1773 – November 18, 1844) was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century. Life and Politics He was born in Buenos Aires but soon after his birth, the family moved t ...

as Supreme Director ended this Triumvirate. From October 1815 to 1816 he was designated Captain of the Port of Buenos Aires. From 1817 to 1820 he served as Minister of War and Navy for the

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Cong ...

, during the governments of

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y O'Dogan (December 18, 1777 – March 13, 1850) was an Argentine general and politician of the early 19th century. He was appointed Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata after the Argentine ...

and Juan Pedro Aguirre y López. After the Battle of Cepeda in February 1820, Irigoyen was named Governor-Mayor of Buenos Aires (9 to 11 February), but because of the dissolution of the Directorate and the formation of provincial governments, he was posted as provisional governor of the newly created

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

until the assumption of

. He only occupied the post from 11 to 18 February 1820. Matías de Irigoyen died in Buenos Aires on 20 September 1839.

Legacy

The

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

named a ship after him, the aviso ARA ''Comandante General Irigoyen''; now a museum ship.Inauguraron el buque museo “Comandante General Irigoyen” – Gaceta Marinera

Life

Legacy

References

Notes

Sources

Further reading