Joseph Gregorio Belgrano (1762–1823) was an Argentine military officer and politician. His brother was the General

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...

, member of the

Primera Junta The Primera Junta ("First Junta") or ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' ("Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata"), is the most common name given to the first government of what ...

and hero in

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...

Biography

He was born in Buenos Aires, son of Domingo Belgrano Pérez, a merchant born in

Oneglia Oneglia ( or ) is a former town in northern Italy on the Ligurian coast, in 1923 joined to Porto Maurizio to form the Comune of Imperia (city), Imperia. The name is still used for the suburb.Roy Palmer Domenico, ''The regions of Italy: a refere ...

, and María Josefa González Casero, belonging to a distinguished family of Creole origin. After completing his studies in

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

, Joseph Belgrano began his military career as

Standard-bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as ...

, in the Regimiento de Milicias de Caballería de Buenos Aires. He had a great performance as commander of the Spanish militias of Buenos Aires. In 1800, the King

Charles IV of Spain Charles IV (; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808. The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disa ...

appointed him as Ayudante del Regimiento de Milicias de Caballería de la Plaza de Buenos Aires. In 1806 and 1807, Belgrano participated with great heroism in defense of Buenos Aires against the English invaders (

British invasions of the Río de la Plata The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argenti ...

). During

May Revolution The May Revolution () was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, ...

of 1810, he was invited to participate in the Cabildo abierto, voting in favor of the dismissal of the Viceroy

Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros y de la Torre (6 January 1756 – 9 June 1829) was a Spanish Navy officer and colonial administrator. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against ...

. Joseph Belgrano was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1811, serving in the garrison of Buenos Aires until his retirement.

Family

Joseph Belgrano was married in the Parish Nuestra Señora de Montserrat to Casiana Cabral y Gutiérrez de Bárcena, daughter of José Luis Cabral and Martina Gutiérrez de Bárcena, belonging to an illustrious family of Creole origin. He and his wife were the parents of numerous children linked to distinguished Argentine families. His sons, Domingo Estanislao Belgrano and José María Belgrano, were married to the sisters Fernanda and Margarita Rico Rueda, great-granddaughters of Francisco Rueda, born in

El Puerto de Santa María El Puerto de Santa María (), locally known as El Puerto and historically in English as Port Saint Mary, is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. , the c ...

, and Juana de Piña, a natural daughter of Antonio Piña, born in

Morón de la Frontera Morón de la Frontera () is a Spanish town in Province of Seville, Seville province, Andalusia, South-East of Seville. Situated in the south of the province, it is the center of the region that bears the same name and is the head of one of the 85 ...

and María Nicolasa Jaime Merlos, belonging to the Merlos family. Joseph Gregorio Belgrano was a remote descendant of Gonzalo Casco. His ancestor Pedro Ramírez Reynoso, served as lieutenant in the Fort of Buenos Aires.

References

External links

Bautismos 1752-1775Matrimonios 1769-1825Matrimonios 1827-1848Joseph Belgrano - Foja de Servicios
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgrano, Joseph Gregorio 1762 births 1823 deaths People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata Argentine Army officers Argentine colonels Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Spanish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Río de la Plata