Juan José Castelli (19 July 176412 October 1812) was an
Argentine
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
lawyer who was one of the leaders of the
May Revolution
The May Revolution () was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, ...
, which led to the
Argentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...
. He led an ill-fated military campaign in
Upper Peru
Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...
.
Juan José Castelli 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 ...
, and went to school at the
Real Colegio de San Carlos in Buenos Aires and
Monserrat College in the city of
Córdoba, Argentina. He graduated as a lawyer from the
University of Charcas, in
Upper Peru
Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...
. His cousin,
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...
, introduced him to the public administration of the
Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. Along with Belgrano,
Nicolás Rodríguez Peña, and
Hipólito Vieytes, Castelli planned a revolution to replace the
absolute monarchy with the new ideas of the
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...
. He led the Buenos Aires patriots during the May Revolution, which ended with the removal of viceroy
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros y de la Torre (6 January 1756 – 9 June 1829) was a Spanish Navy officer and colonial administrator. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against ...
from power. He is known as the "Speaker of the Revolution" for his speech during the
open cabildo
The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political assembly for convening citizens to deliberate policy. Originating in Spanish America as an iteration of the ''cabildo'', it also spread to Spain.
His ...
held in Buenos Aires on 22 May 1810.
Castelli was appointed a Committee member of the
Primera Junta
The Primera Junta ("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 what ...
and was sent to
Córdoba to end
Santiago de Liniers
Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, Order of Montesa, KOM, Order of Malta, OM (July 25, 1753 – August 26, 1810) was a Spanish military officer and a viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Alt ...
's counter-revolution. He succeeded, and ordered the execution of Liniers and his supporters. He then commanded the establishment of a revolutionary government in
Upper Peru
Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...
(today's
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
) with the aim of freeing the indigenous peoples and African slaves. In 1811 Castelli signed a truce with the
Spanish in Upper Peru, but they betrayed him and caught the
Northern Army unprepared. As a result, the Argentines suffered a major loss in the
Battle of Huaqui
The Battle of Huaqui or Battle of Guaqui-modern spelling- (in some sources also called Yuraicoragua or Battle of Desaguadero), was a battle on June 20, 1811,
between the Primera Junta's (Buenos Aires) revolutionary troops and the royalist ...
on 20 June 1811. When Castelli returned to Buenos Aires, the
First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic: Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gaius Julius Caesar. The republican constitution had many veto points. ...
imprisoned him for losing the battle, and Castelli died shortly afterwards from tongue cancer.
Biography
Early life and studies
Castelli 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 ...
in 1764. He was the first of eight children born to a
Venetian doctor, Ángel Castelli Salomón, and Josefa Villarino, who was a relative of
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...
. He was trained by the
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
s shortly before their expulsion, and attended the
Real Colegio de San Carlos in Buenos Aires. As was customary, one of the children of the Castelli family was ordained into the priesthood, and Juan José was chosen for this. He was sent to study at the Colegio Monserrat, part of the
University of Córdoba. He was influenced by the works of
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
and
Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during t ...
, and especially by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
's ''
The Social Contract
''The Social Contract'', originally published as ''On the Social Contract; or, Principles of Political Right'' (), is a 1762 French-language book by the Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The book theorizes about how ...
''. He was a fellow student of men who would later have influence in the public life of South America, including Saturnino Rodríguez Peña,
Juan José Paso,
Manuel Alberti,
Pedro Medrano, and
Juan Martínez de Rozas, among others. He focused on studying philosophy and theology, but when his father died in 1785, he abandoned his career in the priesthood, for which he felt no strong vocation.
Rejecting his mother's proposal of sending him to study in Spain at the
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...
and
Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish municipality of the Community of Madrid. Housing is primarily located on the right (north) bank of the Henares River, Henares. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municip ...
, alongside his cousin Manuel Belgrano, he enrolled in jurisprudence studies in the
University of Chuquisaca, in the
Upper Peru
Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...
(modern
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
). There, he learned about the ongoing
French Revolution, and the new ideas of the
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...
. He also learned about the 1782
Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II
The Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II (4 November 1780 – 15 March 1783) was an uprising by ''cacique''-led Aymara, Quechua, and ''mestizo'' rebels aimed at overthrowing Spanish colonial rule in Peru. The causes of the rebellion included opposit ...
and the oppression of the indigenous peoples, which influenced his actions in his future
Upper Peru campaign. Before returning to Buenos Aires, he visited
Potosí
Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...
and witnessed the use of slave labor in the mines.
Castelli returned to Buenos Aires and established a legal firm in his family home. He represented the University of Córdoba in various causes, as well as his uncle, Domingo Belgrano Peri. Through his associations with Saturnino Rodríguez Peña, he also met and befriended his brother,
Nicolás Rodríguez Peña, and his associate,
Hipólito Vieytes. Castelli married María Rosa Lynch in 1794, and they had seven children:
Angela, Pedro, Luciano, Alejandro, Francisco José, and Juana.
Like many other nineteenth century Argentines prominent in public life, he was a
freemason
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 ...
.
His professional development allowed him to buy, in August and take possession on 7 December 1798, the 335-hectare farm that belonged to Bishop Azamor y Ramírez on the outskirts of the
viceregal capital, in the current neighborhood of
Núñez. At the beginning of 1808 he moved his house to the farm. Here he was in the neighborhood of
Cornelio Saavedra,
Juan Larrea,
Miguel de Azcuénaga and
José Darregueira. In this farm he had crops and a brick factory.
Acting as a colonial official
Fifteen years before the creation of the consulate, the merchants of Buenos Aires managed to constitute a Board that was formalized as a representative body or corporation on 18 May 1779.
They constituted a heterogeneous group that differed:
a) By the place of permanent residence (Spain, "golondrinas" and Buenos Aires) and,
b) By the most important activity to which they were engaged.
First political steps

The intellectuals of the viceroyalty received and secretly distributed a copy of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Decl ...
, promulgated by the French Revolution in 1789. Meanwhile, Belgrano returned from his studies in Europe, and was appointed as Perpetual Secretary of the new
Consulate of Commerce of Buenos Aires. Belgrano and Castelli shared similar ideas about the Spanish trade monopoly and the rights of the natives. Belgrano attempted to appoint Castelli as interim Secretary of the Consulate as his assistant, but faced strong opposition from the
peninsular merchants, who delayed the appointment until 1796. Belgrano became ill during his stay in Europe, which forced him to take extended leaves from work, and wanted Castelli to be his successor if he resigned.
[Luna (2004), p. 21]
There was a similar opposition during the 1799 election of delegates to the
Buenos Aires Cabildo
The Cabildo of Buenos Aires () is the public building in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, that was used as a seat of the town council during the colonial era and the government house of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
The building w ...
: Castelli was elected as third ''Regidor'', but was rejected by merchants associated with the port of
Cádiz
Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
. The conflict lasted a year, until the prominent local merchant
Cornelio Saavedra wrote a memorandum recommending Castelli.
Viceroy Avilés finally confirmed him in office by royal decree, in May 1800. Castelli, however, rejected the post because of his high workload in the consulate. This was seen as an insult by peninsular merchants such as
Martín de Álzaga, who was influential in the Cabildo.
Castelli and Belgrano backed a pair of projects from
Francisco Cabello y Mesa, who had just arrived from Spain. Cabello proposed the creation of a "Patriotic, Literary and Economic Society" lodge and the publication of a newspaper. This newspaper, the first one published in Buenos Aires, was named ''
Telégrafo Mercantil''. However, both projects were short-lived: the lodge was never established and its activities were banned by royal decree, and the consulate was instructed to withdraw support for the newspaper, which was then closed. Published by Castelli, Cabello, and Belgrano (secretary of the publication), as well as
José Manuel Lavardén,
Miguel de Azcuénaga and Fray
Cayetano Rodríguez, the ''Telegraph'' was the first journal to advance the concept of
fatherland
A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic nation ...
, and the first to speak of the inhabitants as "
Argentines
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
".
Nevertheless,
Hipólito Vieytes released a new newspaper shortly afterwards, the ''Agriculture, Trade and Industry Weekly'', with Castelli in the staff. The editorial staff had meetings at the house of
Saturnino Rodríguez Peña, discussing ideas for technical improvements in agriculture, removal of trade restrictions, development, manufacturing, and other topics. The newspaper also published the biographies of some
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...
, such as
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
.
Performance in journalism
One example is the "Telegrafo Mercantil" which contains a poem in honor of the recently appointed viceroy
Joaquín del Pino. The ideas of the
enlightenment, especially practical and
utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...
knowledge to improve the quality of life, penetrated late in Spain due to isolation,
traditionalist ideas and the peninsular
Inquisition
The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
. It was this need to get Spain out of its growing
backwardness, in the face of the development of the other European powers, that made the ministers and royal advisers transform these ideas into "
state policy". The "enlightened" economic, social, administrative and political changes had to come from the top down: "All for the people but without the people." In this context, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created in 1776; as well as the Hearing in 1785 and the Consulate of Buenos Aires in 1794. The demographic, economic and bureaucratic growth of Buenos Aires gave rise to the birth of a heterodox elite both within the Church and in the secular sectors abandoning many lawyers and other counsels. Several
Spanish Americans
Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...
traveled to Spain to study, such as Manuel José de Lavardén (1770–1778), Dean
Gregorio Funes (1775–1779) and Manuel Belgrano (1786–1793). In 1783 the Royal College of San Carlos was inaugurated at the initiative of Viceroy Vértiz and the leadership of the reformist canon Juan Baltazar Maciel, possessor of a wide and eclectic library that members of the elite could consult. All these changes not only aimed to increase the fiscal resources of the Crown, they also improved the living conditions of the inhabitants: health through the institution of the Protomedicato in 1780, the lighting of the streets and the reuse of the printing press of the Jesuits abandoned in
Córdoba which, at the beginning of 1780, was transferred by the order of Viceroy Vértiz to Buenos Aires and given property to the Casa de los Niños Foundling for the printing of government documents or cathons and primers used by the Catholic Enlightenment.
The British invasions
Rodriguez Peña introduced Castelli to Irishman
James Florence Burke, who informed Castelli that the
British government
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. supported proposals published by
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary who fought in the American Revolutionary War, the French R ...
which aimed to emancipate the Latin American colonies from Spanish colonial rule. Unbeknownst to Castelli, Burke was also working as a
spy, gathering information about the Spanish colonies. Using promises of British support, Burke founded the first Latin American
secret society
A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...
organized for such purposes. It would henceforth be known as "party of independence", and included Castelli, Burke and major contributors of Vieytes's newspaper. Burke was eventually uncovered by Viceroy
Rafael de Sobremonte and expelled from the viceroyalty, but his involvement in espionage was not disclosed to his associates.
Castelli moved to a farm in modern the Buenos Aires neighborhood of
Núñez. The farm had some agriculture fields and a small brick factory. He lived next to other influential people like Cornelio Saavedra,
Juan Larrea, Miguel de Azcuénaga, and attorney
José Darragueira. The meetings of the secret society continued, unaffected by the departure of Burke. On 2 June 1806, Castelli's mother died, and he was still in mourning when the city learned of a British landing in
Quilmes
Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...
.
The "party of independence" was caught by surprise by the invasion, as the British proclaimed respect for religion, ownership, order, freedom, and trade—but made no mention concerning Miranda's ideals. They arranged an interview with the British Viscount
William Carr Beresford, asking for a clarification on whether the promises of Burke were still standing. They also asked if the British government would support an
independentist attempt. Beresford gave evasive answers, saying he had no instructions to that effect. He explained that with the recent death of Prime Minister
William Pitt and the rise of the Whigs to power, he needed further orders.
Castelli felt that the British were either unable or unwilling to keep to the promises made by Burke, and resigned to avoid swearing allegiance to Britain.
Santiago de Liniers
Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, Order of Montesa, KOM, Order of Malta, OM (July 25, 1753 – August 26, 1810) was a Spanish military officer and a viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Alt ...
re-captured Buenos Aires a short time later, but Saturnino Rodríguez Peña helped Beresford escape, hoping to influence an eventual second invasion to implement reforms supported by Burke and Miranda. The second British invasion, however, once again expressed nothing concerning Miranda's ideals, and Castelli eventually chose to fight against his former allies.
After the successful defense of the city in 1807, the local
criollos increased their political power with their higher military role. There was a dispute between the newly appointed Viceroy, Santiago de Liniers, and the
Buenos Aires Cabildo
The Cabildo of Buenos Aires () is the public building in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, that was used as a seat of the town council during the colonial era and the government house of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
The building w ...
, led by
Martín de Álzaga. Both attempted to take advantage of the new situation, and influence the criollos to support them. Álzaga refrained from accusing Rodríguez Peña for aiding in Beresford's escape, and Liniers kept the criollo military bodies armed.
Carlotism
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
invaded Spain in 1807, starting the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
. King
Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV (; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808.
The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disa ...
abdicated in favor of his son
Ferdinand VII
Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...
, but Napoleon captured him and appointed his own brother,
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...
, as king of Spain instead, in a series of transfers of the
Spanish crown
The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country.
The Spanish ...
known as the
abdications of Bayonne
The Abdications of Bayonne took place on 7 May 1808 in the castle of Marracq in Bayonne when the French emperor Napoleon I forced two Spanish kings— Charles IV and his son, Ferdinand VII—to renounce the throne in his favour. The move was Na ...
. The Spanish people organized
Government Juntas to resist against the French occupation, and within months the Junta Central of Seville claimed supreme authority over Spain and the colonies. This situation encouraged the Princess
Charlotte of Spain to claim the regency of the Spanish American colonies.
In this context, Castelli and Álzaga plotted to oust Liniers and constitute a local government Junta, similar to those of the metropoli. This project was not shared by most of the natives or by the head of the Regiment of Patricians,
Cornelio Saavedra. Manuel Belgrano proposed as an alternative to support the plans of Princess Charlotte, which were supported by Castelli and other criollos. Belgrano, who held
monarchist ideas, argued that the Carlotist project would be the most practical means of achieving independence from Spain in the circumstances. On 20 September 1808, Castelli wrote a letter to Charlotte, with the signatures of
Antonio Beruti,
Hipólito Vieytes, Belgrano, and
Nicolás Rodríguez Peña.
Charlotte rejected this support: the party of independence sought to establish a
constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
headed by Charlotte, but she preferred to retain the power of an
absolutist monarchy. Consequently, she denounced the letter and organized the detention of
Diego Paroissien. Paroissien, who had several letters to the criollos, was charged with
high treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...
. Castelli was his lawyer.
Castelli won Paroissien's acquittal by invoking the doctrine of the
retroversion of the sovereignty of the people, which claimed that the Spanish American lands were a personal possession of the
King of Spain
The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country.
The Spanish ...
but not a Spanish
colony
A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
. That approach was already old, and it was used to legislate in both districts, but in this context Castelli argued that neither the Council of Regency or any other power of Spain—other than the rightful King—had authority over Spanish America. Castelli said that "the will of the people of Spain is not enough to bring the Indies to obedience".
[Luna (2001), p. 51] Under these premises, Castelli argued successfully that the regency offered to the sister of the captive king, while not denying the legitimacy of Ferdinand VII, was not an act of treason, but a legitimate political project that should be resolved by the Spanish American people without the intervention of the peninsular Spanish.
On 1 January 1809,
Martín de Álzaga rallied most peninsular battalions to
Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...
and attempted a
mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...
against Liniers. A few criollos, such as
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 bor ...
, laid their hopes for independence in this attempt, but most did not. The battalions still faithful to Liniers – the
Regiment of Patricians, the other criollo battalions, and the remaining peninsular ones – conquered the Plaza and ordered the mutinying forces to withdraw. Castelli supported Liniers, accusing Álzaga of independentism. Though Castelli was himself an independentist, and had also sought to remove Liniers, he opposed Álzaga for other reasons: Álzaga was hoping to maintaining the social dominance of the peninsulares over the criollos once the viceroy, who opposed his interests, was deposed. Álzaga was defeated, and the power of the criollos was increased: Sentenach and Álzaga were banished to
Carmen de Patagones and the Spanish militias who attempted the coup were disbanded.
A new viceroy,
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros y de la Torre (6 January 1756 – 9 June 1829) was a Spanish Navy officer and colonial administrator. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against ...
, arrived in July to replace Liniers, and the independentist group did not agree on how to react. Castelli proposed a resumption of Álzaga's idea of creating a governing Junta, but not headed by the Spanish. Belgrano insisted on the plan to appoint Charlotte as regent of a constitutional monarchy, and Rodriguez Peña proposed a military coup, with or without Liniers at the head. They finally accepted the perspective of Cornelio Saavedra, and delayed taking action until a better opportunity.
May Revolution

When the news of the fall of the
Junta of Seville arrived, the group headed by Castelli and Belgrano led the process leading to the May Revolution. Castelli and Saavedra were the most important leaders of the time, and first discarded
Martín Rodríguez's plan to expel Cisneros in a
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
. After several discussions, they decided to request an
open cabildo
The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political assembly for convening citizens to deliberate policy. Originating in Spanish America as an iteration of the ''cabildo'', it also spread to Spain.
His ...
, an emergency popular assembly. Castelli and Belgrano negotiated with the senior
alcalde
''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...
and
nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, Juan de Lezica, and the procurator, Julián de Leiva. Although they convinced them, they still needed the permission of Cisneros himself, for which Castelli and Rodriguez went to his office at the
Fort of Buenos Aires. Previously, Cornelio Saavedra had denied Cisneros the support of the Regiment of Patricians, on the premise that with the disappearance of the Junta of Seville—who had appointed him as viceroy—he no longer had the right to hold that position.
Cisneros was outraged by the appearance of Castelli and Rodríguez, who came armed and without an appointment. They reacted harshly and demanded an immediate reply to the request for an open cabildo. After a brief private conversation with the prosecutor, Caspe, Cisneros gave his consent. When they were leaving, Cisneros inquired about his personal safety, to which Castelli said: "Lord, Your Excellency's person and your family are among Americans, and this should reassure you". After the interview they returned to the house of Rodríguez Peña, to inform their supporters of the new situation.
Besides his
oratory, Castelli is known as the "Speaker of the Revolution" because of his great activity during the "May week". The memoirs of witnesses and participants mention him at many venues, taking part in many activities. He negotiated with the Cabildo and visited the Fort several times until the viceroy gave in to the pressure. At the same time, he held secret meetings with other criollos at the house of Rodríguez Peña, planning their actions, and he harangued the criollo militias at the barracks. Cisneros himself, describing the events the Council of Regency, called Castelli "the most interested one in the novelty", i.e., in the revolution.

The open cabildo was held on 22 May 1810; it was debated whether the viceroy should continue in office, and if not, who should replace him. The first opinion was from Bishop
Benito Lue y Riega, who held that Cisneros should continue and that, if all of Spain was conquered by France, peninsulars were meant to rule in the Americas. Castelli made a counter-argument, based on the doctrine of the
retroversion of the sovereignty of the people that he had already employed in the defense of Paroissien. He insisted that in the absence of a legitimate authority,
sovereignty
Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
should be returned to the people; they should govern themselves. The idea of dismissing the viceroy ultimately prevailed, but as Buenos Aires had no authority to decide unilaterally the new form of government, they would elect a provisional government. A congress of deputies called from all other cities would take the final decision. However, there were disputes over who should exercise the provisional government: some argued that the
Cabildo should do so, and others that it should be a
Junta. Castelli bowed to Saavedra's proposal to form a Junta, but with the proviso that the procurator of the Cabildo, Julián de Leiva, had a decisive vote in the appointment. By adding this proviso, Castelli sought to add the former supporters of
Martín de Álzaga, such as
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 bor ...
,
Domingo Matheu, and Leiva himself.
However, this power allowed Leiva to perform a maneuver that Castelli had not anticipated. Although he approved the end of Cisneros' rule as viceroy, Leiva formed a Junta with Cisneros as its president; Cisneros would stay in power. The other members of the Junta would have been two peninsulars, the priest
Juan Nepomuceno Solá and the merchant
José Santos Inchaurregui, and two criollos, Saavedra and Castelli. The bulk of the natives rejected the proposal: they did not accept that Cisneros should remain in power, even under a different title. They were suspicious of the intentions of Saavedra, and believed that with Castelli alone in the Junta, little or nothing could be achieved. Castelli and Saavedra resigned that same day to put pressure on Cisneros and force him to resign, and the Junta never came into power.

That same night, the criollos gathered at the home of Rodriguez Pena and compiled a list of members for a governing Junta that was presented on 25 May. Meanwhile,
Domingo French,
Antonio Beruti, Aparicio, Donado, and other armed men occupied the Plaza and its access points. The list included a balance of representatives from different extractions of local politics. Lezica finally reported to Cisneros that he was no longer in command, and the Primera Junta assumed power.
Castelli and Mariano Moreno led the more radical positions of the Junta. They became close friends, visiting each other daily.
Julio César Chávez described them as associates, sharing projects of a deep political, social and economic revolution, based in higher freedom for the Spanish American criollos. He described them as pragmatic men, willing to reward the allies and punish the enemies of the revolution, even if it meant using capital punishments.
[Luna (2001), p. 80] They were called "
Jacobins
The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...
", comparing their actions with those of the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
of the French Revolution, but they were not
Francophile
A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...
s or
afrancesados. Besides this, the similarities between the revolutions at France and Buenos Aires were largely superficial.
One of the first steps of Castelli and the Junta was the expulsion of Cisneros and the judges of the
Royal Audiencia, who were shipped off to Spain under the pretext that their lives were in danger.
Execution of Liniers
Upon hearing the news of the change of government, former viceroy Santiago de Liniers prepared a counter-revolution from the city of
Córdoba, but Francisco Ortiz de Ocampo routed his militia and captured all the leaders in just a couple of skirmishes. The initial orders were to send them to Buenos Aires, but after their capture the Junta decided to execute them. This decision was taken in a resolution signed by all members of the Junta, excepting
Manuel Alberti, because as a priest, he could not give consent to the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
. The measure found strong popular resistance in Córdoba, as Liniers and the governor Juan Gutierrez de la Concha were popular and the execution of a priest (Rodrigo de Orellana, another leader of the counter-revolution) was rejected as heretical. Ocampo and Chiclana decided to carry on with the original orders, and transferred the prisoners to Buenos Aires.
The Junta reconfirmed the order, but excluded the bishop of Córdoba, Rodrigo de Orellana, who was banished instead. Castelli was commissioned by the Junta to enforce the execution order.
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 bor ...
said, "Go, Castelli, and I hope you will not incur the same weakness as our general, if not yet fulfilled the determination, Larrea will go, and finally I'll go myself if necessary". Ocampo and Chiclana were demoted. Castelli's assistants were
Nicolás Rodríguez Peña, elected as secretary, his former client Diego Paroissien as a campaign doctor, and Domingo French as head of the escort.
Right after finding the prisoners, he ordered and presided over their execution: the governor of Córdoba, Juan Gutiérrez de la Concha, the former Viceroy, Santiago de Liniers, former Governor Santiago Alejo de Allende, the adviser Victorino Rodríguez, and the accountant Moreno. The execution took place at Cabeza de Tigre, in the boundary between Santa Fe and Córdoba. The bishop Orellana was not shot, but was compelled to give spiritual assistance to those convicted and to witness the execution.
Domingo French was commissioned to execute the verdict.
After shooting Liniers, Castelli returned briefly to Buenos Aires and met Moreno. The secretary of war congratulated him for his conduct, and appointed him as a member representing the Junta, with full power to direct the operations to La Paz. He also left a series of instructions: Castelli was to put the government in the hands of patriots, earn the native's support, and shoot president Nieto, governor Sanz, and the Bishop of La Paz, in the case of their capture. He received similar orders to capture and execute
José Manuel de Goyeneche, who had already defeated the rebels of
La Paz revolution (a rebellion similar to the May Revolution, which took place at La Paz, modern Bolivia). Castelli was also instructed to rescue and draft to the Auxiliary Army the Arribeños and Patricians soldiers that, under the command of Vicente Nieto, had left Buenos Aires in 1809 to suppress revolutions in
Chuquisaca and La Paz. Suspicious of those soldiers, Nieto had them disarmed and sent as prisoners to the mines of Potosi, under the supervision of Francisco de Paula Sanz. More than a third of the soldiers died within a month of work in the mines.
Campaign in Upper Peru

Castelli was not well received in Córdoba, where Liniers was popular, but he was in
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, Argentin ...
. In
Salta
Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...
, despite a formal good reception, he had difficulty obtaining troops, mules, food, money, or guns. He took political leadership of the expedition to
Upper Peru
Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...
, displacing
Hipólito Vieytes, and replaced Ocampo with Colonel Antonio González Balcarce. He was informed that Cochabamba revolted in support of the Junta, but was threatened by royalist forces from La Paz. Castelli intercepted a letter from Nieto to Gutiérrez de la Concha, governor of Córdoba, who was already executed for his support of Liniers. This letter mentioned a royalist army led by Goyeneche marching to
Jujuy. Balcarce, who had advanced to Potosi, was defeated by Nieto in the
Battle of Cotagaita, so Castelli sent two hundred men and two cannon to strengthen his forces. With these reinforcements, Balcarce achieved victory at the
Battle of Suipacha, which allowed patriots to control all of Upper Peru unopposed. One of the men sent was
Martín Miguel de Güemes
Martín Miguel de Güemes (8 February 1785 – 17 June 1821) was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish royalist army during the Argentine War of Independence.
Biography
Güemes was born in ...
, who would eventually lead the ''
Guerra Gaucha'' in Salta years later.
At Villa Imperial, one of the richest cities of Upper Peru, an
open cabildo
The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political assembly for convening citizens to deliberate policy. Originating in Spanish America as an iteration of the ''cabildo'', it also spread to Spain.
His ...
called on Goyeneche to withdraw from their territory. He obeyed, as he did not have the military strength to prevail. The Bishop of La Paz, Remigio La Santa y Ortega, fled with him. Castelli was received in Potosí and requesting that the locals swear allegiance to the Junta. He also requested that the royalist generals
Francisco de Paula Sanz and
José de Córdoba y Rojas submit to him. He made arrangements that the operation to capture
Vicente Nieto should be carried out exclusively by the surviving members of the
Regiment of Patricians from the mines of Potosi, who had been incorporated with honors into the
Army of the North
The Army of the North (), 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 freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...
. Sanz, Nieto, and Córdoba were executed at the Plaza of Potosí. Nieto claimed that he died happy, because it was under the Spanish flag.
[Galasso, p. 110] Goyeneche and Ortega, on the other hand, were safe on royalist land. Bernardo Monteagudo, inmate at the Jail of the Court of Chuquisaca for his participation in the revolution of 1809, escaped to join the ranks of the army. Castelli, who already knew Monteagudo's background, appointed him his secretary.
Castelli set up his government in Chuquisaca, where he presided over the change of regime for the entire region. He planned the reorganization of the Mines of Potosi, and a reform at the University of Charcas. He proclaimed the end of native slavery and servitude in Upper Peru, and the natives were granted political rights equal to those of the criollos. Castelli forbade the establishment of new convents and parishes to avoid the common practice that, under the guise of spreading Christian doctrine, the natives were forced into servitude by religious orders. He authorized free trade and redistributed land expropriated from the former workers of the mills. The decree was published in Spanish,
Guarani,
Quechua, and
Aymara; he established several bilingual schools as well. Several Indian chiefs participated in the first anniversary of the May Revolution, celebrated in Tiahuanaco, where Castelli paid tribute to the ancient
Inca
The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
s and encouraged the people to rise against the Spanish. Despite their welcome, however, Castelli was aware that most of the aristocracy supported the auxiliary army out of fear instead of genuine support.
In November 1810 he requested authorization from the Junta for a military operation: to cross the
Desaguadero river, the border between the two viceroyalties, and take control of the Peruvian cities of
Puno,
Cuzco
Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department.
The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...
, and
Arequipa
Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...
. Castelli argued that it was urgent to rise against Lima because its economy depended largely on those districts, and if they lost power over that area, the main royalist stronghold would be threatened. The plan was rejected as too risky, and Castelli complied with the original orders.
In December, fifty-three peninsulars were banished to Salta, and the decision was sent to the Junta for approval. The vocal
Domingo Matheu, who had business associations with Tulla and Pedro Salvador Casas, arranged the annulment of the act, arguing that Castelli had been influenced by slander and unfounded accusations. Support for Castelli began to decline, mainly due to the favourable treatment of natives and the determined opposition of the church, which attacked the public
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
of Bernardo Monteagudo, Castelli's secretary. Both royalists in Lima and Saavedra in Buenos Aires compared them with
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...
, leader of the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
of the
French Revolution.
Castelli also abolished the
mita in Upper Peru, a mandatory form of public service that bordered on slavery.
[Galasso, p. 80] Mariano Moreno has also wished to end the mita, but Moreno had resigned from the Junta by this point.
Without Castelli being in Buenos Aires to mediate between them, the disputes between Moreno and Saavedra had worsened. The Junta requested that Castelli should moderate his actions, but he went ahead with the positions he shared with Moreno. Several Saavedrist officers, such as José María Echaurri, José León Domínguez, Matías Balbastro, chaplain Manuel Antonio Azcurra, and sergeant major Toribio de Luzuriaga, planned to kidnap Castelli, deliver him to Buenos Aires for trial, and give command of the Army of the North to
Juan Jose Viamonte. However, Viamonte did not accept the plan when he was informed by the conspirators, and did not attempt to carry it out. When Castelli knew about Moreno's resignation, he wrote a letter to Vieytes, Rodriguez Peña, Larrea, and Azcuénaga, asking them to move to Upper Peru. If they defeated Goyeneche, they planned to march back to Buenos Aires.
However, the letter was sent via the common postal service, and the postmaster of Córdoba, Jose de Paz, decided to send it instead to Cornelio Saavedra.
[Galasso, p. 128] The Morenist members of the Junta had already been ousted and exiled by that point.
The Battle of Huaqui

The order of the Junta not to proceed to the
Viceroyalty of Peru
The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
was a de facto truce that would last while Castelli did not attack Goyeneche's army. Castelli tried to turn the situation into a formal agreement, which would imply recognition of the Junta as a legitimate interlocutor. Goyeneche agreed to sign an armistice for 40 days to allow time for Lima to ratify the agreement, but he actually used the time to reinforce his army. On 19 June, with the truce still in effect, an advanced royalist troop attacked positions at Juraicoragua. Castelli declared the truce broken and declared war on Peru.
The royalist army crossed the Desaguadero on 20 June 1811, starting the
Battle of Huaqui
The Battle of Huaqui or Battle of Guaqui-modern spelling- (in some sources also called Yuraicoragua or Battle of Desaguadero), was a battle on June 20, 1811,
between the Primera Junta's (Buenos Aires) revolutionary troops and the royalist ...
. The army waited near Huaqui, between the plains of Azapanal and
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
. The patriotic left wing, commanded by Diaz Velez, faced the bulk of the royalist forces, while the center was hit by the soldiers of Pio Tristan. Many patriotic soldiers recruited at Upper Peru surrendered or fled, and many of the recruits from La Paz switched sides during the battle. The Saavedrist
Juan José Viamonte helped ensure Castelli's defeat by refusing to join the conflict.
Although the casualties of the
Army of the North
The Army of the North (), 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 freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...
were not substantial, it was left demoralized and disbanded. Goyeneche pursued the fleeing patriots, and captured Huaqui after his victory. The inhabitants of Upper Peru welcomed the royalists back, so the army had to quickly leave those provinces. However, the resistance of Cochabamba prevented the royalists from proceeding to Buenos Aires. Castelli moved to the post of Quirbe, and received orders to return to Buenos Aires for trial. However, by the time he was notified, new orders had been issued: Castelli should be confined at Catamarca, while Saavedra himself took charge of the Army of the North. Saavedra was deposed as soon as he left Buenos Aires, and was confined to San Juan. The
First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic: Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gaius Julius Caesar. The republican constitution had many veto points. ...
, which had commenced governing by then, required Castelli to return.
Once in Buenos Aires, Castelli found himself in political isolation. The triumvirate and the newspaper ''La Gazeta'' blamed him for the defeat at Huaqui, and sought punishment as a deterrent. His former supporters were divided between those who supported the ideas of the Triumvirate and those no longer able to help. Castelli suffered from tongue cancer during the long trial, which made it progressively more difficult for him to speak. He died on 12 October 1812, while the trial was still underway.
Legacy
Castelli is largely ignored in the historiography of Argentina. Most historians focus instead on the disputes between
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 bor ...
and
Cornelio Saavedra in the Junta, with Castelli described in passing as a supporter of Moreno. Despite his role in the May Revolution, he was not the clear leader of it, as
José Gervasio Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a soldier and statesman who is regarded as a national hero in Uruguay and the father of Uruguayan nationhood.
Born in Montevideo, Artigas enlisted in the Spanish ...
was for the
Cry of Asencio or
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican War ...
for the
Cry of Dolores
The Cry of Dolores () occurred in Dolores Hidalgo, Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the pronunciamiento, call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Indep ...
. The May Revolution was instead the result of the convergence of diverse factions that shared the desire to remove the viceroy, and different historians highlight different specific factions.
[Gelman, pp. 13–20] Castelli is largely ignored in Bolivia as well. His support of indigenous rights—still an ongoing issue in the country—and his religious ideas strongly affect the way he is perceived there.
[Lapolla]
The most notable biography of Castelli was ''
Castelli, el adalid de Mayo'' (), written by the Paraguayan
Julio César Chaves.
Andrés Rivera increased the public awareness about Castelli with the
historical novel
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
''
La revolución es un sueño eterno'' (). The famous divulgator
Felipe Pigna wrote a whole chapter about Castelli at the book ''
Los mitos de la historia argentina'', which was then moved to television in the documentary film ''
Algo habrán hecho por la historia argentina''.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Biography at Argentina.ar
Biography at El Historiador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castelli, Juan Jose
Members of the Primera Junta
Argentine abolitionists
Argentine people of Italian descent
University of Saint Francis Xavier alumni
Deaths from oral cancer
Deaths from cancer in Argentina
Politicians from Buenos Aires
1764 births
1812 deaths
People of the Argentine War of Independence
19th-century Argentine lawyers
Prisoners and detainees of Argentina
University of Salamanca alumni
Argentine Freemasons
University of Charcas alumni
18th-century Argentine lawyers
People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata