María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso (June 18, 1799 – May 5, 1853) was a First Lady of Chile for less than two months in 1814 through her marriage to

José Miguel Carrera José Miguel Carrera Verdugo (; October 15, 1785 – September 4, 1821) was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most impo ...

Biography

Fontecilla was born to Diego Antonio Fontecilla Palacios and Rosa Valdivieso Protusagasti 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 20 August 1814, at 15, Fontecilla married 29 year old

, a political leader in Chile, at the

Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral () is the seat of the Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, currently Celestino Aós Braco, and the center of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile. Construction of the Neoclassical cathedral began in 1753 and ended i ...

. Less than two months later, Carrera's forces were defeated in the

Battle of Rancagua The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the rebel Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins. ...

and the family, including Carrera's two brothers, fled to

Mendoza, Argentina Mendoza (, ), officially the City of Mendoza ( es, Ciudad de Mendoza) is the capital of the province of Mendoza in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern si ...

. While there, Fontecilla passed secret information between military personnel and sewed clothing for soldiers. Fontecilla supported and was affectionate towards her husband despite his long absences to Anapolis, Montevideo, and

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 he sought allies to fight for Chilean independence. In 1821, Carrera was handed over to Colonel José Albino Gutiérrez as prisoner by his own men. Within days, he was tried, sentenced, and executed. The morning of his death, he wrote Mercedes a letter, in which he told her of his imminent execution and expressed regret for leaving her to care for their five children. Following Carrera's death, Fontecilla and her children lived in extreme poverty in Rosario. Eventually,

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 ...

, Chile's Supreme Director and one of Carrera's main enemies, allowed them to return to Chile, largely due to "good public relations... o the public would think' 'Higginswas as generous as he was courageous.'" She later married politician

Diego José Benavente Diego José Benavente Bustamante (born 1790–21 June 1867) was a Chilean politician who served as President of the Senate of Chile The president of the Senate of Chile is the presiding officer of the Senate of Chile. The position comes after ...

, with whom she had four children.

Family

*Marriage:

(1814-1821, his death) ** Francisca Javiera Carrera Fontecilla (1817-1850; wife of Francisco Javier Valdés Aldunate and mother of José Miguel Valdés) ** Roberta Carrera Fontecilla ** Rosa Carrera Fontecilla (1819-1862; wife of Ambrosio Aldunate Carvajal, mother of

Luis Aldunate 200px, right Luis Aldunate Carrera (March 3, 1842 – April 3, 1908) was a Chilean lawyer who served as minister of finance (1881–1882) and minister of foreign affairs (1882–1884). He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile (1876 ...

) ** Josefa Carrera Fontecilla (1820-1898; wife of José Ramón Lira Calvo) ** José Miguel Carrera Fontecilla (es) (1820-1860); husband of Emilia Pinto Benavente, father of

Ignacio Carrera Pinto Ignacio Carrera Pinto (February 5, 1848 – July 10, 1882) was a Chilean hero of the War of the Pacific. Carrera and his 77 men of the Fourth Company of Chacabuco are regarded in Chile as great heroes, and are commonly referred to as the ''"Héro ...

) *Marriage:

** José Benjamín Benavente Fontecilla (husband of Rosa Vargas González) ** Mercedes Quiteria Benavente Fontecilla (wife of Miguel Calvo Valenzuela) ** Mariana Benavente Fontecilla ** Carolina Benavente Fontecilla

Legacy

There is a school in the

Quilicura Quilicura ( ; ) is a commune of Chile located in capital Santiago. Founded in 1901, it was originally a satellite city on what were then the outskirts of the city of Santiago, but as urban sprawl has set in it is now quickly urbanizing from what w ...

area of Santiago, Chile named Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera.

Javiera Díaz de Valdés Javiera Díaz de Valdés Alemparte (born 30 June 1981 in Santiago), is a Chilean television actress best known for her role in the telenovela "Gatas y Tuercas". Javiera is a descendant of Javiera Carrera, a Chilean patriot of Basque descent, mar ...

, a descendent of Fontecilla's sister-in-law

Javiera Carrera Francisca Xaviera Eudoxia Rudecinda Carmen de los Dolores de la Carrera y Verdugo (March 1, 1781 – August 20, 1862), better known as Javiera Carrera, was a Chilean independence activist. Together with her brothers José Miguel, Juan José and ...

, portrayed her in the Chilean miniseries '' Héroes''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontecilla, Maria Mercedes 1799 births 1853 deaths First ladies of Chile People from Santiago 19th-century Chilean people

Biography

Family

Legacy

See also

References