José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra (March 4, 1773 – November 18, 1844) was a general and politician in

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

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in the early 19th century.

Life and Politics

He was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

but soon after his birth, the family moved to

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, where he grew up and went to school. At the age of twenty, he joined the armed forces in Buenos Aires, but later transferred to a regiment in Montevideo. During the British invasion of 1806, he was captured and sent to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. After the defeat of the British troops, he was released and went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where he fought in the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. When he returned to Montevideo in August 1810, he joined the independentist forces and was nominated military leader of the independentist armies of the ''Banda Oriental'', later Uruguay. His military successes in the various battles for Montevideo (including the Siege of Montevideo (1812–14)) won him the post of the military leader of the campaign in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, replacing José de San Martín, who had to resign for health reasons. In 1815, the Constituting General Assembly of the provinces of La Plata elected Rondeau their Supreme Director, but due to his absence, he never served as director. Ignacio Álvarez Thomas was named acting Supreme Director in his place. After two defeats against the Spanish royalist troops in Peru at Venta y Media and Sipe-Sipe, he was relieved from his command in 1816. He returned to Buenos Aires, where he became governor for a brief stint from June 5 to July 30, 1818. In 1819 he became Pueyrredón's successor as Supreme Director (serving this time), but had to resign the following year after the Battle of Cepeda. Subsequently, Rondeau retreated to Montevideo and tried to keep out of the internal wars between competing generals of the independentists. Nevertheless, he led several military campaigns against the Indians and in the independence wars against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In 1828, after the Treaty of Montevideo, he was elected as the governor of the newly founded Eastern Republic of Uruguay. Rondeau occupied this post from December 22, 1828 until April 17, 1830, when he was forced to abdicate by his opponent Juan Antonio Lavalleja, who held the majority in the still young parliament. Lavalleja was named governor ''ad interim''. Rondeau still served as general in the army, though. In the civil war of Uruguay from 1836 between the ''Blancos'' ("White") and the ''Colorados'' ("Red"), he fought on the side of the latter and served as their war minister. He was killed in 1844 during the Great Siege of Montevideo.

External links

Short biography
(in Spanish).
Longer biography
also in Spanish. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rondeau Pereyra, Jose Casimiro 1773 births 1844 deaths Politicians from Buenos Aires Military personnel from Buenos Aires Argentine people of French descent Uruguayan independence activists People of the Argentine War of Independence Argentine generals Governors of Buenos Aires Province Supreme Directors of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata Foreign ministers of Argentina Uruguayan politicians Argentine military personnel killed in action Defence ministers of Uruguay Ambassadors of Uruguay to Argentina 19th-century Argentine military personnel Burials at the Central Cemetery of Montevideo People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

Life and Politics

See also

External links