Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Miguel de Azcuénaga (4 June 1754 – 19 December 1833) was an Argentine army officer and politician. Educated in Spain, at the University of Seville, Azcuénaga began his military career in the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata or Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires ( or Virreinato de Buenos Aires or ) meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was ...

and became a 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 ...

, the first autonomous government of modern Argentina. He was shortly exiled because of his support to the minister

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 returned to Buenos Aires when 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. ...

replaced the Junta. He held several offices since then, most notably being the first Governor intendant of Buenos Aires after 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, ...

. He died at his country house (the modern Quinta de Olivos) in 1833.

Biography

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

Miguel de Azcuénaga 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 ...

on 4 June 1754. He was the son of Vicente de Azcuénaga Iturbe, a Spanish businessman from the

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 ...

province of

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, and María Rosa de Basavilbaso y Urtubia, from Buenos Aires. The Azcuénaga-Basavilbaso had 4 sons and 3 daughters. Miguel de Azcuénaga was sent to Spain at an early age, to complete his elementary studies in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

and then attend the

University of Seville The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, in 2022 it has a student body of 57,214,U-Ranking Universidades español ...

. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1774, and made a new journey to Spain to oversee the business of his father.National..., p. 67 He began his military career in the artillery of Buenos Aires, during the Spanish–Portuguese War, staying in that unit until the signing of the

First Treaty of San Ildefonso The First Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed on 1 October 1777 between Spain and Portugal. It settled long-running territorial disputes between the two kingdoms' possessions in South America, primarily in the Río de la Plata region. Background ...

that incorporated the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), or more fully Banda Oriental del Río Uruguay, was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay, the modern state of Ri ...

to the

. With the war concluded, he became a ''

regidor A regidor (plural: ''regidores'') is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of ''regedor''. Mexico In Mexico, an ayuntamiento (municipal council) is composed of a municipa ...

'' of 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 ...

. He took the arms again in 1778, during an attack of the natives, and directed the operations at the fort in San Miguel del Monte. As Spain was fighting in the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain, it was thought that the British might launch an offensive against Spanish American. Azcuénaga commanded an artillery unit withfour4 cannons in 1781, but no British attack took place. He was appointed to several offices within the Buenos Aires Cabildo in the 1781-1794 period. On 7 April 1789, he helped a number of shoemakers to establish a guild. Although there were several in Spain, no guild constitution from Spain was used as a model. He promoted the pavement of the streets, and the improvement of the buildings. Supported by the viceroy Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo, he collected $8,000 and provided 500 cattle to mine rocks from the Martín García Island for this work. He married his cousin Justa Rufina de Basavilbaso y Garfias on 6 February 1795. He was appointed lieutenant colonel in 1796, leading a local militia from that year to 1802. When he left, he granted all his military wages from that period to the soldiers of his unit. He was appointed colonel on 24 March 1802, and donated $2,435 for the clothing of the soldiers. He further donated $1,000,000 to build a navy, along with Juan Larrea and Domingo Matheu. He fought in the first British invasion of the River Plate in 1806, overseeing a

last stand A last stand, or final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are d ...

on the Gálvez bridge. His men managed to hold their position for 20 hours with only 400 soldiers against a much larger British force. He eventually was forced to withdraw with only 50 remaining soldiers, and proceeded to join forces with the brigadier Hilarión de la Quintana.

Argentine War of Independence

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 ...

in Spain, along with the capture of the king

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 ...

and the fall of the Junta of Seville, escalated political disputes in Buenos Aires that led to the

. Several criollos thought that the 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 ...

, appointed by the fallen Junta, did not have legitimacy, and requested 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 ...

to discuss it. Azcuénaga attended it, and voted for the creation of a Junta with deputies from all the provinces, with the Cabildo ruling in the interregnum. However, the majority agreed with the creation of a junta, but with another junta of people from Buenos Aires ruling in the meantime. The viceroy tried to stay in government as president of the Junta, which was resisted by the criollos. Azcuénaga lend his house to their secret meetings. Azcuénaga was appointed as a member of the new

, and promoted to

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

. The reasons of Azcuénaga's inclusion in the Junta are unclear, as with all its members. A common accepted theory considers it to be a balance between Carlotists, Alzaguists, the military and the clergy; besides being from the armed forces, Azcuénaga had close ties with the rich people of the city. The Junta suffered from internal conflicts between the conservatives (led by Cornelio Saavedra) and the liberals (led by

). Azcuénaga was aligned with Moreno. Although he opposed the expansion of the Junta into the

Junta Grande Junta Grande (), or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de Buenos Aires, is the most common name for the executive government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina), that followed the incorporation of provincial represent ...

, he voted for the proposal, perhaps under pressure of Saavedra. Mariano Moreno resigned in December, and all his supporters were forced to resign in May 1811. Azcuénaga was exiled to the

Mendoza Province Mendoza (), officially the Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the r ...

, and lost his military rank. His wife requested instead an exile to the closer Luján, which was declined. The Junta was replaced by the

. Azcuénaga still had a positive image among his peers, and the political change allowed his return and the restitution of his rank. However, a mistake with the documentation gave him only the rank of colonel; he could only retrieve his rank of brigadier in 1814. He was appointed Governor intendant of Buenos Aires (ruling over the province, whereas the Triumvirate had a national authority). The Assembly of the Year XIII replaced the Triumvirate with a unipersonal head of state, the

Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata () was a title given to the executive officers of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata according to the form of government established in 1814 by the ' (Assembly of Year XI ...

. Gervasio Antonio de Posadas was appointed Supreme Director, and Azcuénaga selected as one of his five advisors. In 1816 the Cabildo appointed him as protector of the freedom of the press. He became a member of the

Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, ...

in 1818, when it was moved from

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 ...

to Buenos Aires. He was elected vice-president of the Congress in September and reelected in May 1819. The defeat of Buenos Aires in 1820 at the Battle of Cepeda, part of the

Argentine Civil Wars The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of civil conflicts of varying intensity that took place in the territories of Argentina from 1814 to 1853. Beginning concurrently with the Argentine War of Independence (1810–1818), the conflict prevente ...

, led to the closing of the Congress. Like many other nineteenth century Argentines prominent in public life, Azcuénaga 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 ...

Later life

In 1828, aged 74, he took part in the peace negotiations with the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...

after the end of the Argentine-Brazilian War, which led to the creation of the state of

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 ...

. Those negotiations took place in Montevideo. He managed the economy in 1829 and 1830, and became a deputy in 1831 and 1832. His fellow deputies pointed out that he attended all the legislative sessions, despite his old age.National..., p. 72 Azcuénaga died at his home on 19 December 1833. The governor Juan José Viamonte ordered the construction of a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

at the Northern Cemetery (modern La Recoleta Cemetery), which is still in place today. The official decree stated that "''the noteworthy services he gave to the nation at all times the brigadier general Miguel de Azcuénaga, and particularly in the days of the glorious independence, require a demonstration that takes to posterity the name of this patriot, and keeps the memory of his civic virtues''". Azcuénaga's country house was built during the establishment of Buenos Aires in 1580 by

Juan de Garay Juan de Garay (1528–1583) was a Spanish conquistador. Garay's birthplace is disputed. Some say it was in the city of Junta de Villalba de Losa in Castile, while others argue he was born in the area of Orduña (Basque Country). There's ...

. After several generations it was inherited by Justa Rufina Basavilbaso, Azcuénaga's wife. Further generations of the family (with ancestry of the viceroy Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú as well) inherited it, until Carlos Villate Olaguer gave it to the Argentine state in 1913, to be used as an

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

. It was renamed as '' Quinta de Olivos'', and it was used by all Argentine presidents since

Agustín Pedro Justo Agustín Pedro Justo Rolón (26 February 1876 – 11 January 1943) was the president of Argentina from 1932 to 1938, during the Infamous Decade. Justo took part in the coup of 1930, becoming president two years later thanks to widespread electo ...

References

Bibliography