María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso (June 18, 1799 – May 5, 1853) was a First Lady of Chile for less than two months in 1814 through her marriage to

José Miguel Carrera José Miguel Carrera Verdugo (; October 15, 1785 – September 4, 1821) was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most impor ...

Biography

Fontecilla was born to Diego Antonio Fontecilla Palacios and Rosa Valdivieso Protusagasti 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 ...

. On 20 August 1814, at 15, Fontecilla married 29 year old

, a political leader in Chile, at the

Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral () is the seat of the Archdiocese of Santiago, Santiago de Chile and the main temple of the Catholic Church in that country. As a Cathedral Church, it is the permanent seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San ...

. Less than two months later, Carrera's forces were defeated in the

Battle of Rancagua The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins. This ...

and the family, including Carrera's two brothers, fled to

Mendoza, Argentina Mendoza (), officially the City of Mendoza (), is the capital of the Provinces of Argentina, province of Mendoza Province, Mendoza in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plain ...

. While there, Fontecilla passed secret information between military personnel and sewed clothing for soldiers. Fontecilla supported and was affectionate towards her husband despite his long absences to Anapolis,

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, and

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

as he sought allies to fight for Chilean independence. In 1821, Carrera was handed over to Colonel José Albino Gutiérrez as prisoner by his own men. Within days, he was tried, sentenced, and executed. The morning of his death, he wrote Mercedes a letter, in which he told her of his imminent execution and expressed regret for leaving her to care for their five children. Following Carrera's death, Fontecilla and her children lived in extreme poverty in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

. Eventually,

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque people, Basque-Spanish people, Spani ...

, Chile's Supreme Director and one of Carrera's main enemies, allowed them to return to Chile, largely due to "good public relations... o the public would think' 'Higginswas as generous as he was courageous.'" She later married politician

Diego José Benavente Diego José Benavente Bustamante (born 1790–21 June 1867) was a Chilean politician who served as President of the Senate of Chile The president of the Senate of Chile is the presiding officer of the Senate of Chile. The position comes after ...

, with whom she had four children.

Family

*Marriage:

(1814-1821, his death) ** Francisca Javiera Carrera Fontecilla (1817-1850; wife of Francisco Javier Valdés Aldunate and mother of José Miguel Valdés) ** Roberta Carrera Fontecilla ** Rosa Carrera Fontecilla (1819-1862; wife of Ambrosio Aldunate Carvajal, mother of Luis Aldunate) ** Josefa Carrera Fontecilla (1820-1898; wife of José Ramón Lira Calvo) ** José Miguel Carrera Fontecilla (es) (1820-1860); husband of Emilia Pinto Benavente, father of Ignacio Carrera Pinto) *Marriage:

** José Benjamín Benavente Fontecilla (husband of Rosa Vargas González) ** Mercedes Quiteria Benavente Fontecilla (wife of Miguel Calvo Valenzuela) ** Mariana Benavente Fontecilla ** Carolina Benavente Fontecilla

Legacy

There is a school in the

Quilicura Quilicura ( ; ) is a commune of Chile located in capital Santiago. Founded in 1901, it was originally a satellite town on what were then the outskirts of the city of Santiago. In recent times, ongoing urban sprawl has quickly urbanized the area, ...

area of Santiago, Chile named Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera.

Javiera Díaz de Valdés Javiera () is the Spanish spelling of the more rare feminine given name Xaviera. Both names derive from the Catholic saint Francis de Xavier, where ''Xavier'' refers to the saint's birthplace.Javiera Carrera Francisca Xaviera Eudoxia Rudecinda Carmen de los Dolores de la Carrera y Verdugo (March 1, 1781 – August 20, 1862), better known as Javiera Carrera, was a Chilean independence activist. Together with her brothers José Miguel Carrera, José M ...

, portrayed her in the Chilean miniseries '' Héroes''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontecilla, Maria Mercedes 1799 births 1853 deaths First ladies of Chile People from Santiago, Chile 19th-century Chilean people Viceroyalty of Peru people

Biography

Family

Legacy

See also

References