Antonio Berney

Antonio Berney (died 1784) was a French teacher living in

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 ...

, and one of the conspirators in the

Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios The conspiracy of the three Antonios (1781) () was a minor failed conspiracy against the Spain, Spanish colonial authorities in the captaincy-general of Chile, that was led by two Frenchmen, Antoine Gramusset and Antoine-Alexandre Berney, and a S ...

. Berney arrived in Chile around 1776, where he became teacher of Latin and Mathematics at the Convictorio Carolino, in

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

. He was a constant reader of the

Encyclopédie , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...

, and in 1780, he formulated a plan to establish Chile as an independent republic and convinced

Antonio Gramusset Antonio Gramusset (1740–1784) was a French adventurer living in Chile, and one of the co-conspirators in the Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios. He was born in Premelieu, and arrived to Chile around 1764. Once there, he first tried to become a prie ...

and José Antonio de Rojas to join him in trying to carry it out. They were soon discovered, denounced and arrested on January 1, 1781. Because they were foreigners, he and Gramusset were sent as prisoners first to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

and then to

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 ...

to be tried. The ship that was carrying them, the ''San Pedro de Alcantara'', went down in front of the coasts of Portugal during a storm, and he drowned. 18th-century births 1784 deaths 18th-century Chilean people French emigrants to Chile {{chile-bio-stub