Santiago Arcos (1822–1874) was a

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 ...

an journalist, politician and writer. He wrote a treatise ''La cuestion de los indios: las fonteras y los indios'' (1860), that called for military action against indigenous people.

Early life

Arcos was the fourth and last son of Spanish-born businessman and revolutionary military engineer Antonio Arcos and Isabel Petronila Arlegui Rodriguez. After the fall of

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 ...

in 1823, Arcos' parents fled to Paris, eventually establishing a financial concern.

Return to Chile

Not satisfied with life in France, Arcos defies his father's wishes and becomes involved in revolutionary politics, eventually returning to Chile through the United States and becoming involved with the reformist elements in

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

. Following the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, his father eventually followed him in returning to Chile, establishing Chile's first bank. However, the bank's existence was short lived, closing in 1850 following government pressure. Arcos refused to return to Europe with his father and eventually co-founded the Sociedad de Igualidad, a revolutionary organization that helped spearhead the 1851 Chilean Revolution. Eventually, Arcos fled to Peru and later to Argentina, trying to aid revolutionary efforts in Chile from afar.

Later life

Arcos would return to Paris in 1865 after years of revolutionary activity in South America. After being diagnosed with throat cancer, Arcos committed suicide by drowning himself in the

River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...

in January 1869.

Works

* ''Cuentos de tierra adentro o extracto de los apuntes de un viajero'', 1849 * ''L'utilité de vaincre dans les localités de la République Argentine'' * ''Les frontières et les Indiens'' * ''La Plata, une étude historique'', 1865 * ''Sociabilidad chilena''

References

External links

Santiago Arcos, tribute website
1822 births 1874 deaths Chilean journalists Politicians from Santiago, Chile 19th-century journalists Chilean male non-fiction writers 19th-century Chilean male writers Suicides by drowning in France {{Chile-journalist-stub