Bartolomé Mitre
Encyclopedia
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez (June 26, 1821 – January 19, 1906) was an Argentine
statesman, military figure, and author
. He was the President of Argentina
from 1862 to 1868.
to a Greek Argentine family originally named Mitropoulos.
As a liberal, he was an opponent of Juan Manuel de Rosas
, and he was forced into exile. He worked as a soldier
and journalist
in Uruguay
as a supporter of General Fructuoso Rivera
, who named Mitre Lieutenant Coronel of the Uruguayan Army in 1846. Mitre later lived in Bolivia
, Peru
, and Chile
, and in the latter country, he collaborated with legal scholar and fellow Argentine exile Juan Bautista Alberdi
in the latter's periodical, El Comercio of Valparaíso
.
Mitre returned to Argentina after the defeat of Rosas. at the 1852 Battle of Caseros
. He was a leader of the revolt of Buenos Aires
against Justo José de Urquiza
's federal system, and was appointed to important posts in the provincial government after Buenos Aires seceded from the Confederation
.
The civil war of 1859 resulted in Mitre's defeat by Urquiza at the Battle of Cepeda
, in 1860. Issues of customs
revenue sharing were settled, and Buenos Aires reentered the Argentine Confederation. Victorious at the 1861 Battle of Pavón
, however, Mitre obtained important concessions from the national army, notably the amendment of the Constitution to provide for indirect elections through an electoral college. In October 1862, Mitre was elected president of the republic, and national political unity was finally achieved; a period of internal progress and reform then commenced. During the War of the Triple Alliance
, Mitre was initially named the head of the allied
forces.
Mitre was also the founder of La Nación, one of South America's leading newspapers, in 1870. His opposition to Autonomist Party
nominee Adolfo Alsina
, whom he viewed as a veiled Buenos Aires separatist, led Mitre to run for the presidency again, though the seasoned Alsina outmaneuvered him by fielding Nicolás Avellaneda
, a moderate lawyer from remote Catamarca Province
. The electoral college met on April, 12, 1874, and awarded Mitre only three provinces, including Buenos Aires.
Mitre took up arms again. Hoping to prevent Avellaneda's October 12 inaugural, he mutineered a gunboat
; he was defeated, however, and only President Avellaneda's commutation
spared his life. Following the 1890 Revolution of the Park
, he broke with the conservative National Autonomist Party
PAN) and co-founded the Civic Union with reformist Leandro Alem
. Mitre's desire to maintain an understanding with the ruling PAN led to the Civic Union's schism in 1891, upon which Mitre founded the National Civic Union
, and Alem, the Radical Civic Union
(the oldest existing party in Argentina).
He dedicated much of his time in later years to writing. According to some of his critics, as a historian Mitre took several questionable actions, often ignoring key documents and events on purpose in his writings. This caused his student Adolfo Saldías
to distance himself from him, and for future revisionist
historians such as José María Rosa
to question the validity of his work altogether. He also wrote poetry and fiction (Soledad: novela original), and translated Dante
's La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy
) into Spanish.
On his passing in 1906, he was interred in La Recoleta Cemetery
in Buenos Aires. January 19, 2006 marked the centenary of Mitre's death.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
statesman, military figure, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He was the President of Argentina
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
from 1862 to 1868.
Life and times
Mitre was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
to a Greek Argentine family originally named Mitropoulos.
As a liberal, he was an opponent of Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
, and he was forced into exile. He worked as a soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
in 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...
as a supporter of General Fructuoso Rivera
Fructuoso Rivera
José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana was an Uruguayan general and patriot who assisted in the efforts to force Brazilians out of the Banda Oriental.-Founder of Colorado Party and President of Uruguay:...
, who named Mitre Lieutenant Coronel of the Uruguayan Army in 1846. Mitre later lived in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and 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 in the latter country, he collaborated with legal scholar and fellow Argentine exile Juan Bautista Alberdi
Juan Bautista Alberdi
Juan Bautista Alberdi was an Argentine political theorist and diplomat. Although he lived most of his life in exile in Montevideo and Chile, he was one of the most influential Argentine liberals of his age.-Biography:...
in the latter's periodical, El Comercio of Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
.
Mitre returned to Argentina after the defeat of Rosas. at the 1852 Battle of Caseros
Battle of Caseros
The Battle of Caseros was fought near the town of Caseros, more precisely between the present-day train stations of Caseros and Palomar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas...
. He was a leader of the revolt of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
against Justo José de Urquiza
Justo José de Urquiza
Justo José de Urquiza y García was an Argentine general and politician. He was president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860.He was governor of Entre Ríos during the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas, governor of Buenos Aires with powers delegated from the other provinces...
's federal system, and was appointed to important posts in the provincial government after Buenos Aires seceded from the Confederation
Argentine Confederation
The Argentine Confederation is one of the official names of Argentina, according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35...
.
The civil war of 1859 resulted in Mitre's defeat by Urquiza at the Battle of Cepeda
Battle of Cepeda (1859)
The Battle of Cepeda of 1859 took place on October 23 at Cañada de Cepeda, Santa Fe, Argentina. The Republic of the Argentine Confederation army, led by Federal Justo José de Urquiza defeated the Province of Buenos Aires forces, led by Unitarian Bartolomé Mitre.-The battle in context:Before the...
, in 1860. Issues of customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
revenue sharing were settled, and Buenos Aires reentered the Argentine Confederation. Victorious at the 1861 Battle of Pavón
Battle of Pavón
The Battle of Pavón was a key battle of the Argentine civil wars fought in Pavón, in Santa Fé Province, Argentina, on September 17, 1861, between the Army of Buenos Aires, commanded by Bartolomé Mitre, and the National Army, commanded by Justo José de Urquiza...
, however, Mitre obtained important concessions from the national army, notably the amendment of the Constitution to provide for indirect elections through an electoral college. In October 1862, Mitre was elected president of the republic, and national political unity was finally achieved; a period of internal progress and reform then commenced. During the War of the Triple Alliance
War of the Triple Alliance
The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
, Mitre was initially named the head of the allied
Treaty of the Triple Alliance
The Treaty of the Triple Alliance was a treaty which allied Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay in the Paraguayan War. Signed at the beginning of the war, its articles prescribed the allies' actions both during and after the war.- Legal Restrictions :...
forces.
Mitre was also the founder of La Nación, one of South America's leading newspapers, in 1870. His opposition to Autonomist Party
Autonomist Party
The Autonomist Party was a political party in the Dalmatian political scene, that existed for around 70 years of the nineteenth century and until World War I. Its goal was to maintain the autonomy of the Kingdom of Dalmatia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as opposed to the unification with the...
nominee Adolfo Alsina
Adolfo Alsina
Adolfo Alsina Maza was an Argentine lawyer and Unitarian politician, and one of the founders of the Partido Autonomista and the National Autonomist Party.-Biography:...
, whom he viewed as a veiled Buenos Aires separatist, led Mitre to run for the presidency again, though the seasoned Alsina outmaneuvered him by fielding Nicolás Avellaneda
Nicolás Avellaneda
Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva was an Argentine politician and journalist, and president of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education reform, leading to Argentina's economic growth...
, a moderate lawyer from remote Catamarca Province
Catamarca Province
Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are : Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja...
. The electoral college met on April, 12, 1874, and awarded Mitre only three provinces, including Buenos Aires.
Mitre took up arms again. Hoping to prevent Avellaneda's October 12 inaugural, he mutineered a gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
; he was defeated, however, and only President Avellaneda's commutation
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
spared his life. Following the 1890 Revolution of the Park
Revolution of the Park
The Revolution of the Park was an uprising against the national government of Argentina that took place on 26 July 1890 and started with the takeover of the Buenos Aires Artillery Park. It was led by members of the Civic Union against the presidency of Miguel Juárez Celman...
, he broke with the conservative National Autonomist Party
National Autonomist Party
The National Autonomist Party was an Argentine political party during the 1874-1916 period. Created on March 15, 1874 by the union of the Autonomist Party of Adolfo Alsina and the National Party of Nicolás Avellaneda...
PAN) and co-founded the Civic Union with reformist Leandro Alem
Leandro Alem
Leandro Nicéforo Alem was an Argentine politician, born in Buenos Aires, a founder and leader of the Radical Civic Union. Alem was the uncle and political teacher of Hipólito Yrigoyen. His father, was the chief of Rosas' political police, the Mazorca. He was executed after the battle of Caseros...
. Mitre's desire to maintain an understanding with the ruling PAN led to the Civic Union's schism in 1891, upon which Mitre founded the National Civic Union
National Civic Union (Argentina)
The National Civic Union was an Argentine political party formed in 1891 as the result of a split in the Civic Union, and dissolved in 1916...
, and Alem, the Radical Civic Union
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
(the oldest existing party in Argentina).
He dedicated much of his time in later years to writing. According to some of his critics, as a historian Mitre took several questionable actions, often ignoring key documents and events on purpose in his writings. This caused his student Adolfo Saldías
Adolfo Saldías
Adolfo Saldías was an Argentine historian, lawyer, politician, soldier and diplomat.Saldías received his law degree in 1875 and published a thesis on the subject of Civil matrimony...
to distance himself from him, and for future revisionist
Historical revisionism (negationism)
Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light. For the former, i.e. the academic pursuit, see...
historians such as José María Rosa
José María Rosa
José María Rosa , also lnown as "Pepe Rosa", was an Argentine historian, one of the most notable of the Argentine nationalist revisionist historians.-Biography:...
to question the validity of his work altogether. He also wrote poetry and fiction (Soledad: novela original), and translated Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
's La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
) into Spanish.
On his passing in 1906, he was interred in La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery is a famous cemetery located in the exclusive Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, Raúl Alfonsín, and several presidents of Argentina.- History :...
in Buenos Aires. January 19, 2006 marked the centenary of Mitre's death.