Colonel Luis Florentino Juan Manuel Silvestre de los Dolores de la Carrera y Verdugo (1791 – April 8, 1818) was a

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 ...

an military officer who fought in the Chilean War of Independence. Together with his brothers José Miguel and Juan José, they were some of most important leaders of Chilean struggle for independence during the period of the

Patria Vieja Patria Vieja (, ) refers to a time period in the History of Chile occurring between the First Junta of the Government (September 18, 1810) and the Disaster of Rancagua (October 1, 1814). In this period, Chilean measures were taken for the imp ...

("Old Republic"). The

Carrera family The Carrera family of Chile became politically influential during the colonial period, and played a significant role in the Chilean Independence. They remained politically important throughout the 19th century. Their descendants make up the bulk ...

is of

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 ...

origin.http://diario.elmercurio.cl/detalle/index.asp?id=

Life

Luis Carrera was born 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, wh ...

, the youngest son of Ignacio de la Carrera y Cuevas and of Francisca de Paula Verdugo Fernández de Valdivieso y Herrera. Carrera completed his first studies at the ''

Convictorio Carolino The Convictorio Carolino was a school which operated in Santiago in colonial Chile. Some of the most important figures in the Chilean War of Independence were educated there. The Convictorio was very strict, and boarders were subject to rigid rul ...

'', the best school in the country at the time. In 1813 – at the beginning of the Chilean War of Independence – he participated in the first encounter between the Patriot and Royalist troops at the

Battle of Yerbas Buenas The Battle of Yerbas Buenas developed during the Chilean War of Independence on April 27, 1813. It is also known as the Surprise of Yerbas Buenas. In the battle, the Chilean forces, under the command of Colonel Juan de Dios Puga, and the Spani ...

, as a commander of an artillery platoon. That same year he also participated in the disastrous Siege of Chillán, one of the most negative early experiences for the nascent

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and ...

, where after a long siege of the Spanish troops that were barricaded inside the city, the army had to withdraw in the midst of winter that same year. He also fought in the defense of Talca. After the Spanish '' reconquista'', the Carrera brothers were exiled to Argentina but continued campaigning from exile. On November 21, 1814 he killed Brigadier

Juan Mackenna Brigadier Juan Mackenna (26 October 1771 – 21 November 1814) was an Irish-born, Chilean military officer and hero of the Chilean War of Independence. He is considered to have been the creator of the Corps of Military Engineers of the Chilean ...

, one of the strongest supporters of General

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Alth ...

, in a duel in the city of

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 Am ...

. He was arrested and tried but later freed. Eventually, Luis was taken prisoner and executed in the city of Mendoza together with his brother Juan José by the military of the

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Co ...

in 1818.

References

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carrera, Luis 1791 births 1818 deaths People from Santiago Chilean Army officers Chilean people of Basque descent Chilean independence activists Chilean duellists Carrera family

Life

See also

References

Bibliography