Juan Martínez de Rozas Correa (December 28, 1758 – May 16, 1813) was a Chilean lawyer and politician, he was also the first leader in the
Chilean fight for independence.
Biography
He was born at
Mendoza (then, still a Chilean dependency), the son of
Juan Martínez de Soto Rozas and
María Prudencia Correa Villegas. In his early life he was a professor of law,
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
and
philosophy at
Santiago
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, whos ...
. He held the post of acting governor of
Concepción at one time, and was also colonel in a militia regiment.
In 1808 he became secretary to the last
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
governor,
Francisco Antonio García Carrasco, and used his position to prepare the nationalist movement that began in 1809. After resigning his position as secretary, Rozas was mainly responsible for the resignation of the Spanish governor, and the formation of a national
Junta on September 18, 1810 of which he was the real leader. After the death of the President and Vice President of the
First Government Junta, he acted as Interim President.
Under his influence many reforms were initiated, freedom of trade was established, an army was organized and a national congress was called together in July 1811. His influence began to wane with the
Figueroa mutiny, and by the end of 1811 divisions began to arise between Rozas followers from Concepción and the men of Santiago. Also a feud broke out between Rozas and
José Miguel Carrera
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo (; October 15, 1785 – September 4, 1821) was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most impo ...
, who had secured control of Santiago. In 1812 Carrera succeeded in securing the banishment of his rival, who was forced to retire to
Mendoza, where he died on May 16, 1813.
See also
*
Scorpion scandal
*
Chilean Independence
*
Figueroa mutiny
*
Juan Albano Pereira Márquez
References
*
External links
Complete Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez de Rozas, Juan
1759 births
1813 deaths
Presidents of Chile
People of the Chilean War of Independence
Chilean people of Spanish descent