Government Junta of Chile (1810)
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Government Assembly of the Kingdom of Chile (September 18, 1810 – July 4, 1811), also known as the First Government Gathering, was the organization established to rule post-
colonial Chile In Chilean historiography, Colonial Chile ( es, link=no, La colonia) is the period from 1600 to 1810, beginning with the Destruction of the Seven Cities and ending with the onset of the Chilean War of Independence. During this time, the Chilean ...
following the deposition and imprisonment of King
Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...
of Spain by
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. It was the earliest step in the Chilean struggle for independence, and the anniversary of its establishment is celebrated as the national day of Chile.


Background

At the start of 1808, the
Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...
—one of the smallest and poorest colonies in the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
—was under the administration of
Luis Muñoz de Guzmán Luis Muñoz de Guzmán (1735 – 11 February 1808) was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Quito and Royal Governor of Chile The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district cal ...
, an able, respected and well-liked Royal Governor. In May 1808 the overthrow of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII, their replacement by
Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...
and the start of the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
plunged the empire into a state of agitation. In the meantime, Chile was facing its own internal political problems. Governor Guzmán had suddenly died on February of that year and the crown had not been able to appoint a new governor before the invasion. After a brief interim regency by Juan Rodríguez Ballesteros, and according to the succession law in place at the time, the position was laid claim to and assumed by the most senior military commander, who happened to be Brigadier Francisco García Carrasco. García Carrasco took over the post of
Governor of Chile The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General. There were 66 such governors or captains du ...
in April and in August the news of the
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ic invasion of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and of the conformation of a
Supreme Central Junta The Supreme Central and Governing Junta of Spain and the Indies (also known as Supreme Central Junta, the Supreme Council, and Junta of Seville; es, Junta Suprema Central y Gubernativa de España e Indias) formally was the Spanish organ (junta) t ...
to govern the Empire in the absence of a legitimate king reached the country. In the meantime, Charlotte Joaquina, sister of Ferdinand and wife of the
King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the n ...
, who was living in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, also made attempts to obtain the administration of the Spanish dominions in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. Since her father and brother were being held prisoners in France, she regarded herself as the heiress of her captured family. Allegedly among her plans was to send armies to occupy
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
and northern Argentina and to style herself as ''Queen of
La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
''. Brigadier García Carrasco was a man of crude and authoritarian manners, who managed in a very short time to alienate the
criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants) Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...
elites under his command. Already in Chile, as in most of Latin America, there had been some independence agitation but very minimal and concentrated in the very ineffectual
Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios The conspiracy of the three Antonios (1781) ( es, conspiración de los tres Antonios) was a minor failed conspiracy against the Spanish colonial authorities in the captaincy-general of Chile, that was led by two Frenchmen, Antoine Gramusset and An ...
back in 1781. The majority of the people were fervent
royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
but were divided into two groups: those who favored the ''status quo'' and the divine right of Ferdinand VII (known as ''absolutists'') and those who wanted to proclaim Charlotte Joaquina as Queen (known as ''carlotistas''). A third group was composed of those who proposed the replacement of the Spanish authorities with a local ''
junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...
'' of notable citizens, which would conform a provisional government to rule in the absence of the king and an independent Spain (known as ''juntistas''). In 1809 Governor García Carrasco himself was implicated in a flagrant case of corruption (the
Scorpion scandal The ''Scorpion'' scandal (1809) was a smuggling, criminal and political scandal that caused the downfall of the Spanish Royal Governor of Chile, and hastened the Independence movement in that country. Background During the entire colonial period, ...
) that managed to destroy whatever remnants of
moral authority Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive, laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change, the princi ...
he or his office had left. From that moment on the pressure for his removal began to build. In June 1810 news arrived from Buenos Aires that Napoleon Bonaparte's forces had conquered
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
and laid siege to Cádiz, the last redoubt against the French on Spanish soil. Moreover, the
Supreme Central Junta The Supreme Central and Governing Junta of Spain and the Indies (also known as Supreme Central Junta, the Supreme Council, and Junta of Seville; es, Junta Suprema Central y Gubernativa de España e Indias) formally was the Spanish organ (junta) t ...
, which had governed the Empire for the past two years, had abolished itself in favor of a Regency Council. García Carrasco, who was a supporter of the ''Carlotist'' group, managed to magnify the political problems by taking arbitrary and harsh measures, such as the arrest and deportation to
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
without due process of well-known and socially prominent citizens under simple suspicions of having been sympathetic to the ''junta'' idea. Among those arrested were
José Antonio de Rojas José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...
,
Juan Antonio Ovalle Juan Antonio Ovalle y Morales ( – July 12, 1819) was a Chilean politician, lawyer and landowner. He served as the first president of the First National Congress of Chile where he was elected as deputy for Santiago. Ovalle served as Procur ...
and Bernardo de Vera y Pintado. The autonomy movement also had, inspired by the
May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...
in Argentina, thoroughly propagated through the criollo elite. They resented the illegal arrests and, together with the news that Cádiz was all that was left of a free Spain, finally solidified in their opposition to the Governor. Brigadier García Carrasco was suspended from office and forced to resign on July 16, 1810, to be in turn replaced by the next most senior soldier, Mateo de Toro Zambrano Count of la Conquista, even though a legitimate Governor,
Francisco Javier de Elío Francisco Javier de Elío y Olóndriz (Pamplona, 1767 – Valencia, 1822), was a Spanish soldier, governor of Montevideo. He was also instrumental in the Absolutist repression after the restoration of Ferdinand VII as King of Spain. For thi ...
, had already been appointed by the
Viceroy of Peru The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Brazi ...
. Count Toro Zambrano was, by all standards, a very unorthodox selection. He was a very old man already (82 years old at the time) and moreover a "criollo" (someone born in the colonies) as opposed to a "peninsular" (someone born in Spain). Immediately after his appointment in July, the ''juntistas'' began to lobby him in order to obtain the formation of a junta. In August the Royal Appeals Court ( es, Real Audiencia) took a public loyalty oath to the Regency Council in front of a massive audience, which put added pressure on the Governor to define himself. After vacillating for some time over which party to follow, Toro Zambrano finally agreed to hold an open ''Cabildo'' (city hall) meeting in
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, whose ...
to discuss the issue. The date was set for September 18, 1810 at 11 AM.


Members


Establishment

From the very beginning the ''juntistas'' took the political initiative. They were able to place their members in charge of sending the invitations, thus manipulating the assistance lists to their own advantage. At the September 18th session, they grabbed center stage with shouts of ''"¡Junta queremos! ¡junta queremos!"'' ("We want a junta! We want a junta"). Count Toro Zambrano, faced with this very public show of force, acceded to their demands by depositing his ceremonial baton on top of the main table and saying ''"Here is the baton, take it and rule"''. The discussion ended with the establishment of the Government Junta of the Kingdom of Chile, also known as the ''First Junta'', which was organized with the same powers held by a Royal Governor. In the discussion triumphed the idea of a local independent government as opposed to the monarchist idea of submitting themselves to the control of the Regency Council. Nonetheless, this idea of "independence" must not be taken in the modern sense. This junta never intended to sever the relationship with the monarchy, but was only taking advantage of the possibility to assert local rule.


Administrative measures

Their first measure was to take a formal loyalty oath to Ferdinand VII as legitimate King. Count Toro Zambrano was elected President, and the rest of the positions were distributed equally among all parties, but the real power was left in the hands of the secretary,
Juan Martínez de Rozas 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 dependenc ...
. The junta then proceeded to take some concrete measures that had been long-held aspirations of the colonials: it created a militia for the defense of the kingdom, decreed freedom of trade with all nations that were allied to Spain or neutrals, a unique tariff of 134% for all imports (with the exceptions of printing presses, books and guns which were liberated from all taxes) and in order to increase its representation, and ordered the convocation of a National Congress. Immediately, political intrigue began amongst the ruling elite, with news of the political turbulence and wars of Europe all the while coming in. It was eventually decided that elections for the National Congress, to be composed of 42 representatives, would be held in 1811. By March of that year 36 representatives had already been elected in all major cities with the exception of
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, whose ...
and
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
.


Political tendencies

After the natural death of the president, Mateo de Toro Zambrano on February 26, 1811, he was replaced by
Juan Martínez de Rozas 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 dependenc ...
, due to the illness of the Vice President, Bishop José Martínez de Aldunate, (who was to die on April 8, 1811). Three political tendencies were starting to appear: the ''extremists'', the ''moderates'' and the ''royalists''. These groups were all decidedly against independence from
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and differentiated themselves only in the degree of political autonomy that they sought. The ''moderates'' ( es, moderados), under the leadership of
José Miguel Infante José Miguel Infante y Rojas (March 1778 - April 9, 1844) was a Chilean statesman and political figure. He served several times as deputy and minister, and was the force behind the Federalist movement in that country. Early life He was born in S ...
, were a majority, and wanted a very slow pace of reforms since they were afraid that once the King was back in power he would think that they were seeking independence and would roll-back all changes. The ''exalted'' ( es, exaltados) were the second most important group and they advocated a larger degree of freedom from the Crown and a faster pace of reforms stopping just short of full independence. His leader was Juan Martínez de Rozas. The ''royalists'' were against any reform at all and for the maintenance of the ''status quo''.


Figueroa Mutiny

The great political surprise up to that point had been the results from the other center of power, Concepción, in which royalists had defeated the supporters of
Juan Martínez de Rozas 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 dependenc ...
. In the rest of Chile, the results were more or less equally divided: twelve pro-Rozas delegates, fourteen anti-Rozas and three royalists. So, the Santiago elections were the key to Rozas' desire to remain in power. This election was supposed to take place on April 10, but before they could be called the
Figueroa mutiny The Figueroa mutiny ( es, Motín de Figueroa) was a failed attempt on April 1, 1811 to restore royal power in Chile and the first coup d'état in Chile. Background When the First Government Junta decreed that elections were to be held for a Nat ...
broke out. On April 1, the royalist colonel
Tomás de Figueroa Tomás de Figueroa y Caravaca (1747 – 1811) was a Spanish soldier. He was active in the military outpost of Valdivia and later in Santiago as a royalist during the early phase of the Chilean Independence War, Chilean struggle for independence ...
—considering the notion of elections to be too populist—led a revolt in Santiago. The revolt sputtered, and Figueroa was arrested and summarily executed. The mutiny was successful in that temporarily sabotaged the elections, which had to be delayed. Eventually, however, a National Congress was duly elected, and all 6 deputies from Santiago came from the ''moderate'' camp. Nonetheless, the mutiny also encouraged a radicalization of political postures: even though ''moderates'' advocating only greater autonomy of the elites from Spanish Imperial control—without a complete rupture—gained the majority of seats, a vocal minority was formed by ''excited'' revolutionaries who now wanted complete and instant independence from Spain. As a consequence of the mutiny, Martinez de Rozas was replaced on April 2, 1811, by
Fernando Márquez de la Plata Fernando Márquez de la Plata y Orozco (30 August 1740 – 17 December 1818) was a Spanish colonial functionary, and a member of the First Government Junta of Chile. He was born in Seville on August 30, 1740, to a very aristocratic family. T ...
. The Royal Appeals Court, a long-standing pillar of support of the Spanish Crown, was dissolved for its alleged ''"complicity"'' and the idea of full independence gained momentum for the first time. The Junta lasted until July 4, 1811, when it was replaced by the National Congress, and later by the Second Junta.


See also

* Chilean War of Independence *
Figueroa mutiny The Figueroa mutiny ( es, Motín de Figueroa) was a failed attempt on April 1, 1811 to restore royal power in Chile and the first coup d'état in Chile. Background When the First Government Junta decreed that elections were to be held for a Nat ...
*
History of Chile The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 3000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors began to colonize the region of present-day Chile, and the territory was a colony between 1540 and 1818, when it gained independence from ...
* List of government juntas of Chile * List of heads of state of Chile *
Junta (Peninsular War) In the Napoleonic era, junta () was the name chosen by several local administrations formed in Spain during the Peninsular War as a patriotic alternative to the official administration toppled by the French invaders. The juntas were usually formed b ...


External links


La Aurora de Chile, First Chilean Newspaper (1812) online.

Monograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Government Gathering Of Chile (1810) Government of Chile
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
1810 establishments in the Captaincy General of Chile 1811 disestablishments in the Captaincy General of Chile States and territories established in 1810 States and territories disestablished in 1811