Juan Facundo Quiroga
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Juan Facundo Quiroga (November 27, 1788 – February 16, 1835) was an
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...
(military strongman) who supported
federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...
at the time when the country was still in formation.


Early years

Quiroga was born in
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
,
La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and Nà ...
, the son of a traditional but impoverished Riojan family of cattle breeders. He was sent at a young age to San Juan to be educated. Early in his life, he became a problem child, and escaped from school. During his wandering in the desert between San Juan and La Rioja, he purportedly encountered and killed a
cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
, earning him the nickname ''El Tigre de los Llanos'' ("the Tiger of the Plains", after the ''Llanos'', the region of his birth). After 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 ...
proclaimed the self-rule of the country, Quiroga tried to enter the independentist army. He travelled to San Luis to enter the ''
Granaderos a Caballo The Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers ( es, Regimiento de Granaderos a Caballo) is the name of two Argentine Army regiments of two different time periods: a historic regiment that operated from 1812 to 1826, and a modern cavalry unit that was organiz ...
'' Regiment, led by General
José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and cent ...
. He was imprisoned and eventually expelled due to his bad temper. He moved back to La Rioja and became a businessman until 1820. That year the central government 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 ...
fell, and the province became autonomous.


Governor of La Rioja and federalist leader

Quiroga entered the provincial army and quickly rose to its command, gaining control of the government through his
charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
. During the time of the Constitutional Congress of 1824, Quiroga led its forces through the
Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...
provinces to oppose the centralist tendencies of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at th ...
and the officers of the National Army, which were carrying away a compulsory levy for the upcoming
Cisplatine War The Cisplatine War (), also known as the Argentine-Brazilian War () or, in Argentine and Uruguayan historiography, as the Brazil War (''Guerra del Brasil''), the War against the Empire of Brazil (''Guerra contra el Imperio del Brasil'') or t ...
(1825–1827). Thus, under the flag of ''Religión o Muerte'' (Religion or Death), he overthrew the centralist government of San Juan shortly after the central government signed a treaty with
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
by which
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
was established. After the Cisplatine war, the officers of the returning army (of centralist tendencies, known as ''
unitarios Unitarianists or Unitarians (in Spanish, ''Unitarios'') were the proponents of the concept of a unitary state (centralized government) in Buenos Aires during the civil wars that shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in ...
'') deposed the federalist governments in an attempt to restore the centralised rule 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 ...
. General
José María Paz Brigadier General José María Paz y Haedo (September 9, 1791 – October 22, 1854) was an Argentine military figure, notable in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil Wars. Childhood Born in Córdoba, Argentina, the so ...
took over its province of Córdoba and his officers campaigned through the interior provinces. Quiroga tried to oppose them, but without success, and after defeat in the Battle of La Tablada, he went into self-imposed exile in Buenos Aires. From there, where the coup was quickly defeated, Quiroga led an army towards Córdoba but was defeated in the Battle of Oncativo by Paz's more disciplined forces. Quiroga decided not to give up and tried a more ambitious attempt, marching through territories still occupied by native aboriginals, in order to bypass Córdoba, and attack directly Mendoza, where it succeeded. He took his campaign north along the Andean provinces, until he finally defeated General
Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid Comandante General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid (or "de La Madrid"; 28 November 1795 in San Miguel de Tucumán – 5 January 1857 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine military officer and briefly, governor of several provinces like Córdoba, ...
, who led the last remaining unitary forces, in
Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...
. After the war, Quiroga established himself as one of the leaders of federalism in Argentina (along with
Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (30 March 1793 â€“ 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Althoug ...
and the caudillo of Santa Fe,
Estanislao López Estanislao López (26 November 1786 – 15 June 1838) was a ''caudillo'' and governor of the , between 1818 and 1838, one of the foremost proponents of provincial federalism, and an associate of Juan Manuel de Rosas during the Argentine Civ ...
), although he declared in his correspondence with Rosas that his ideas were in fact unitarian, but that he became a champion of federalism because people wanted federalism.


Quiroga's death and its consequences

In 1834, Quiroga was appointed by the governor of Buenos Aires (and Representative of Foreign Relations of the
Argentine Confederation The Argentine Confederation (Spanish: ''Confederación Argentina'') was the last predecessor state of modern Argentina; its name is still one of the official names of the country according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35. It was the name ...
)
Manuel Vicente Maza Manuel Vicente Maza (1779 – June 27, 1839) was an Argentine lawyer and federal politician. He was governor of Buenos Aires, and was killed after the discovery of a failed plot to kill Juan Manuel de Rosas. Biography Even though Maza was bo ...
to mediate between the governors of Tucumán and
Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...
, but Salta governor De la Torre died before Quiroga could arrive. He was advised that there were plans to murder him on his way back, but Quiroga, disregarding the advice, returned to Buenos Aires through the same way. At
Barranca Yaco Barranca de Yaco or Barranca Yaco (from the Spanish ''barranca'' ( gully) and the Quechua ''yaku'' (water)) is a geographical feature along the ancient ''camino real'' (''royal road'') of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located between V ...
, a watering place between Córdoba and
Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...
, a party of gunmen ambushed the carriage in which he travelled. Quiroga, confident in his charisma and that his mere presence and resolution would discourage the attackers, appeared through the carriage door and shouted at the gunmen, asking for their commander to confront him. The leader of the party, Santos Pérez, however, did not take chances and killed Quiroga by shooting him through the left eye. The political crime created a huge crisis in all the Confederation, forcing Maza to resign, and led to the establishment of Rosas' government. Rosas, as the Confederation leader, led the criminal investigation that ended with the prosecution of the governor of Córdoba, José Vicente Reinafé, and his brother as the intellectual perpetrators of the crime. They were hanged along with Santos Pérez in 1837 in Buenos Aires. In 1845, Domingo F. Sarmiento wrote '' Facundo, Civilization and Barbarism'', a book that reviews the influence of ''caudillo'' leaders, which he defines as " barbarism", in the Argentine political and social life, but also as a protest to Rosas' regime, and a call for
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an education and life style. Quiroga is buried in
La Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de la Recoleta) is a cemetery located in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, includi ...
in
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 ...
.


In literature

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
wrote an imaginary dialogue between Quiroga and Rosas in ''Dead Men's Dialogue'', in ''
Dreamtigers ''Dreamtigers'' (''El Hacedor'', "The Maker", 1960), is a collection of poems, short essays, and literary sketches by the Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges. Divided fairly evenly between prose and verse, the collection examines the limitations o ...
''.


References


External links


Biography
(English)

(Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Quiroga, Juan Facundo 1788 births 1835 deaths People from La Rioja Province, Argentina Argentine people of Galician descent Federales (Argentina) Governors of La Rioja Province, Argentina Assassinated Argentine politicians Argentine military personnel killed in the Argentine Civil War Deaths by firearm in Argentina People murdered in Argentina Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Argentine generals