Government Junta of Chile (1810)
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Government Junta of the Kingdom of Chile (September 18, 1810), also known as the First Government Junta, was the organ established to rule Chile following the deposition and imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII by Napoleon Bonaparte.
The year 1810 was very complicated politically for the Spanish empire in general, and for Chile in particular. Two years before the King had been imprisoned in France, and replaced by Joseph Bonaparte. In Chile, the Royal Governor Francisco Antonio García Carrasco had been forced to resign due to his ineptitude and corruption, and had been replaced by Mateo de Toro y Zambrano.
After Mateo de Toro y Zambrano took over as Royal Governor, he was convinced by popular demand to call an open meeting of the leading citizens to decide the political future of the colony. He convened such a meeting for the morning of September 18, 1810. The discussion ended with the conformation of the First Government Junta of Chile. In the discussion triumphed the idea of an independent government as opposed to the monarchist idea of submitting themselves to the control of the Regency Council.
The Junta started by formally declaring its allegiance to King Ferdinand VII. It then proceded to take some concrete measures: it created a militia for the defense of the kingdom, decreed freedom of trade with all nations that were allied to Spain or neutrals, and in order to increase its representativity, ordered the convocation of a National Congress.
It was the earliest step in the Chilean struggle for independence. The Junta lasted until July 4, 1811, when it was replaced by the National Congress, and the Second Junta.
[edit] Members
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Mateo de Toro y Zambrano |
| Vice President | José Martínez de Aldunate |
| Members | Juan Enrique Rosales Juan Martínez de Rozas Fernando Márquez de la Plata Ignacio de la Carrera Cuevas Francisco Javier de Reyna |
| Secretaries | José Gregorio Argomedo José Gaspar Marín |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- La Aurora de Chile, First Chilean Newspaper (1812) online. (Spanish)
- Monograph (Spanish)
