José Joaquín Vicuña Larraín (; 1786–1857) was a

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 ...

an politician whose selection as

Vice President of Chile The Vice president of Chile is a temporary post provided by the Constitution of Chile. The "vice president" is a person who fulfills the duties of the president of Chile when cases of incapacity and vacancy occur. This post is held by the Mi ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

precipitated the Chilean Civil War of 1829. He was of

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 ...

descent. Vicuña was from a powerful family; of his brothers,

Francisco Ramón Vicuña Francisco Ramón de Vicuña Larraín (; September 9, 1775 – January 13, 1849) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as acting President of Chile in 1829. Francisco Vicuña was of Basque descent. Early life He was born in Santiag ...

was an influential politician, and

Manuel Vicuña Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * M ...

was Archbishop of Santiago. He is primarily known for his role in the presidential election of 1829. He ran for president, finishing fourth; but rather than appointing the runner-up (or even second runner-up) as

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

, the Congress controlled by his brother's party appointed Joaquín, precipitating a civil war. He founded the town of

Vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which live ...

in 1821.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vicuna, Joaquin 1786 births 1857 deaths Chilean people of Basque descent People of the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30 Vice presidents of Chile Candidates for President of Chile