Antonio Berney was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 teacher living in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, and one of the conspirators in the Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios

Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios

The Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios was minor failed conspiracy against the Spanish colonial authorities in the captaincy-general of Chile, that was led by two Frenchmen, Antonio Gramusset and Antonio Berney, and a criollo, José Antonio de Rojas...

.

Berney arrived in Chile around 1776, where he became teacher of Latin and Mathematics at the Convictorio Carolino, in Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

. He was a constant reader of the Encyclopédie

Encyclopédie

Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It was edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert...

, and in 1780, he formulated a plan to establish Chile as an independent republic and convinced Antonio Gramusset

Antonio Gramusset

Antonio Gramusset was a French adventurer living in Chile, and one of the co-conspirators in the Conspiracy of the Tres Antonios.He was born in Premelieu, and arrived to Chile around 1764. Once there, he first tried to become a priest, and later he joined a military regiment composed of...

 and José Antonio de Rojas to join him in trying to carry it out. They were soon discovered, denounced and arrested on January 1, 1781. He and Gramusset, because being foreigners, were sent as prisoners first to Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

 and then to 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...

 to be tried. The ship that was carrying them, the San Pedro de Alcantara

Spanish ship San Pedro de Alcantara

San Pedro de Alcantara was a 64-gun Spanish man-of-war, which sank near Peniche, Portugal, loaded with so much treasure that her shipwreck shocked the financial markets of Spain...

, went down in front of the coasts of Portugal during a storm, and he drowned.