Antonio Álvarez Jonte (

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, 1784 –

Pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative ...

, Perú, October 18, 1820) was an Argentine

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He was born in

in 1784 and moved with parents to Córdoba when young. He studied law at Córdoba University and obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

at the Real Universidad de San Felipe in

Santiago de Chile 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, whose ...

. He opened a law practice in Buenos Aires, and lived there at the time of the British invasions. He offered his services as volunteer in the militia but was declined due to poor health.

Second Tiumvirate

Álvarez Jonte took part on the preparations for 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. After the revolution, the newly constituted

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 ...

sent him to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

to try to foment a similar revolution there. This happened in October 1810, and Álvarez Jonte became the first Argentine ambassador to this country. Towards the end of 1810 he was in Buenos Aires and he joined Mariano Moreno's revolutionary group. The Junta named him member of the Cabildo, where he pressed to dissolve the governing Junta when news of the Battle of Huaqui disaster arrived. He supported the formation of 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 ...

, and by their initiative he was named again rector of the Cabildo for the year 1812. He moved to the opposition when the government of Rivadavia dissolved the first national assembly in 1812. Álvarez Jonte joined the Lautaro lodge, founded by Alvear and San Martín, and supported the October 1812 revolution, (started by San Martín after the arrival of the news of the military victory at the

Battle of Tucumán The Battle of Tucumán was a battle fought on 24 and 25 September 1812 near the Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucumán, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, commanded by General Manuel Belgrano, defeated the royal ...

). By this movement the First Triumvirate was dissolved and replaced by a Second Triumvirate, formed by Juan José Paso, Nicolás Rodríguez Peña, and Álvarez Jonte. A short while later Paso was replaced by José Julián Pérez, and a few months later, Rodríguez Peña was replaced by

Gervasio Posadas Gervasio Antonio de Posadas y Dávila (18 June 1757, in Buenos Aires – 2 July 1833, in Buenos Aires) was a member of Argentina's Second Triumvirate from 19 August 1813 to 31 January 1814, after which he served as Supreme Director until 9 Janua ...

, Alvear's uncle. In reality, the government was controlled by the Lautaro Lodge and by Alvear. The Triumvirate called for a

National Constitutional Assembly The National Constitutional Assembly was a non-governmental organisation formed in 1997 as a grouping of individual Zimbabwean citizens and civic organisations including, labour movements, student and youth groups, women groups, churches, business ...

, dominated by Buenos Aires where most of the deputies from the interior of the country were named by the Lodge, in Buenos Aires. The Assembly did not meet its objectives, not having declared independence from Spain, nor sanctioning any constitution. By the end of 1813, Juan Larrea (a rich and influential friend of Alvear and of British commerce) replace Álvarez Jonte, who was named to lead the commission investigating the military defeats at Vilcapugio and Ayohuma.

Collaboration with San Martín

Álvarez Jonte travelled to Tucumán to start the investigations and legal proceedings, but later he declined to judge general Belgrano. In early 1814 he reorganized the government of

Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neigh ...

. Was then named as military comptroller to the

Army of the North The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...

during the short period where its commander in chief was San Martín. Álvarez Jonte then returned to Buenos Aires, where he served as general war comptroller, and worked in this post during the brief government of Alvear. After the mutiny that led to the Alvear's fall from government, he was exiled to London. There he joined the local Lautaro Lodge and dedicated himself to the formation of a navy squadron for Chile, recently liberated from Spain by San Martín, supporting the latter's plans to attack the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...

by sea. He arrived in Chile with Admiral Thomas Cochrane in November 1818, with the navy's ships intended to move the

Army of the Andes The Army of the Andes ( es, Ejército de los Andes) was a military force created by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) and mustered by general José de San Martín in his campaign to free Chile from the Spanish Empire. In 181 ...

to Peru. Even though he fell ill, he was named army comptroller and secretary to San Martín. He accompanied Cochrane in the first naval campaign to the port of

El Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Call ...

. In August 1820 he embarked with San Martín towards Peru again. A short time after arriving, he fell gravely ill (probably of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

) and died in October 1820 in the port of Pisco. An avenue in Buenos Aires's Monte Castro neighborhood, is named after him.

References

External links

elforolatino.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez Jonte, Antonio 1784 births 1820 deaths People from Buenos Aires Members of Argentine triumvirates Immigrants to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata Spanish emigrants People of the Spanish Empire

Second Tiumvirate

Collaboration with San Martín

References

Further reading

External links