Gabino Gaínza
Encyclopedia
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
, Spain - d. approximately 1829, México City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
) was a Spanish military officer and politician in Spain's American colonies. During the Latin American wars of independence, he initially fought on the royalist side, in Chile. Later, in Guatemala, he supported independence and became the first president of a united Central America extending from Soconusco
Soconusco
Soconusco is a region of the Mexican state of Chiapas, located in the extreme south of the state and separated from Guatemala by the Suchiate River. It is a region of rich lowlands and foothills. The economic center is Tapachula. Soconusco consists of 16 municipalities.The name comes from the...
(in Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
) through Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
.
Military career
He arrived in PeruPeru
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....
in 1783 as a Spanish military officer. There he participated in the repression of the indigenous rebellion headed by Tupac Amaru
Túpac Amaru
Túpac Amaru, also called Thupa Amaro , was the last indigenous leader of the Inca state in Peru.-Accession:...
. Afterwards he was transferred to Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
as a colonel in charge of the fleet of gunboats in the port. In Guayaquil in 1799 he married Gregoria Rocafuerte, the sister of the future Ecuadoran patriot and president Vicente Rocafuerte
Vicente Rocafuerte
Vicente Rocafuerte y Bejarano was an influential figure in Ecuadorian politics and President of Ecuador from September 10, 1834 to January 31, 1839....
. He was 46, she was 20.
His military career continued without any setbacks. He was honored in 1792 with a knighthood in the Order of St. John. He was a confidant of several Peruvian viceroys. He was promoted to brigadier and given command of the Battalion Infante Don Calres in 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...
in 1811.
Royalist chief in the war in Chile
In January 1814 he was sent to ChileChile
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...
by Viceroy José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa
José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa
José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa, 1st Marquis of La Concordia , was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator in America...
as captain general
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
of the kingdom and commanding general of the royalist forces. He replaced Juan Francisco Sánchez, a captain who led the royalist forces in Chillán
Chillán
Chillán is a city in the Biobío Region of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of Ñuble Province and, with a population of approximately 170,000 people , the most populated urban center of this province...
after the death of Brigadier Antonio Pareja.
The instructions of Viceroy Abascal were to revive the war against the Chilean insurgents, which had fallen into a state of inactivity. Gaínza embarked from El Callao at the head of a force of 125 chosen men. This was augmented by the addition of 700 militiamen from Chiloé, after the arrival in Chile.
The landing of Gaínza in Arauco
Arauco
Arauco or Araucanía may refer to:* Arauco, Chile, a city and municipality in Arauco Province, Chile* Arauco Province, a province in the Biobío Region of Chile* Arauco, Argentina, a town in Arauco Department, Argentina...
on January 31, 1814 could not be prevented by the troops of Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme was a Chilean independence leader who, together with José de San Martín, freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile , he is considered one of Chile's founding fathers, as he was the first holder...
, commander of the insurgents in this sector. In Arauco on February 3, 1814 he met with numerous Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
s and obtained promises of their support and recognition of old treaties with the crown, as well as the promise of Toqui (War Chief) Mañil to supply 6,000 soldiers.
Gaínza was also able to add the forces of Chillán to his command.
One of his columns, commanded by Ildefonso de Elorriaga, took Talca
Talca
Talca is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region . As of the 2002 census, the city had a population of 193,755....
on March 3, 1814. In this action a small, isolated unit of patriots was massacred. This incident, together with the heroic death of the commander of the insurgents, Colonel Carlos Spano
Carlos Spano
Carlos Spano was a Spanish Army officer and hero of the Chilean War of Independence.Spano began his military career in 1786 as a soldier in the Spanish Army, and fought in the campaigns of Ceuta, Spanish Morocco and Aragon . He was sent to Chile with the Battalion of Infantes de Concepción...
, provoked a political crisis in Santiago. The Superior Governing Council presided over by Agustín Eyzaguirre had abandoned Talca only a few days before, moving towards the capital with nearly all the royalist forces of Talca as their escort. One result of this embarrassing situation was the fall of the Council. Francisco de la Lastra
Francisco de la Lastra
General Francisco de la Lastra y de la Sotta was a Chilean military officer and the first Supreme Director of Chile .-Biography:...
took control of the government as Supreme Director.
The following day (March 4), Gaínza received another stroke of luck from one of his militia units, commanded by Clemente Lataño
Clemente de Lantaño
Clemente de Lantaño Pino was a royalist military officer during the Chilean War of Independence. Later, during the Spanish reconquest, he changed sides and fought for independence against the royalist forces....
. This unit took prisoner José Miguel Carrera
José Miguel Carrera
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo was a Chilean general, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the Patria Vieja...
and Luis Carrera
Luis Carrera
Colonel Luis Florentino Juan Manuel Silvestre de los Dolores de la Carrera y Verdugo was a Chilean military officer who fought in the Chilean War of Independence. Together with his brothers José Miguel and Juan José, they were some of most important leaders of Chilean struggle for independence...
, old chiefs of the patriot army.
The successes of the royalist side had political repercussions among the insurgents. However, the outcome of the campaign became less certain with time. Neither side could achieve a decisive victory. Gaínza and his officers were alternately victorious and defeated in the following actions:
- The Battle of Cucha-Cucha
- The Battle of Gamero
- The Battle of El QuiloBattle of El QuiloThe battle of el Quilo, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, occurred at el Quilo, on the southern side of the Itata river, on 19 March, 1814.-Background:...
- The Battle of El Membrillar
- The First Battle of Cancha RayadaFirst Battle of Cancha RayadaThe first battle of Cancha Rayada, sometimes termed the 'Disaster' or 'Surprise of Cancha Rayada', took place on 29 March, 1814, during the War of Chilean Independence.-Background:...
- The Battle of Guajardo
- The Battle of Río Claro
- The Battle of QuechereguasBattle of QuechereguasThe battle of Quechereguas occurred on 8 April 1814, during the War of Chilean Independence.-Background:The Royalists had taken the key Patriot town of Talca in March, 1814, and an army, under the command of Gabino Gaínza, now threatened to advance on the Patriot capital of Santiago itself...
At the conclusion of the last action, on April 5, 1814, both armies were exhausted and in terrible logistic conditions. After three months of operations under Gaínza's command, the royalists had increased the territory under their control, taking Talcahuano
Talcahuano
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
and Concepción
Concepción, Chile
Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...
, but the royalist force had been seriously weakened.
Because of this, the arrival of English Commodore James Hillyar
James Hillyar
Admiral Sir James Hillyar KCB KCH was a prominent British Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century, who is best known for his service in the frigate HMS Phoebe during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812...
with instructions from Viceroy Abascal to negotiate with the rebels was considered opportune. After negotiations, Gaínza signed the Treaty of Lircay
Treaty of Lircay
Treaty of Lircay was a truce treaty agreed between the Royalist and the Patriot forces during the Chilean War of Independence.-Background:...
, committing himself to leave the Province of Concepción
Concepción Province, Chile
Concepción Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . Its capital, Concepción, is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation, the nation's second largest metropolitan area after Santiago.-Administration:...
. In exchange he obtained promises of loyalty to Ferdinand VII on the part of the patriot envoys, Bernardo O'Higgins and Juan Mackenna
Juan Mackenna
Brigadier Juan Mackenna was an Irish-born, Chilean military officer and hero of the Chilean War of Independence. He is considered to have been the creator of the Corps of Military Engineers of the Chilean Army....
.
Everything indicated that the treaty was nothing else except a way in which both sides could obtain a truce. Gaínza did not abandon his positions by the agreed date, nor did the rebels live up to the agreement.
Nevertheless, Viceroy Abascal was infuriated when he read the text of the Treaty of Lircay. He removed Gaínza from command, replacing him with Mariano Osorio
Mariano Osorio
Mariano de Osorio was a Spanish general and Governor of Chile, from 1814 to 1815.-Early career:Osorio was born in Seville, Spain. He joined the Spanish army and as many of his contemporaries, his military career began during the Spanish Peninsular War in 1808 as an artillery general, as well as...
. Not content with that, he had Gaínza court martialed in Lima, accused of exceeding his orders.
Regaining prestige
Gaínza had to wait under guard for the conclusion of the court martial in Lima. In 1816 he was acquitted, but his reputation in the army was seriously damaged. Therefore he moved to QuitoQuito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, under the jurisdiction of the viceroy of New Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
.
At the beginning of 1820 Gaínza, further separated from superiors who distrusted him, obtained the position of general subinspector of the forces in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico) and the position of Captain General
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
of Guatemala, with its five provinces: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
The new viceroy of Peru, Joaquín de la Pezuela
Joaquín de la Pezuela
Joaquín de la Pezuela Griñán y Sánchez Muñoz de Velasco, 1st marquis of Viluma was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of Peru during the War of Independence.-Background:...
, protested against this appointment, arguing that Gaínza was sympathetic to the rebels. The acting captain general of Guatemala, Carlos de Urrutia y Montoya, also protested, claiming that Gaínza's advanced age (67) made him unfit for the position.
Declaration of independence of Guatemala
Gaínza obtained the new position in spite of the opposition of Urrutia (who had suppressed a rebellion in August 1820). He assumed governmental power on March 9, 1821.In August 1821 Mexico achieved its independence, under the rule of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
. Guatemala was technically a dependency of Mexico (New Spain). Gaínza adapted to the new situation by openly joining the independence side. On September 15, 1821, in the city hall of Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
, the Kingdom of Guatemala
Captaincy General of Guatemala
The Captaincy General of Guatemala , also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala , was an administrative division in Spanish America which covered much of Central America, including what are now the nations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and the Mexican state of Chiapas...
was declared independent of Spain. On that day Gaínza was one of the signers of the Act of Independence of Central America.
The city government decided that their act would have to be ratified by a national congress, to be inaugurated on March 1, 1822. Until that occurred, the royal officials, political, military and administrative, were to remain in their positions. In this way, Gaínza became, de facto, the first head of state of the independent nation of Central America (Jefe político in the words of the Act of Independence).
The annexation to Mexico
However, there was one important point that the Act of Independence of September 15 did not address — the relation of the Kingdom of Guatemala to the recently created Mexican Empire.On October 29, 1821, Mexican Emperor Iturbide sent Gaínza a message inviting Guatemala to form part of the Empire. Earlier he had written to encourage the Central Americans to send delegates to the constituent congress scheduled to meet in Mexico City. But the new letter ended with the announcement of a more concrete political reality — a large Mexican army had been sent to the border with Guatemala.
Gaínza answered a month later, on December 3, 1821, that it was necessary to consult with various city governments in order to respond to the invitation. He concluded his answer with the words "I hope that Your Excellency will suspend your decisions and stop the advance of your army until the arrival of my answer, which I will send by mail on January 3, 1822."
Two days after that date, Gaínza was able to send his response, although it was not complete. 32 city governments accepted annexation; 104 accepted with conditions; 2 opposed the plan; and another 21 felt that the question could be decided only by the congress scheduled to meet in March.
This last group was correct; although Gaínza's plan to consult the city governments bought some time, it was a clear violation of Article 2 of the Act of Independence: "Congress must decide the point of absolute general independence and fixm, in case of agreement, the form of government and the fundamental law of governance."
In addition, suspicions arose about the count. The secretary of the consultative junta that advised Gaínza, Mariano Gálvez
Mariano Gálvez
José Felipe Mariano Gálvez was a jurist and Liberal politician in Guatemala. For two consecutive terms from August 28, 1831 to March 3, 1838 he was chief of state of the State of Guatemala, within the Federal Republic of Central America.-Background and early career:Born in the 1790s José Felipe...
, was accused of having manipulated the results to favor annexation.
But it was also true that many towns (Comayagua
Comayagua
Comayagua is a city in Honduras, some 80 km northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula at an elevation of 594 meters above sea level. In 2003 the estimated population was 60,000 people. It is the capital of the Comayagua department of Honduras. The city is noted for its wealth...
, Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real is a city in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, with a population of c. 74,000. It is the capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It has a stop on the AVE high-speed rail line and has begun to grow as a long-distance commuter suburb of Madrid, located 115 miles to the north. A high capacity...
, Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango, also commonly known by its indigenous name, Xelajú , or more commonly, Xela , is the second largest city of Guatemala. It is both the capital of Quetzaltenango Department and the municipal seat of Quetzaltenango municipality....
, Sololá
Sololá
Sololá is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Sololá and the administrative seat of Sololá municipality.The name is a hispanicized form of its pre-Columbian name, one spelling variant of which is T'zolojy'a...
, the intendencias of Nicaragua) joined the Empire on their own initiative, jumping over the chain of command that included Guatemala City. There was much pressure to adopt this decision. Gaínza and the Consultative Provisional Junta thus declared the union of the Kingdom of Guatemala to the Mexican Empire in an act signed January 5, 1822 in Guatemala City.
The consequences included:
- On January 11, 1822, El Salvador denounced the annexation as illegitimate and declared itself in rebellion, and under the direction of José Matías DelgadoJosé Matías DelgadoJosé Matías Delgado y León was a Salvadoran priest and doctor known as El Padre de la Patria Salvadoreña...
and Manuel José ArceManuel José ArceGeneral Manuel José Arce y Fagoaga was a decorated General and president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1825 to 1829.- Background :...
it prepared for armed resistance. - On January 23, 1822, Iturbide named Gaínza provisional captain general of Guatemala.
- On February 25, 1822, Gaínza ordered an oath of adhesion to the Mexican Empire.
- On March 30, 1822, Iturbide gave Gaínza the title of lieutenant general of the Kingdom and offered him the position of governor of a province of the Empire or of Nueva GaliciaNueva GaliciaEl Nuevo Reino de Galicia or Nueva Galicia was an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was named after Galicia in Spain...
, as a reward for his services. He also made him a knight of the Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Our Lady of Guadalupe. - Gaínza asked for the dispatch of the Mexican troops already at the border (600 men under the command of Vicente FilisolaVicente FilisolaVicente Filisola was a Spanish military figure, Mexican military and political figure in the 19th century.-Life and career:...
) to Central America. - On June 12, 1822 Filisola's troops arrived in Guatemala City.
- On June 23, 1822, by order of Iturbide, Gaínza turned over power to Filisola and left the country for Mexico.
The conclusion
As far as is known, Iturbide did not fulfill his promises to Gaínza. The old soldier did not receive the government of a single island. All that is known is that he died in dire poverty in Mexico City around the year 1829.His widow returned to Guayaquil, with his numerous decorations and an agreement of the city government of Guatemala City that granted her husband a military pension of 10,000 pesos for life annually from 1821, but there is no record that these payments were made.