Honours Suppression decree
Encyclopedia
The Honours Suppression decree was a decree of the Primera Junta
, first national government of Argentina, in 1810 which removed from its members the honours and privileges inherited from the former monarchich system. It was designed by the secretary Mariano Moreno
.
, a small celebration was held. Mariano Moreno tried to join it, but the guards in the door did not recognize him and denied him the entry. Moreno would later learn that in the celebration the official Atanasio Duarte, who was drunk, proposed a brindis for "the first king and emperor of America, Don Cornelio Saavedra
". Saavedra was the president of the Primera Junta
.
Mariano Moreno wrote then the decree. The decree stated that the members of the Junta would have an equal social treatment than any other citizen, and it removed the social privileges or military escorts that viceroy
s used to have and which were adopted by the Junta by tradition. As for Duarte, Moreno wrote that his action, promoting a monarchic system, would deserve the capital punishment
, but considering that he was drunk at the time, such penalty was lifted to just being banished from the country.
All members of the Junta ratified the decree, including Saavedra himself, who was the most damaged by it, because as president the privileges assigned to him were higher than those of the other members of the Junta.
, ending a common trait of a monarchic society. Liberal historiography usually considers the anecdote to be promoted a sudden inspiration in Moreno to write the decree, but historian Miguel Ángel Scenna consider instead that Moreno had it already planned and that he simply employed the anecdote as an excuse to apply it. Historian José María Rosa
provides yet another interpretation: he considers that the real crime of Duarte was to claim aloud that the Americas would have their own King, other than Ferdinand VII, which was a clear independentist gesture. The punishment towards him would not be based in that Moreno or the Junta weren't independentist as well, but in that they would be concealing their independentist ideas under the ruse of the Mask of Ferdinand VII.
Primera Junta
The Primera Junta or First Assembly is the most common name given to the first independent government of Argentina. It was created on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially had representatives from only Buenos Aires...
, first national government of Argentina, in 1810 which removed from its members the honours and privileges inherited from the former monarchich system. It was designed by the secretary Mariano Moreno
Mariano Moreno
Mariano Moreno was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution....
.
Context
The decree was motivated by an anecdote that took place some days before. When the revolutionaries in Buenos Aires received the news of the first military victory at the Battle of SuipachaBattle of Suipacha
The Battle of Suipacha was fought on 7 November 1810 in Bolivia during the Bolivian War of Independence between the Spanish colonial army and the Republican forces sent by the Primera Junta from Buenos Aires. At the time Bolivia was known as Upper Peru . It was the first decisive defeat of the...
, a small celebration was held. Mariano Moreno tried to join it, but the guards in the door did not recognize him and denied him the entry. Moreno would later learn that in the celebration the official Atanasio Duarte, who was drunk, proposed a brindis for "the first king and emperor of America, Don Cornelio Saavedra
Cornelio Saavedra
Cornelio Judas Tadeo de Saavedra y Rodríguez was a military officer and statesman from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata...
". Saavedra was the president of the Primera Junta
Primera Junta
The Primera Junta or First Assembly is the most common name given to the first independent government of Argentina. It was created on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially had representatives from only Buenos Aires...
.
Mariano Moreno wrote then the decree. The decree stated that the members of the Junta would have an equal social treatment than any other citizen, and it removed the social privileges or military escorts that 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...
s used to have and which were adopted by the Junta by tradition. As for Duarte, Moreno wrote that his action, promoting a monarchic system, would deserve the capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, but considering that he was drunk at the time, such penalty was lifted to just being banished from the country.
All members of the Junta ratified the decree, including Saavedra himself, who was the most damaged by it, because as president the privileges assigned to him were higher than those of the other members of the Junta.
Historical perception
The decree is commonly considered a clear act of republicanismRepublicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
, ending a common trait of a monarchic society. Liberal historiography usually considers the anecdote to be promoted a sudden inspiration in Moreno to write the decree, but historian Miguel Ángel Scenna consider instead that Moreno had it already planned and that he simply employed the anecdote as an excuse to apply it. Historian 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:...
provides yet another interpretation: he considers that the real crime of Duarte was to claim aloud that the Americas would have their own King, other than Ferdinand VII, which was a clear independentist gesture. The punishment towards him would not be based in that Moreno or the Junta weren't independentist as well, but in that they would be concealing their independentist ideas under the ruse of the Mask of Ferdinand VII.