Miguel de Azcuénaga (June 4, 1754 – December 19, 1833) was an Argentine brigadier. Educated in Spain, at the University of Seville, Azcuénaga began his military career in the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called " Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, i ...

and became a member of the

Primera Junta The Primera Junta ( en, First Junta) or ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' (''Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata''), is the most common name given to the first government of ...

, the first autonomous government of modern Argentina. He was shortly exiled because of his support to the minister

Mariano Moreno Mariano Moreno (; September 23, 1778March 4, 1811) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution. Moreno was b ...

, and returned to Buenos Aires when the

First Triumvirate The First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic: Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The constitution of the Roman republic had many ve ...

replaced the Junta. He held several offices since then, most notably being the first Governor intendant of Buenos Aires after 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 ...

. He died at his country house (the modern Quinta de Olivos) in 1833.

Biography

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

Miguel de Azcuénaga 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 ...

on June 4, 1754. He was the son of Vicente de Azcuénaga Iturbe, a Spanish businessman from the

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 ...

province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, and María Rosa de Basavilbaso y Urtubia, from Buenos Aires. The Azcuénaga-Basavilbaso had 4 sons and 3 daughters. Miguel de Azcuénaga was sent to Spain at an early age, to complete his elementary studies in Málaga and then attend the

University of Seville The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, it has a present student body of over 69.200, and is one of the top-ranked universi ...

. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1774, and made a new journey to Spain to oversee the business of his father.National..., p. 67 He began his military career in the artillery of Buenos Aires, during the Spanish–Portuguese War, staying in that unit until the signing of the

First Treaty of San Ildefonso The First Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed on 1 October 1777 between Spain and Portugal. It settled long-running territorial disputes between the two kingdoms' possessions in South America, primarily in the Río de la Plata region. Background ...

that incorporated the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental, or more fully Banda Oriental del Uruguay (Eastern Bank), was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay; the modern state of Rio Gra ...

to the

. With the war concluded, he became a ''

regidor A regidor (plural: ''regidores'') is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of ''regedor''. Mexico In Mexico, an ayuntamiento (municipal council) is composed of a municipal ...

'' of the

Buenos Aires Cabildo The Cabildo of Buenos Aires ( es, Cabildo de Buenos Aires) is the public building in Buenos Aires that was used as seat of the town council during the colonial era and the government house of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Today the bu ...

. He took the arms again in 1778, during an attack of the natives, and directed the operations at the fort in

San Miguel del Monte San Miguel del Monte (also known as Monte) is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the Administrative centre, county seat of Monte Partido, and was established in 1864. External links Municipal websitein the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain, it was suspected that the British might launch an offensive against the Spanish colonies. Azcuénaga led an artillery unit with 4 cannons in 1781, but no British attack took place. He was appointed to several offices within the Buenos Aires Cabildo in the 1781-1794 period. On April 7, 1789, he helped a number of shoemakers to establish a guild. Although there were several in Spain, no guild constitution from Spain was used as a model. He promoted the pavement of the streets, and the improvement of the buildings. Supported by the viceroy

Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo, Pelegrin, Ahedo Zorilla de San Martin y Venero (17 April 1726 – 4 April 1802) was a Spanish soldier and politician born in the village of Bárcena de Cicero on Spain's Atlantic Coast. He was the fourth viceroy ...

, he collected $8,000 and provided 500 cattle to mine rocks from the Martín García Island for this work. He married his cousin Justa Rufina de Basavilbaso y Garfias on February 6, 1795. He was appointed lieutenant colonel in 1796, leading a local militia from that year to 1802. When he left, he granted all his military wages from that period to the soldiers of his unit. He was appointed colonel on March 24, 1802, and donated $2,435 for the clothing of the soldiers. He further donated $1,000,000 to build a navy, along with Juan Larrea and

Domingo Matheu Domingo Bartolomé Francisco Matheu (4 August 1765, in Mataró. Spain – 28 March 1831, in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was a Spanish-born Argentine businessman and politician. He was a member of the Primera Junta, the first national government ...

. He fought in the 1806

British invasions of the Río de la Plata The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of areas in the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata that were located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in ...

, commanding a

last stand A last stand is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are defending a tactic ...

on the Gálvez bridge. His men manage to hold their position for 20 hours, with only 400 soldiers, against a much larger British force. He eventually was forced with withdraw with only 50 soldiers remaining, and proceeded to join forces with the brigadier Hilarión de la Quintana.

Argentine War of Independence

The

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

in Spain, along with the capture of the king

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

and the fall of the

Junta of Seville The Supreme Central and Governing Junta of Spain and the Indies (also known as Supreme Central Junta, the Supreme Council, and Junta of Seville; es, Junta Suprema Central y Gubernativa de España e Indias) formally was the Spanish organ (junta) t ...

, escalated political disputes in Buenos Aires that led to the

. Several criollos thought that the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, appointed by the fallen Junta, did not have legitimacy, and requested an

open cabildo The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political action for convening citizens to make important decisions. It is comparable to the North American town hall meeting. History Colonial period The open c ...

to discuss it. Azcuénaga attended it, and voted for the creation of a Junta with deputies from all the provinces, with the Cabildo ruling in the interregnum. However, the majority agreed with the creation of a junta, but with another junta of people from Buenos ruling in the meantime. The viceroy tried to stay in government as president of the Junta, which was resisted by the criollos. Azcuénaga lend his house to their secret meetings. Azcuénaga was appointed as a member of the new

, and promoted to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

. The reasons of Azcuénaga's inclusion in the Junta are unclear, as with all its members. A common accepted theory considers it to be a balance between Carlotists, Alzaguists, the military and the clergy; besides being from the armed forces, Azcuénaga had close ties with the rich people of the city. The Junta suffered from internal conflicts between the conservatives (led by

Cornelio Saavedra Cornelio Judas Tadeo de Saavedra y Rodríguez (September 15, 1759 in Otuyo – March 29, 1829 in Buenos Aires) was a military officer and statesman from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. He was instrumental in the May Revolution, the firs ...

) and the liberals (led by

). Azcuénaga was aligned with Moreno. Although he opposed the expansion of the Junta into the

Junta Grande Junta Grande (), or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de Buenos Aires, is the most common name for the executive government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina), that followed the incorporation of provincial represent ...

, he voted for the proposal, perhaps under pressure of Saavedra. Mariano Moreno resigned in December, and all his supporters were forced to resign in May 1811. Azcuénaga was exiled to the

Mendoza Province Mendoza, officially Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the republic o ...

, and lost his military rank. His wife requested instead an exile to the closer Luján, which was declined. The Junta was replaced by the

. Azcuénaga still had a positive image among his peers, and the political change allowed his return and the restitution of his rank. However, a mistake with the documentation gave him only the rank of colonel; he could only retrieve his rank of Brigadier in 1814. He was appointed Governor intendant of Buenos Aires (ruling over the province, whereas the Triumvirate had a national authority). The

Assembly of the Year XIII The Assembly of Year XIII ( es, Asamblea del Año XIII) was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on October 181 ...

replaced the Triumvirate with a unipersonal head of state, the

Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, Director Supremo de las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata) was a title given to the executive officers of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata according to the f ...

. Gervasio Antonio de Posadas was appointed Supreme Director, and Azcuénaga selected as one of his five advisors. In 1816 the Cabildo appointed him as protector of the freedom of the press. He became a member of the

Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, fro ...

in 1818, when it was moved from

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentina, ...

to Buenos Aires. He was elected vice-president of the Congress in September and reelected in May 1819. The defeat of Buenos Aires in 1820 at the Battle of Cepeda, part of the Argentine Civil Wars, led to the closing of the Congress. Like many other nineteenth century Argentines prominent in public life, Azcuénaga was a freemason.

Later life

In 1828, aged 74, he took part in the peace negotiations with the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

after the end of the Argentine-Brazilian War, which led to the creation of the state of

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Those negotiations took place in Montevideo. He managed the economy in 1829 and 1830, and became a deputy in 1831 and 1832. His fellow deputies pointed that he attended all the legislative sessions, despite of his old age.National..., p. 72 Azcuénaga died at his home on December 19, 1833. The governor Juan José Viamonte ordered the construction of a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

at the Northern Cemetery (modern

La Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de la Recoleta) is a cemetery located in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, ...

), which is still in place today. The official decree stated that "''the noteworthy services he gave to the nation at all times the brigadier general Miguel de Azcuénaga, and particularly in the days of the glorious independence, require a demonstration that takes to posterity the name of this patriot, and keeps the memory of his civic virtues''". Azcuénaga's country house was built during the establishment of Buenos Aires in 1580 by

Juan de Garay Juan de Garay (1528–1583) was a Spanish conquistador. Garay's birthplace is disputed. Some say it was in the city of Junta de Villalba de Losa in Castile, while others argue he was born in the area of Orduña (Basque Country). There's n ...

. After several generations it was inherited by Justa Rufina Basavilbaso, Azcuénaga's wife. Further generations of the family (with ancestry of the viceroy Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú as well) inherited it, until Carlos Villate Olaguer gave it to the Argentine state in 1913, to be used as an

official residence An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

of the President of Argentina. It was renamed as '' Quinta de Olivos'', and it was used by all Argentine presidents since

Agustín Pedro Justo Agustín Pedro Justo Rolón (26 February 1876 – 11 January 1943) was an Argentine military officer, diplomat and politician, who served as the president of Argentina from 1932 to 1938 during the Infamous Decade. Justo took part in the coup of ...

References

Bibliography