Manuel José Blanco y Calvo de Encalada (; April 21, 1790 – September 5, 1876) was a vice-admiral in the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

, a political figure, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

's first President (Provisional) (1826).

Biography

Born 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 ...

which was the capital of the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata or Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires ( or Virreinato de Buenos Aires or ) meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was ...

, Blanco Encalada was the son of the Spanish Manuel Lorenzo Blanco Cicerón and of the Chilean Mercedes Calvo de Encalada y Recabarren. He was trained for the navy in

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 ...

. Later, during the

Chilean War of Independence The Chilean War of Independence (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Guerra de la Independencia de Chile'', 'War of Independence of Chile') was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Empire, Spanish Mona ...

, he joined the Chilean forces, where he served with distinction under Lord Cochrane and rose to rank of Vice-Admiral and commander of the Chilean forces in (1825), where he participated in the capture of Chiloé. The following year, Congress elected him to the newly established position of President of the Republic. He soon had several fights with Congress, which was trying to install a federalist system, and resigned within two months. Later, he joined the wars against the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation and Spanish-South American War (1865–1866). After the war, he became Governor of

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

and minister to

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 was also an active Freemason. Blanco Encalada died in

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

at the age of 86.

Cabinet

References

1790 births 1876 deaths Military personnel from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Chilean descent Chilean people of Spanish descent Presidents of Chile Chilean admirals Ambassadors of Chile to France Chilean Freemasons Chilean Navy personnel of the War of the Confederation Chilean Navy personnel of the Chincha Islands War Candidates for President of Chile Chilean Navy personnel of the Spanish American wars of independence Naturalized citizens of Chile People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata {{Chile-politician-stub

Biography

Cabinet

See also

References