Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez (1821 – April 7, 1891) 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 politician and military figure who played a major role in the Occupation of the Araucanía. His parents were Manuel Saavedra Cabrera, son of the president of the First Government of Buenos Aires in 1810 and Argentine general,

Cornelio Saavedra Cornelio Judas Tadeo de Saavedra y Rodríguez (September 15, 1759 in Otuyo – March 29, 1829 in Buenos Aires) was a military officer and statesman from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. He was instrumental in the May Revolution, the firs ...

, and Josefina Rodriguez Salcedo. He married Dorotea Rivera Serrano, daughter of Chilean General Juan de Dios Rivera and Freire de Andrade and Galeazzo Maria del Rosario Alfaro Serrano. At the age of 15 years he entered the military academy, graduating with the rank of second lieutenant of infantry in the

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 ...

in the following year. In 1837 he was assigned to Battalion Chillán, where he rose to lieutenant at the age of 17 years. In 1847 he was promoted to the rank of sergeant major and retired from active duty for health reasons in 1849. Two years later he was called to participate in the 1851 Revolution to overthrow the newly elected President

Manuel Montt Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres (; September 4, 1809 – September 21, 1880) was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861. Biography Montt was born in Petorca, Valparaíso R ...

and to repeal the 1833 Constitution. In 1857 he was appointed mayor and commander of weapons of Arauco, in whose care had to quell the uprising of the southern provinces during the revolution of 1859. That year he was reinstated to the Army with the rank of sergeant major. Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez took office as General Commander of the

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

in 1860, but left the charge the same year. In 1862 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Ocupacion de la Araucanía 1869

Saavedra presented a draft plan to President Manuel Montt to advance Chilean territory to the south of La Frontera (consisting of the Bio Bio River), a plan that was rejected. After the incident involving the Frenchman Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, self-proclaimed King of the Araucania and Patagonia declaring the territories of his "kingdom" under the protection of France, President José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano decided to occupy the area immediately approving Saavedra's plan for the occupation of the Araucanía during its first phase.. He led campaigns culminating in the submission of the Mapuche. The first phase consisted of building forts and small villages along the river Malleco, going into Mapuche territory (including the foundation of the city of Angol in 1862). The second phase (1867–1869) was decisive in advance, but the third phase in 1870 was not as successful and led to further negotiations. After the pacification of Araucanía, he participated in the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

. He later retired from military life was made a deputy for

San Carlos, Chile San Carlos is the name of a city and commune (Spanish: ''comuna'') of Punilla Province in the Ñuble Region of Chile. Geography and agriculture San Carlos is a bustling market town located roughly in the center of Chile's agricultural heartla ...

(1861–1864),

Linares, Chile Linares is a Chilean city and commune located in the Maule Region and lies in the fertile Chilean Central Valley, south of Santiago and south of Talca, the regional capital. Linares is the capital city of the province of Linares. Demograp ...

(1864–1867), Carelmapu (1867–1870), Nacimiento, Chile and

Angol Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Nahuelbuta Range and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the Bío- ...

(1870–1873) and

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

(1879).Historia del Ejército de Chile
page 46

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saavedra, Cornelio 1821 births 1891 deaths People from Santiago Chilean Ministers of Defense Chilean Army generals Chilean Navy officers Chilean people of Argentine descent Chilean people of Spanish descent People of the 1851 Chilean Revolution People of the Occupation of Araucanía Chilean military personnel of the War of the Pacific