José Victorino Lastarria (; 23 March 1817 – 14 June 1888) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an writer, legislative deputy, senator, diplomat, and finance minister.

Early life

José Victorino Lastarria was the son of Francisco Lastarria y Cortés and Carmen Santander Bozo. He studied in his hometown of Rancagua, and then moved to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

when he was granted a scholarship by the government of

Francisco Antonio Pinto Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente (; July 23, 1785 – July 18, 1858) was a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile between 1827 and 1829. Early life He was born in Santiago, the son of Joaquín Pinto and Mercedes D ...

to the ''Liceo de Chile'', a school then run by . While there, the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30 occurred, in which the

Pipiolos image:RamonFreire.jpg, 180px, Ramón Freire, hero of the Chilean War of Independence and head of state between 1823 and 1826 and again in 1827, was an icon of the Pipiolo movement ''Pipiolos'' (spanish language, Spanish for a young or naive pers ...

(Liberals) were defeated by the

Pelucones image:MEgaña.jpg, 180px, Mariano Egaña, was a notable Pelucón; politically he felt affinity to constitutional monarchy as a form of government. Pelucones (spanish language, Spanish for bigwigs) was the name used to refer to Chilean aristocrac ...

(Conservatives). Mora was expelled from the country, which motivated Lastarria to become a revolutionary against what he saw as a dictatorship being installed. Lastarria married Julia Jesús Villarreal on 8 June 1839, with whom he had 12 children. One was engineer .

Studies

Lastarria was a disciple of

Andrés Bello Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López (; November 29, 1781 – October 15, 1865) was a Venezuelan Humanism, humanist, diplomat, poet, legislator, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute a ...

in 1834. After graduating from the National Institute, he studied for various careers, earning the titles of

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and attorney from the University of San Felipe and the Institute of Law and Sacred Canons in 1839. With a group of students from the National Institute, he formed the

Literary Society of 1842 Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, an entity for the dissemination of liberal ideas then prohibited by the government of

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure who was President of Chile from 1841 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the ...

. In 1843, Lastarria joined the ranks of the founding professors of the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

Political career

In 1848, with the escalation of repression by the country's

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government, Lastarria joined the , a revolutionary group which sought to overthrow Bulnes and the Constitution of 1833. In 1850 he was arrested by the government and sent to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. He returned to participate in the Revolution of 1851, seeking to annul the election of

Manuel Montt Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres (; September 4, 1809 – September 21, 1880) was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861. He was the first civilian to serve a full term as Presi ...

. This was defeated by aggressive government action, and Lastarria escaped back to Peru, labeled one of the "ten most wanted men in Chile". His brother Manuel was arrested by the government. Lastarria joined other exiles seeking international support to oust the Conservative government. On the advice of Francisco Bilbao, he returned to Chile in 1853, settling in

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

, where he supported mobilizations against the government and joined the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, a then-unrecognized institution in Chile. In 1859, after the popular uprising that forced Antonio Varas to abandon his candidacy, Lastarria became one of the main faces of the transition to Liberal government that took place between 1861 and 1871 under the administration of

José Joaquín Pérez José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano (; 6 May 1801 – 1 July 1889) was a Chilean lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served as President of Chile from 1861 to 1871. Born in Santiago to an aristocratic family, Pérez studied humanities at the Rea ...

. At this time, in addition to being dean of philosophy at the University of Chile, he was appointed

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, where he tried to impose social market economic concepts, without much success. In 1860 he published a notable

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...

with a political tone, ''Don Guillermo''. It denounced the lack of social freedom under conservative governments through an allegory with

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

myths and legends. It was a brief but intense work which earned him both success and animosity in the years of Conservative-Liberal transition. In 1862 Lastarria returned to Lima, this time as an

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

. He was present in 1864 during the

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War (), was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia from 1865 to 1879. The conflict began with Spain's seiz ...

, which motivated Chile to declare war against

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 ...

. In early 1865 he traveled to

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 ...

, leading a diplomatic mission with the objective of forming an alliance against the Spanish, as well as negotiating the possession of

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. Lastarria proposed an agreement which would grant Argentina almost the entire territory in question, with the exception of

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

and some surrounding areas. However, when he returned to Chile, the government rejected the deal. This was later used by Argentine authorities to justify their subsequent domination of the vast majority of Patagonia. In fact, Lastarria did not think Chile had a valid claim to those territories, and given his Americanist convictions, did not want a war to break out over them. In 1876 he was appointed

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

by President Aníbal Pinto. In this period he created the '' Diario Oficial'', which became Chile's official

government gazette A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...

. In 1879, during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

, Lastarria was sent to

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 order to prevent that country from supporting any of Chile's enemies. He completed this task successfully. Lastarria also served as minister of the (1875) and the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

(1883), a deputy in several legislatures (for

Caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

and

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

in 1855, Valparaíso in 1858, and La Serena in 1867), and a corresponding member of the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

(1870).

Tributes

On 1 June 1913, President

Ramón Barros Luco Ramón Barros Luco (; June 9, 1835 – September 20, 1919) was President of Chile between 1910 and 1915. Barros Luco was born in 1835 in Santiago, Barros Luco was son of Ramón Luis Barros Fernández and Dolores Luco Fernández de Leiva. He gra ...

and University of Chile rector inaugurated Liceo José Victorino Lastarria (José Victorino Lastarria High School) in his honor. A Liceo José Victorino Lastarria was also established in his hometown of Rancagua.

References

External links