Casimiro Marcó del Pont

Casimiro Marcó del Pont

Francisco Casimiro Marcó del Pont Ángel Díaz y Méndez (* 1777 in Vigo , Spain , † May 19, 1819 in Luján , Argentina ) was a Spanish soldier and the last governor of Chile from 1815 to 1817 . He was one of the main figures of Chilean independence and was deposed as Chilean regent after the Battle of Chacabuco .

Life

Young years

Marcó del Pont began his military career with the infantry in Saragossa . In the Napoleonic Wars on the Iberian Peninsula , he fought exemplary against the French occupation army. He was very young when he rose to the rank of field marshal .

Governor of Chile

In 1815 Marco del Pont was appointed governor of the Spanish colony of Chile, which he reached in Valparaíso towards the end of the year . When he took over the leadership of the colony, he sent spies to Cuyo to find out information about the armies of the Chilean independence fighters. These were led by Bernardo O'Higgins and stayed in Argentine territory. These armies would later, under the leadership of José de San Martín , cross the Andes and achieve Chile's independence.

Marco del Pont tried brutally against the resistance fighters to suppress their efforts and thus to maintain Spanish rule. Some were released on islands such as the Juan Fernández Islands , and others were killed.

End of rule

Marco del Pont's reign ended on February 12, 1818 when the independence fighters moved into the capital after the Battle of Chacabuco. Del Pont tried to flee to catch a transport from the Viceroy of Peru, which could have taken him away. However, he was captured and detained in various prisons. He died on May 19, 1819 in Lujan Prison, near Buenos Aires , after being brought there by San Luis .

Web links

• Casimiro Marcó del Pont: 1770-1819 ( Memento of August 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive )