Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León
Encyclopedia
Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León (1749–1830) was a Spanish
military commander and politician
.
A grandson of the founder of the "Alvear" wine company of Montilla
, he was the father of the Argentine politician Carlos María de Alvear
, grandfather of another Argentine politician, Torcuato de Alvear
, and great-grandfather of Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear
, the president of Argentina between 1922 and 1928.
He took the name of his grandfather, Diego de Alvear y Escalera, the founder of Alvear. Ponce de León belonged, therefore, to an important family of wine growers in Andalusia
.
He studied in Jesuit schools, first in Montilla and later at Granada, until the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767. After entering the Spanish navy
as midshipman
(1770), he arrived at the Rio de la Plata
in 1774 and fought in the "Sacramento War" (also known as "Ceballos Expedition" 1776-1777). Its name derives from a colonial conflict between Spain
and Portugal
for control of Colonia del Sacramento
in what today is Uruguay
, where the Spanish forces were commanded by Pedro de Cevallos. After a favorable resolution to Spanish interests, Charles III
created the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
and named general Pedro de Cevallos as viceroy
.
It was on this new viceroyalty where Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León lived for almost thirty years. He continued his ascending military career reaching the rank of general and in 1781 wed María Balbastro, with whom he had nine children.
Among the works during this stage in his life, he worked on the delineation of the border between Spanish and Portuguese territories. It was an endeavor started by king Charles III, where political objectives and military ideals where mixed. After the aforementioned colonial conflict, both kingdoms decided to clearly mark the borders of their colonial possessions. Charles III ordered that to accomplish this task, they had to divide the border in five sections to be studied separately. Diego de Alvear received command of the task for one of these sections to be studied, which encompassed the areas around the Paraná
and Paraguay
rivers. Here he spent 18 years (1782–1800) doing Topography
work, botanic
studies and preparing reports on the Tupi and Guarani peoples.
_by_francis_sartorius,_national_maritime_museum,uk.jpg..jpg)
On August 7, 1804 Diego de Alvear, already a general, embarked in Montevideo
en route to Spain in the frigate
"Mercedes" carrying with him the riches accumulated after those many years of service in the River Plate
area, and also his wife and children. The flotilla
, headed for Cádiz
, was composed of four frigates commanded by José de Bustamante y Guerra
.
On October 5, 1804 on the so called Battle of Cabo de Santa Maria
, near the Portuguese coast of Algarve, the Spanish ships were met by a British flotilla, and even though both countries were at peace after the Treaty of Amiens
, they threatened the Spaniards. Diego Alvear and his son Carlos María
were called to the flagship Medea, to serve as interpreters as they spoke English. The incident got out of hand when an intimidating British carronade
hit the "Mercedes", which sank, carrying with her Don Diego's riches and the life of his wife and children. The only surviving son was Carlos María, who was with him. Two months later, in December 1804, Spain declared war on Great Britain.
During his captivity he met, going to mass, the young Irish Luisa Ward, whom he would later marry and have ten children. In December 1805 he returned to Spain and in 1806 arrived in Madrid. As said Diego de Alvear married Luisa on January 20, 1807, in Montilla (Córdoba, Spain
). from tommy bergman
, where he would distinguish himself defending the city from the French troops, who had invaded Spain in 1808.
Diego de Alvear organized the city's defenses, having been one of his first successes to get the French Rosilly flotilla, interned in Cádiz Bay until then (as until a month and a half before France had been an ally) surrender on June 1808. Another important task was the reorganization of Cádiz's militias, a corps of two thousand volunteers called the "Distinguished Volunteers of Cádiz".
On March 1810, Diego de Alvear was named military governor of the Isle of León (today San Fernando) and his success at the defense of Cádiz would get him the Gran Cruz de Hermenegildo decoration. The writer José de Espronceda
would later dedicate a poem to him: "To Don Diego de Alvearthomas bergman".
, Diego de Alvear requested permission to travel to England. The request was accepted and he lived in Great Britain between 1814 and 1817. Upon his return in 1817, he lived as a recluse in Montilla in the family's wine growing business, even though the political events of the country would lead him to actively participate once more. In 1820 Spain instituted the "Trienio Liberal" and in 1821 a series of movements by military forces quartered in Córdoba would try to reinstate absolutist power. Diego de Alvear was opposed to this and organized a volunteer militia in Montilla, resisting the absolutist rebels until the arrival of reinforcements which ended the movement. As an award for his actions, he was named in 1822 Commander of the Montilla Militia and in 1823 he returned to Cádiz.
The restoration of absolutism in 1823 forced him to return to Montilla, be detained and released several times and caused a serious economic loss. He also lost, and had reinstated his titles and honours in several occasions, at the whim of the crown, until 1829 when he finally recuperates all his titles and honors. He died in Madrid, on January 15, 1830.
and Guaraní
, having learned these two latter ones during his geographic work in the colonial sector he commanded. He also had great mathematical and astronomical knowledge, connected with his military activities in the navy and army artillery and the work he did delimiting the colonial possession borders between Spain and Portugal in the River Plate area.
He wrote several books, including "Descripción de Buenos Aires" (Descriptions of Buenos Aires) and "Demarcación de los territorios de España y Portugal" (demarcation between the territories of Spain and Portugal).
between March and May 2007. This company, using Gibraltar
as base, has recovered enormous quantities of silver and gold coins, plus cannon and copper ingots from the wreck. Most of these were sent to the USA by cargo plane from Gibraltar. The Spanish government has sued the company on this issue.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
military commander and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
A grandson of the founder of the "Alvear" wine company of Montilla
Montilla
Montilla a town and municipality of southern Spain, in the province of Córdoba, 32 miles south of the provincial capital, Córdoba, by the Córdoba-Bobadilla railway. , the town had a population of 23,245. The olive oil of the district is abundant and good, and it is the peculiar flavour of the pale...
, he was the father of the Argentine politician Carlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815....
, grandfather of another Argentine politician, Torcuato de Alvear
Torcuato de Alvear
Torcuato de Alvear y Saenz de la Quintanilla was a 19th century Argentine conservative politician. He was the son of soldier and statesman Carlos María de Alvear and father of Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, president of Argentina from 1922 to 1928.In 1880 Buenos Aires was declared the capital city...
, and great-grandfather of Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear
Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear
Máximo Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear Pacheco , better known as Marcelo T. de Alvear was an Argentine politician and President of Argentina from October 12, 1922 to October 12, 1928.-Biography:...
, the president of Argentina between 1922 and 1928.
He took the name of his grandfather, Diego de Alvear y Escalera, the founder of Alvear. Ponce de León belonged, therefore, to an important family of wine growers in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
.
Political and military career in the colonies
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
as midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
(1770), he arrived at the Rio de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
in 1774 and fought in the "Sacramento War" (also known as "Ceballos Expedition" 1776-1777). Its name derives from a colonial conflict between Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
for control of Colonia del Sacramento
Colonia del Sacramento
Colonia del Sacramento is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the oldest town in Uruguay and capital of the departamento of Colonia. It has a population of around 22,000.It is renowned for its historic quarter, a World Heritage Site...
in what today is Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, where the Spanish forces were commanded by Pedro de Cevallos. After a favorable resolution to Spanish interests, Charles III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
created the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
and named general Pedro de Cevallos as viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
.
It was on this new viceroyalty where Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León lived for almost thirty years. He continued his ascending military career reaching the rank of general and in 1781 wed María Balbastro, with whom he had nine children.
Among the works during this stage in his life, he worked on the delineation of the border between Spanish and Portuguese territories. It was an endeavor started by king Charles III, where political objectives and military ideals where mixed. After the aforementioned colonial conflict, both kingdoms decided to clearly mark the borders of their colonial possessions. Charles III ordered that to accomplish this task, they had to divide the border in five sections to be studied separately. Diego de Alvear received command of the task for one of these sections to be studied, which encompassed the areas around the Paraná
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
and Paraguay
Paraguay River
The Paraguay River is a major river in south central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina...
rivers. Here he spent 18 years (1782–1800) doing Topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
work, botanic
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
studies and preparing reports on the Tupi and Guarani peoples.
Battle of Cabo Santa María
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
en route to Spain in the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
"Mercedes" carrying with him the riches accumulated after those many years of service in the River Plate
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
area, and also his wife and children. The flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
, headed for Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, was composed of four frigates commanded by José de Bustamante y Guerra
José de Bustamante y Guerra
José de Bustamante y Guerra , sometimes referred to simply as Bustamante, was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and politician. He was a native of Corvera de Toranzo in Cantabria, Spain.-Early life:In 1770 Bustamante became a midshipman at the Academy of the Guardiamarinas in Cádiz...
.
On October 5, 1804 on the so called Battle of Cabo de Santa Maria
Cabo de Santa Maria (Faro)
Cape of St. Mary is the southernmost point of mainland Portugal, in the municipality of Faro. It is a point in the curve of a beach in the Island of Barreta, which has also the name of Island of Cabo de Santa Maria....
, near the Portuguese coast of Algarve, the Spanish ships were met by a British flotilla, and even though both countries were at peace after the Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
, they threatened the Spaniards. Diego Alvear and his son Carlos María
Carlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815....
were called to the flagship Medea, to serve as interpreters as they spoke English. The incident got out of hand when an intimidating British carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
hit the "Mercedes", which sank, carrying with her Don Diego's riches and the life of his wife and children. The only surviving son was Carlos María, who was with him. Two months later, in December 1804, Spain declared war on Great Britain.
Second marriage and return to Spain
After the sinking of the Mercedes, the flotilla was captured and sailed to England where Diego de Alvear was made prisoner, but with honours and privileges. The tragic family loss was not lost on the British to the point that the British government decided to reimburse don Diego part of his economic losses due to the sinking of the Mercedes.During his captivity he met, going to mass, the young Irish Luisa Ward, whom he would later marry and have ten children. In December 1805 he returned to Spain and in 1806 arrived in Madrid. As said Diego de Alvear married Luisa on January 20, 1807, in Montilla (Córdoba, Spain
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
). from tommy bergman
Spanish War of Independence and defense of Cádiz
In August 1807, Alvear was put in charge of the artillery units defending the city of CádizCádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, where he would distinguish himself defending the city from the French troops, who had invaded Spain in 1808.
Diego de Alvear organized the city's defenses, having been one of his first successes to get the French Rosilly flotilla, interned in Cádiz Bay until then (as until a month and a half before France had been an ally) surrender on June 1808. Another important task was the reorganization of Cádiz's militias, a corps of two thousand volunteers called the "Distinguished Volunteers of Cádiz".
On March 1810, Diego de Alvear was named military governor of the Isle of León (today San Fernando) and his success at the defense of Cádiz would get him the Gran Cruz de Hermenegildo decoration. The writer José de Espronceda
José de Espronceda
José Ignacio Javier Oriol Encarnación de Espronceda y Delgado was a famous Romantic Spanish poet.-Life:Espronceda was born in Almendralejo, at the Province of Badajoz. As a youth, he studied at the Colegio San Mateo at Madrid, having as teacher Alberto Lista...
would later dedicate a poem to him: "To Don Diego de Alvearthomas bergman".
Ferdinand VII reign: fight between liberals and absolutists
After the War of IndependencePeninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, Diego de Alvear requested permission to travel to England. The request was accepted and he lived in Great Britain between 1814 and 1817. Upon his return in 1817, he lived as a recluse in Montilla in the family's wine growing business, even though the political events of the country would lead him to actively participate once more. In 1820 Spain instituted the "Trienio Liberal" and in 1821 a series of movements by military forces quartered in Córdoba would try to reinstate absolutist power. Diego de Alvear was opposed to this and organized a volunteer militia in Montilla, resisting the absolutist rebels until the arrival of reinforcements which ended the movement. As an award for his actions, he was named in 1822 Commander of the Montilla Militia and in 1823 he returned to Cádiz.
The restoration of absolutism in 1823 forced him to return to Montilla, be detained and released several times and caused a serious economic loss. He also lost, and had reinstated his titles and honours in several occasions, at the whim of the crown, until 1829 when he finally recuperates all his titles and honors. He died in Madrid, on January 15, 1830.
A man of culture
Don Diego spoke several languages: Spanish, Latin, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and some TupíOld Tupi language
Old Tupi or Classical Tupi is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the native Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who lived close to the sea. It belongs to the Tupi–Guarani language family, and which has a written history spanning the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries...
and Guaraní
Guaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
, having learned these two latter ones during his geographic work in the colonial sector he commanded. He also had great mathematical and astronomical knowledge, connected with his military activities in the navy and army artillery and the work he did delimiting the colonial possession borders between Spain and Portugal in the River Plate area.
He wrote several books, including "Descripción de Buenos Aires" (Descriptions of Buenos Aires) and "Demarcación de los territorios de España y Portugal" (demarcation between the territories of Spain and Portugal).
Modern times: the finding of the wreck of the Mercedes
The wreck of the frigate Mercedes, whose sinking caused the death of Alvear's first wife and his children, was recently found and salvaged by the treasure hunter company Odyssey Marine ExplorationOdyssey Marine Exploration
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. is an American company engaged in the salvage of deep-water shipwrecks. Odyssey salvaged the US Civil War era shipwreck of the SS Republic in 2003 and recovered over 50,000 coins and 14,000 artifacts from the site nearly 1,700 feet deep...
between March and May 2007. This company, using Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
as base, has recovered enormous quantities of silver and gold coins, plus cannon and copper ingots from the wreck. Most of these were sent to the USA by cargo plane from Gibraltar. The Spanish government has sued the company on this issue.