Antonio Quintanilla (14 November 1787 - 1863) was a Spanish brigadier and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Chiloé from 1820 to 1826. He was the last royalist to hold the position.

Early life

Quintanilla was the son of Francisco de Quintanilla and Teresa Herrera y Santiago, who were members of distinguished families in the Spanish region of Pámanes. He was born November 14, 1787. He married Antonia Álvarez de Garay, the daughter of Captain Francisco alvarez and Bartola Garay. Quintanilla was the father of Antonio de Quintanilla Alvarez, a Spanish official given the

Carlist Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

title of Marquis de Quintanilla.

Chilean War of Independence

Quintanilla moved to southern Chile, where he joined the cavalry and was uninvolved in politics until the outbreak of 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 ...

. When the war broke out he fought under

José Antonio Pareja Brigadier#Officer rank in the former Spanish empire, Brigadier José Antonio de Pareja y Mariscal (December 7, 1757 – May 21, 1813) was a Spanish Navy officer. He captained the Spanish ship Argonauta (1798), ''Argonauta'' during the Battle of ...

as a captain. Quintanilla defeated a force led by Luis de la Cruz on 1 July 1813. Along the Biobío River he launch numerous raids. Quintanilla wrote in his memoirs that either side would have won during the early portion of the war of independence if they had two companies that could properly manoeuver and retain formation. No Spanish soldiers were fighting in the war at the time and the royalist forces were made up of locals. The Abascal Carabineros cavalry squadron was formed by Quintanilla in August 1814, and he led it as a lieutenant colonel. Under his leadership he led this group victory at the Battle of Rancagua and captured Rancagua and

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 ...

. In 1817, Quintanilla fought against

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...

Chacabuco Province Chacabuco Province () is one of six Provinces of Chile, provinces of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in central Chile. It is located north of the Santiago Province (Chile), Province of Santiago, which is entirely urbanized and part of the Sant ...

, but was unable to defeat him. All communication between the

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago (, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and the Gulf of Corcovado in the s ...

and the mainland was interrupted after the

Battle of Chacabuco The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, took place on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes, from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and led by Captain (land), Captain–General José de San Martín, ...

. At the end of the year Quintanilla arrived and took command of Chiloé. He organised a militia with 400 rifles. Contact with the mainland was not restarted until November 1821, and by that time the Spanish forces had been defeated.

Governor of Chiloé

As a governor of Chiloé, Quintanilla ordered in 1824 the construction of Fuerte Real de San Carlos. He is also noted for defeating

Ramón Freire Ramón Saturnino Andrés Freire y Serrano (; November 29, 1787 – December 9, 1851) was a Chilean political figure. He was head of state on several occasions, and enjoyed a numerous following until the War of the Confederation. Ramón Fr ...

's first attempt to liberate Chiloé in 1825 after he dissolved the Chilean congress by force. A Chilean military expedition under the command of

was defeated by Quintanilla in 1824. On 19 January 1826, Quintanilla surrendered to Chilean forces, ending the war of independence. He was the last Spanish governor of Chile.

References

Works cited

* * * 1787 births 1863 deaths People from Trasmiera Royal governors of Chiloé Spanish military personnel of the Chilean War of Independence Royalists in the Hispanic American Revolution {{mil-hist-stub