Tomás Godoy Cruz (May 6, 1791 – May 15, 1852) 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 ...

statesman and businessman. He was a representative to 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, ...

which on July 9, 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina. Godoy Cruz was born in Mendoza, then part of the

Captaincy General of Chile The General Captaincy of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ), Governorate of Chile, or Kingdom of Chile, was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1818 that was, initially, part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. It comprised most of mod ...

. He studied in Mendoza, then in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

at the

Royal University of San Felipe The Royal University of San Felipe () was a university created by Philip V of Spain, King Philip V in 1738, in territory which was then part of the Kingdom of Spain. It was officially founded in Santiago in 1747 and began teaching activities in ...

, graduating in philosophy, canonical and civil law. He lived in Santiago until 1814, and served in the Santiago

Cabildo (council) A cabildo () or ayuntamiento () was a Spanish Empire, Spanish colonial and early postcolonial administrative council that governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative o ...

during the last year of his stay. He then returned to Mendoza, setting up a

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

factory. He agitated to make General

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...

governor of Cuyo, and helped finance the

Army of the Andes The Army of the Andes () was a military force created by the United Provinces of South America, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) and assembled by General José de San Martín as part of his campaign to liberate Chile from the S ...

. In 1815, at just 24 years old, Godoy Cruz was elected by Mendoza to the Tucumán Congress and served in 1816 for the declaration. He was president on two occasions and vice-president on one. He subsequently served as governor of

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 ...

1820–22. In 1831 he was exiled to Chile where he was a teacher and pioneered

silkworm ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

cultivation. He was also a successful merchant of woven goods. The city of Godoy Cruz and its surrounding department in Mendoza, and streets across the country were named in his honour.

References

Profile
by the Mendoza Province education portal 1791 births 1852 deaths People from Mendoza, Argentina Argentine people of Spanish descent Businesspeople in textiles Argentine manufacturing businesspeople University of Chile alumni Members of the Congress of Tucumán Governors of Mendoza Province People of the Argentine War of Independence Argentine businesspeople People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata {{Argentina-politician-stub