Juan Tomás Julián Marcos de Rocamora y del Castillo (27 April 1740 – 16 March 1819) was the governor of three

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

and the founder of several towns in

Entre Ríos Province Entre Ríos (, "Between Rivers") is a Center Region, Argentina, central provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires (so ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Born in

Granada, Nicaragua Granada () is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 105,862 (2022), it is Nicaragua's ninth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, econ ...

, he moved to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

at an early age. In 1750 he entered the

Spanish Royal Guard The Royal Guard () is an independent regiment of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and members of the Spanish royal family. It is currently composed of 1,500 troops. While the Guard participates in ...

. As an officer he came to the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

to fight in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

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 ...

against the Portuguese. In 1782 he was sent to explore and pacify the area of the settlements around the

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( ; ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...

by the newly installed

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo. He founded five towns in present-day Entre Ríos, among them Gualeguay,

Concepción del Uruguay Concepción del Uruguay is a city in Argentina. It is located in the Entre Ríos province, on the western shore of the Uruguay River, some 320 kilometers north from Buenos Aires. Its population is about 80,000 inhabitants (). History The city ...

and Gualeguaychú. He was also the first to use (in letters to the viceroy) the name ''Entre Ríos'' (literally "Between Rivers") for the land whose southern limits are the rivers Uruguay and Paraná. Rocamora was the governor of three

of the Argentine Mesopotamia: Entre Ríos,

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has ...

and

Misiones Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes P ...

. He was the governor of Misiones when 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, ...

of 1810 installed the first national government 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 accepted its authority. He was relieved from his post at the age of 71, and in 1812 he retired from the army as a colonel. Rocamora died in 1819, at the age of 79. Today, his remains rest at the Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy in Buenos Aires. By a decree of the government of Entre Ríos, since 1958 Rocamora's work is remembered on 11 August.

Sources

* LaCalle
''Fundación de la histórica ciudad de Concepción del Uruguay''
* University of Commercial Sciences, Nicaragua

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocamora, Tomas de 1740 births 1819 deaths Spanish army officers Governors of Corrientes Province Governors of Entre Ríos Province Governors of Misiones Province