Rafael de Sobremonte
Encyclopedia
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Rafael de Sobremonte y Núñez del Castillo, 3rd Marquis of Sobremonte (Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, 1745 - Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, 1827), third Marquis
Marquis
Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
of Sobremonte, was an aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
, military man and Spanish colonial administrator, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
. He was accused of cowardice by the people 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...
after escaping the city during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
The British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...
in 1806.
He was born in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, 27 November, 1745. His parents were the Marquis Raimundo de Sobremonte, military man and magistrate, Knight of the Order of Charles III and member of the Seville Audience, and María Ángela Núñez Angulo y Ramírez de Arellano.
At fourteen years of age, he became a cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
in the Regimiento de las Reales Guardias Españolas. He served in different locations, such as Cartagena de Indias, Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. In 1779, he was named Secretary to the Viceroy of the Río de la Plata, Juan José de Vértiz
Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo
Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo was a Spanish colonial politician born in New Spain, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata.-Biography:...
, with the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. He continued in that post with the successor, Nicolás del Campo
Nicolás del Campo
Nicolás Francisco Cristóbal del Campo, Marquis of Loreto was a Spanish politician and soldier who occupied several posts in the Spanish American colonies, mainly in the River Plate area.-Biography:...
.
Family
Sobremonte married an Argentine lady; Doña Juana María de Larrazábal (first wife), having eleven children with her:- Rafael de Sobremonte y Larrazábal, baptized in Buenos Aires, 22 October l783.
- Marcos José de Sobremonte, baptized in Córdoba, 28 August 1785.
- Ramón María Agustín de Sobremonte, baptized in Córdoba, 9 October 1786.
- José María de Sobremonte, baptized in Córdoba, 4 January 1790.
- Manuel de Sobremonte, baptized in Córdoba, 11 August 1792.
- María de las Mercedes de Sobre Monte, baptized in Córdoba, 31 December 1793.
- Josefa Juana Nepomucena María del Carmen de Sobremonte, baptized in Córdoba, 24 April l795.
- Juana de Sobremonte, baptized in Córdoba, 19 August 1796.
- José María Ramón de Sobremonte, baptized in Buenos Aires, 19 January 1798.
- José María Agustín de Sobremonte, baptized in Buenos Aires, 20 April 1799.
- Ramón José Agustín de Sobremonte, baptized in Montevideo, 4 August 1801.
- José Agustín María de Sobremonte, baptized in Buenos Aires, 19 April l803.
He married again at seventy-five years of age with Doña María Teresa Millán y Marlos, widow of a nephew of Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros de la Torre was a Spanish naval officer born in Cartagena. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against Napoleon's invasion in 1808. He was later appointed Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la...
, the last Viceroy of the Río de la Plata.
Posts held by Sobremonte
Rafael de Sobremonte held various posts in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la PlataViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
:
- Viceroyalty Secretary, as a Lieutenant Coronel, during the Viceroyalty of Juan José de Vértiz y SalcedoJuan José de Vértiz y SalcedoJuan José de Vértiz y Salcedo was a Spanish colonial politician born in New Spain, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata.-Biography:...
(1779-1783) - Governor of Córdoba del Tucumán (1783-1797)
- Sub-Inspector General of veteran troops and militias (1797-1804)
- President of the Audiencia de Río de la Plata (1804)
- Viceroy, Gobernor and Captain General of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (1804-1807)
Governor of Córdoba
From 1784, and for almost fifteen years, he was Governor of CórdobaCórdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, distinguising himself as an excellent administrator. He cleaned and repaired the city streets, ordered the construction of the first water system, carrying running water to Córdoba from the Primero River
Primero River
The Primero River , also known as Suquía , runs through the city of Córdoba, Argentina....
, and also the construction of defenses against river flooding. He opened a free public school, and ordered the constructions of rural schools. Created the Civil Law career at the University of San Carlos, improved the administration of the neighborhoods, started the first street lighting system and founded a women's hospital. Improved the justice system which was lacking in attentio due to the distance to Buenos Aires.
During his administration he improved working conditions in the mines, and gave help to the mining industry in other provinces.
He built small forts and towns to try to defend against Indian raids: Río Cuarto
Río Cuarto
Rio Cuarto may refer to:*Río Cuarto, Córdoba*Cuarto River*Rio Cuarto craters...
, La Carlota, San Fernando, Santa Catalina, San Bernardo, San Rafael
San Rafael, Mendoza
San Rafael is a city in the southern region of the Mendoza Province, Argentina. With more than 170,000 inhabitants , it is the largest city and the seat of San Rafael Department....
, Villa del Rosario
Villa del Rosario, Córdoba
Villa del Rosario is a city in the center of the province of Córdoba, Argentina. It has 13,741 inhabitants as per the , and is the head town of the Río Segundo Department. It is located 80 km east-southeast from the provincial capital Córdoba, on the right-hand banks of the Segundo River ....
, etc.
In 1797 he was named inspector general of the army of the Viceroyalty. In that capacity he labored to improve it to be able to resist an invasion from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
or England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, specifically fortifying Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
and Colonia del Sacramento
Colonia del Sacramento
Colonia del Sacramento is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the oldest town in Uruguay and capital of the departamento of Colonia. It has a population of around 22,000.It is renowned for its historic quarter, a World Heritage Site...
.
Viceroyalty and the war with Britain
In April 1804, at the death of Viceroy Joaquín del PinoJoaquín del Pino
Joaquín del Pino Sánchez de Rojas Romero y Negrete , was a Spanish military engineer and politician, who held various positions in the South American colonial administration.-Early life:...
, he was named as his replacement as Viceroy of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
.
At that time, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and 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...
were at war, creating the risk of an attack on 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...
. He requested help from the Spanish Courts, but the Prime Minister Manuel Godoy answered that he should defend as best as he could, with no help forthcoming.
Believing there was a high probability of a British attack in Montevideo, he fortified that city and sent his best troops. It was the logical decision due to geography, and it would have been very difficult to dislodge them, had they captured that fortified port city.
The military of the viceroyalty had suffered many casualties lately, particularly during the native uprisings of Tupac Amaru
Túpac Amaru
Túpac Amaru, also called Thupa Amaro , was the last indigenous leader of the Inca state in Peru.-Accession:...
. All the help he obtained were a few cannons and the suggestion to arm the people for the defense. The Viceroy understood that arming the creole
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
civilian population, many of them influenced by revolutionary ideas, fomented by the American
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and French
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
revolutions, was a dangerous strategy for the interests of the Crown. History would prove him right as only six years later the Argentine movement for independence was started.
He had few officers, mostly inexperienced and inefficient, and his navy was very weak. His army only had 2,500 men, most of them recruits, with little or no experience with arms.
As part of his defensive measures, he named the 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...
Santiago de Liniers
Santiago de Liniers
Jacques de Liniers was a French officer in the Spanish military service, and a viceroy of the Spanish colonies of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. He is more widely known by the Spanish form of his name, Santiago de Liniers...
commander of the port of Ensenada de Barragán
Ensenada, Buenos Aires
Ensenada is a city and port in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, located around the Ensenada de Barragán. It has 31,031 inhabitants as per the...
, about 70 km (43 mi) south of Buenos Aires, with orderds to rotect the coast. Liniers sent him several warnings that the British had been seen exploring the coast of the River Plate
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
.
First British Invasion
On 24 June, 1806, while attending a theater play with his family, the viceroy received news that British ships have been sighted along the coast. A report from Liniers indicated it consisted of despicable corsairs, without the bravery and the will to attack. Sobremonte left the play early going to Buenos Aires Fort, where he wrote an order to organize the defense. The next morning, the enemy's ships were sighted again on the Buenos Aires coast and cannon was shot from the fort with no effect.He was not sure if it would be an attack, he sent brigadier Arce to repel any possible landing around the coastal city of Quilmes. Arce, commanding about 500 troops, let them land without attacking, sure they could not cross the marshes that separated the beaches from the mainland. The invaders did cross and Arce's troops retreated, allowing the British to march towards the city on June 26.
About 1,500 troops, commanded by William Carr Beresford landed from the ships commanded by Home Riggs Popham
Home Riggs Popham
Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB was a British Royal Naval Commander who saw service during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
, the invasion plan's author.
Sobremonte gave a speech, directing able men to join the militias. Organization was lacking and not everybody was supplied with arms. Many muskets were supplied without proper shot or flints; swords and sabres were not well maintained. His own officers accused him of the chaos and confusion, but did little to remedy the situation.
The Viceroy attempted to form a defense by the Riachuelo, the city's southern border, ordering the burnig of the Gálvez bridge (located on the site of today's Pueyrredón bridge). He moved his troops to the west, believing the British would cross upriver, where he could attack them. The British captured the river-crossing boats, crossing to the north side. The defense failed there on their first attempt, and the viceroy gave inchoerent orders which added to the chaos and confusion.
Run away
Sobremonte left the city and decided to move to CórdobaCórdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, some 700 km (435 mi) away. Since the time of Vértiz
Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo
Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo was a Spanish colonial politician born in New Spain, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata.-Biography:...
there was a regulation that stated that if Buenos Aires was attacked by a foreign invader and the capital could not be held, there must be a move to the interior of the country and organize the defense in Córdoba, in order to defend the rest of the Viceroyalty, and have a fighting chance to reconquer the capital with some chances of success. Above all, neither the viceroy, nor his family should fall to the invaders, in order to avoid being forced to sign a capitulation.
Sobremonte, accused of cowardice by many at the time, followed the directive by moving to Córdoba.
Buenos Aires did not represent a significant portion of the economy of the viceroyalty at the time, and Sobremonte decided to consolidate his military position in Córdoba, reorganizing his forces, and trying to effect a reconquer of the capital over a military solid foundation, before reinforcements could be sent from Britain. He also understood that arming the populace for a defense implied giving effective power to the Creoles .
WIth about 2,000 men, and carrying the royal treasure, the viceroy left for Luján
Luján, Buenos Aires
Luján is a city in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina, located 68 kilometres north west of the city of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1755 and has a population of 94,000 ....
. He left the treasure there, which he could not carry due to the bad state of the roads in winter, then continued in the road to Córdoba. The local Buenos Aires militias abandoned him, for the most part because they did not want to leave their homes and families.
Once the city of Buenos Aires was captured by the British, the local merchants offered him the public coffers in exchange for the boats, ships he had captured, and the private moneys Sobremonte had taken. They wrote the viceroy, asking him for the handing of the treasure he had taken, and guided the British to the cabildo
Cabildo (council)
For a discussion of the contemporary Spanish and Latin American cabildo, see Ayuntamiento.A cabildo or ayuntamiento was a former Spanish, colonial administrative council that governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative of...
at Luján. The invaders captured the treasure, sending it to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where it was paraded in triumph on its way to the bank vaults (not knowing that a month earlier, the porteños had reconquered the city).
Reconquest and ouster
On 14 July, Sobremonte declared Córdoba temporary capital of the viceroyalty. He also urged people to disobey any order coming from Buenos Aires during the occupation. He congregated all the available troops and a few weeks after he marched with an army 3,000 strong back to Buenos Aires.In the meantime, Liniers had brought back from Montevideo the troops sent there the previous year by the viceroy, joining them with the Buenos Aires volunteers being trained by Juan Martín de Pueyrredón
Juan Martín de Pueyrredón
Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y O'Dogan was an Argentine general and politician of the early 19th century. He was appointed Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata after the Argentine Declaration of Independence.-Early life:Pueyrredón was born in Buenos Aires, the fifth of...
and Martín de Álzaga
Martín de Álzaga (politician)
Martín de Alzaga , was a Spanish merchant and politician during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata.- Hero of the Reconquest :...
. This army started to fight for the reconquest of the city without waiting for the viceroy, accomplishing the task by 12 August.
Immediately after the reconquest, Álzaga called for an open cabildo
Open cabildo
The open cabildo was a special mode of assembly of the inhabitants of Latin American cities during the Spanish colonial period, in case of emergencies or disasters. Usually, the colonial cities were governed by a Cabildo, municipal-type institutions composed of officials appointed by the colonial...
, for the people of Buenos Aires to refuse to allow the viceroy to regain command of the city. Liniers was named army commander, and the civilian authority was given to the Audiencia. The measures were highly revolutionary, as it deposed the King's representative from power.
Sobremonte then went to Montevideo with the remainder of his troops, before the second invasion which was know to happen in the near future, as the British fleet had never left the River Plate. Montevideo's citizens, influenced by Buenos Aires's attitude, refused to fight the invaders under Sobremonte. He left the city in order to fight the new British invasion at their point of landing, but his troops deserted him.
As Montevideo fell to the invaders, the open cabildo in Buenos Aires deposed him as viceroy replacing him with Liniers. The citizen army fought this second invasion under Liniers and Álzaga, obtaining the British surrender. This victory justified the viceroy's dismissal and allowed history to condemn Sobremonte.