Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva (3 October 1837 – 24 November 1885) 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 ...

politician and journalist, and

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 ...

from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education reform, leading to Argentina's economic growth. The most important events of his government were the

Conquest of the Desert The Conquest of the Desert () was an Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca during the 1870s and 1880s with the intention of establishing dominance over Patagonia, inh ...

and the transformation of the

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 ...

into a

federal district A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

. His grandson was José Domingo Molina Gómez, who took presidency when

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

was captured.

Biography

Born 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 ...

, his mother moved with him to

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 ...

after the death of his father, Marco Avellaneda, during a revolt against

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

. He studied law at Córdoba, without graduating. Back at Tucumán he founded '' El Eco del Norte'', and moved to Buenos Aires in 1857, becoming director of the ''El Nacional'' and editor of '' El Comercio de la Plata''. He finished his studies at Buenos Aires, meeting

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the '' Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19th-century Argent ...

. Sarmiento helped him to become teacher of economy at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

. He wrote "''Estudio sobre las leyes de tierras públicas''" (), proposing to give the lands to producers that make production from them. This system, similar to the one employed at the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, suggested to reduce bureaucracy and pointed that this would allow stable populations and population growth. He was a member of the house of representatives in 1859 and Minister of Government of Adolfo Alsina in the Buenos Aires province in 1866. During Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's presidency, he was Minister of Justice and Education. He implemented the educational

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

that was defining of his government. Avellaneda attained the presidency in 1874 but had its legitimacy contested by

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of Argentine Civil Wars#National unification, unified Argentina. Mitre i ...

and supported by

. Mitre deployed the army against Avellaneda but was defeated by

Julio Argentino Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an Argentine army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the ...

. Mitre was held prisoner and judged by military justice, but Avellaneda indulged him in order to promote pacification. He also included Rufino de Elizalde and José María Gutiérrez, supporters of Mitre, as members of his cabinet. In line with people like Alberdi or Sarmiento, who thought that European immigration was crucial to the Argentine development, he promoted the "Avellaneda law" that allowed European farmers ease to get terrains. The immigration numbers were doubled in a few years. Having won the revolution and bringing peace to the country, Avellaneda faced a serious economic crisis, centering his efforts on the control of the land with the

and expanding the railroads, the cereal and meat exports, and the European immigration, specially to

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 ...

. During his presidency, the

economy of Argentina The economy of Argentina is the second-largest national economy in South America, behind Brazil. Argentina has a human Development Index classified as "very high" by the United Nations, with a highly literate population, an export-oriented Agricult ...

was seriously affected by the European crisis putting the country on the edge of debt default. Deciding to take Argentina from its debts, he said that " ..here are two million Argentines who would economize even to their hunger and thirst to fulfill the promises of our public commitments in the foreign markets". He reduced the budget and applied a weak protectionism. The crisis was eventually fixed with the growing exports of refrigerated meat to Europe, a new developing industrial method of the time. A prolific writer, his works have been published in 12 volumes. Aged 37, he was the youngest Argentine president ever elected. He had served in the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation () is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 185 ...

for five months in 1874 and returned to the Senate in 1883 until his death. He died at the age of 48 on a ship returning from medical treatment in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He is the shortest-lived President of Argentina.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avellaneda, Nicolas 1837 births 1885 deaths 19th-century presidents of Argentina Presidents of Argentina National University of Córdoba alumni 19th-century Argentine lawyers 19th-century Argentine novelists People from San Miguel de Tucumán Members of the Argentine Senate for Tucumán Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Tucumán Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery National Autonomist Party politicians People who died at sea Perpetrators of Indigenous genocides in South America