Manuel Rodríguez

Statue of Manuel Rodríguez in Santiago de Chile

Manuel Javier Rodríguez Erdoíza (born February 24, 1785 in Santiago de Chile , † May 26, 1818 in Tiltil ) was a Chilean lawyer , military, revolutionary and politician who was one of the leading forces in the Chilean War of Independence .

Origin and parental home

Manuel Rodríguez was born to Carlos Rodríguez de Herrera y Zeballos and María Loreto de Erdoíza y Aguirre. The family has Basque roots. His father initially worked as the secretary of a Spanish envoy in the royal customs office in Lima and made a career there until he became the customs director of the General Capitanate of Chile . The father was not wealthy, only thanks to the dowry of the mother, who came from a high-ranking Chilean aristocratic family, was a livelihood possible. The Rodríguez family attached great importance to upbringing and culture; despite their modest means from their father's civil servant pay and their mother's pension, they frequented the highest levels of society.

The four children, one of them from the father's first marriage, were sent to the best school in Chile at the time, the Convictorio Carolino . His half-brother Joaquín Fernández de Leiva , child of his mother's first marriage, made a career in administration and in 1810 was an envoy from Chile to the Cortes of Cadiz . The brother Carlos Rodríguez Erdoíza was under José Miguel Carrera 1814 Minister of War of Chile, later Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Supreme Court. The brother Ambrosio was also involved in the struggle for independence and served as mayor ( intendente ) of Chillán .

As the child of a “poor” aristocratic family, Manuel always felt neglected towards his classmates. Early on, he questioned the established social structure, which consisted of insurmountable strata, headed by the native Spaniards (the peninsulares - peninsulans), followed by the affluent natives, and finally the rest of the people, who lived in ignorance and poverty.

The large and impressive house of the Rodríguez ', located at the current headquarters of the Central Bank of Chile, was an inheritance from the first marriage of mother Maria Loreto. The magnificent building with several bedrooms, inner courtyards and salons stood in sharp contrast to the economical way of life and the tense economic situation. The Rodríguez family had few domestic servants compared to other houses which had large numbers of servants, kitchen staff, nannies, and entire families of slaves.

Life

education and profession

Manuel Rodríguez undertook his first studies in the elite Convictorio Carolino of Santiago, the school fees were reduced through a scholarship . There Manuel made friends with a classmate who was also to play a leading role in the War of Independence, with José Miguel Carrera . The two parents' homes were not far from each other and the two became close friends. Manuel Rodríguez then began studying law at the Real Universidad de San Felipe (the forerunner of the Universidad de Chile ), from which he completed his doctorate in 1804.

He then took up a position as a lawyer for the City Council of Santiago. All Rodríguez brothers joined the political direction of the Carrera supporters, who represented Chile's independent independence.

Political career in the "Old Republic" ( Patria Vieja )

Between 1810 and 1811 , a government junta ruled in Chile under the chairmanship of Mateo de Toro Zambrano y Ureta , Conde de la Conquista , who had been appointed as governor of the general captainate by King Ferdinand VII . In the first months of 1811 revolutionary ideas, in contrast to the moderate reform course of the junta, gained support. The junta, which stood against the Napoleonic puppet king Joseph Bonaparte as a legitimist bulwark loyal to the king , transformed itself into an independent state organ that generally opposed the return and supremacy of the Spaniards. At this time, José Miguel Carrera, who vehemently advocated the statehood of Chile, gained popularity with his progressive and radical ideas.

Rodríguez was elected Member of Parliament for the Talca constituency. On September 4, 1811, Carrera, militarily supported by his brothers Juan José and Luis , undertook a coup and set up a junta of five members, in which he himself was not involved. In the wake of this coup, Manuel Rodríguez lost his post as city lawyer, apparently due to differences between Carlos Correa de Saa , one of the intellectual leaders of the uprising, and Manuel's father Carlos.

On November 15, 1811, Carrera deposed the junta and replaced it with a three-person committee. Rodríguez became Minister of War and entered the army on December 2 with the rank of captain. The junta ruled Chile until 1813, paving the way for statehood with ties to the United States and the introduction of state symbols.

The relationship between Carrera and Rodríguez cooled down during this time. In 1813 the Rodríguez brothers were charged with conspiracy and sentenced to one year in exile on the Juan Fernández Islands ; however, Rodríguez managed to prevent the execution of the judgment.

In 1813 the viceroy José Fernando Abascál y Sousa sent an expeditionary army to put an end to Chile's aspirations for independence. Faced with this threat, the Senate overturned the constitution and appointed Carrera Commander-in-Chief of the Army with the task of defending the country's independence against the Spanish. Carrera was deposed after his arrest at the surprise of El Roble , on March 14, 1814 Francisco de la Lastra was proclaimed sole Director Supremo . On May 3, 1814, the independence fighters signed the Treaty of Lircay , in which they assured the Spanish crown extensive loyalty. This development brought Carrera and Rodríguez back together: Manuel Rodríguez hid the deposed José Miguel in his home and sharply criticized the government of la Lastra in articles in the Monitor Araucano newspaper . When the Carrera brothers put on another coup on July 23, 1814 and gained power in Santiago, Rodríguez also received a ministerial post.

The Spaniards under Mariano Osorio defeated the Chilean troops on October 2, 1814 at the Battle of Rancagua and took over the government in Chile. The independence fighters, including Manuel Rodríguez, went into Argentine exile across the Andes to Mendoza .

Restoration of Spanish rule and guerrilla warfare

Field Marshal Casimiro Marcó del Pont ruled Chile between 1815 and 1817, who ruled with great pomp and cracked down on the Chilean independence movement. While in exile in Mendoza, Rodríguez worked in a printing company, where he produced political leaflets.

He met the governor José de San Martín , with whom he got along well straight away. Together with him and O'Higgins, Rodríguez prepared plans for a campaign against the Spanish and secretly organized an uprising in Chile. San Martín commissioned Rodríguez to march with a small troop of armed men to Chile in order to use guerrilla tactics to resist the Spaniards and to maintain the spirit of rebellion in the country. To this end, Rodríguez teamed up with the bandit José Miguiel Neira, who had joined the independence movement.

San Martín worked well with O'Higgins and Rodríguez, but did not get along at all with José Miguel Carrera, who showed little inclination to subordinate himself. Finally, San Martín sent him to Buenos Aires ; there the differences between the supporters of O'Higgins and Carrera escalated.

Between 1815 and 1817 Manuel Rodríguez caused considerable unrest among the Spanish troops with his guerrilla tactics. He built up a network of secret communication links. He appeared and disappeared, moving in all sorts of disguises, as a monk, farmer, street vendor, house servant and even a woman. Once, disguised as a valet, he is said to have even opened the field marshal's carriage at the entrance to the government palace and to have been given a tip by the governor. Such actions made Rodríguez a folk hero and legend.

independence

On January 12, 1817, the liberation army of around 4,000 soldiers crossed the main Andean ridge and entered Chilean territory. They defeated the Spaniards at the Battle of Chacabuco on February 12, 1817. O'Higgins, who increasingly opposed the Carrera supporter Rodríguez, had Rodríguez arrested in the episode, but he managed to escape. Practiced in hiding, he managed to hide himself until San Martín stepped in his favor and awarded him the rank of colonel. In the following year the royalists were repulsed step by step until the independence of Chile was formally proclaimed on February 12, 1818 in Talca .

Battle of Cancha Rayada and "New Republic" ( Patria Nueva )

On March 19, 1818, during the night at Cancha Rayada north of Talca , the Chilean troops were surprised by about 5,000 Spaniards under General Osorio. With no sight or orientation, the independence fighters accidentally shot at each other and were soon defeated. O'Higgins was wounded, it was rumored that he had fallen. The news of the defeat caused disillusionment in the capital and many thought of fleeing to Mendoza again when Manuel Rodríguez heard the battle cry "We still have a home, citizens!" could change the mood among the fighters. He proclaimed himself Director Supremo , a position he held for a little over a day. That's how long it took O'Higgins to get to Santiago and take over command again. After the events of Cancha Rayada, Rodríguez and other Carrera supporters founded the regiment of the Hussars of Death ( Husares de la Muerte ), which had a white skull on a black background as a badge - as a symbol that they would rather die than give up.

Two weeks later, on April 5, 1818, three miles from the gates of Santiago, the Spanish suffered the decisive defeat in the War of Independence at the Battle of Maipu . Rodríguez 'regiment was not used on the Chilean side and was soon disbanded by O'Higgins. On April 17, 1818, an open council was formed, which Rodríguez belonged to. There he took the view that the council should take over governance until the new Congress was formed.

His popular influence, his close friendship with the Carrera brothers and his unruly demeanor put him in a difficult position with O'Higgins. On the advice of the lawyer Monteagudo, he was offered a diplomatic mission to the United States, which, however, would have practically amounted to an exile, since he would have had to go on board the ship immediately under guard.

His passionate nature also found expression in his reaction to the shooting of the brothers Luis and Juan José Carrera. Rodríguez stormed into the presidential palace on horseback with a load of peat to protest the execution, not knowing that O'Higgins had sent another pardon to Mendoza. Rodríguez believed that this encrypted letter had just the opposite content. O'Higgins then had him arrested in the mountain troop barracks, where he awaited the trial despite the unsuccessful intervention of his family.

Death and burial

On May 26, 1818, the prisoner Manuel Rodríguez was to be transferred to the military prison of Quillota . On the way there he was shot in the back near the village of Til-Til by a lieutenant named Navarro. An escape attempt was officially given as the occasion. Navarro confessed in 1825 that O'Higgins himself had given the order to kill.

Rodríguez's body was mutilated and left in a ditch. A group of local residents found him, recognized Rodríguez and secretly buried him under the altar of the La Merced chapel in Til-Til with the help of a local clergyman. This showed on the one hand the affection that Rodríguez found in the people, but also the disgust for the government of O'Higgins. On August 24, 1818, José Miguel Carrera requested the surrender of the body so that an official Christian burial could be possible.

At the end of the 20th century the body was transferred to the main cemetery in Santiago. Today, however, it is assumed that the remains in the tomb are not those of Rodríguez at all, but those of an older, unknown soldier wearing the uniform of the Husares de la Muerte . At the time of his shooting, Rodríguez was not wearing a uniform. Rodríguez would still be in the chapel in Til-Til today. In 1863 a memorial was erected at the place where he died, bearing the following verse by the poet Guillermo Matta :

¡Jamás el héroe muere!

En la mano que le here

En página inmortal su nombre escribe,

Y el héroe Manuel con su gloria vive.

Presumed marriage and offspring

Until the end of 1817 Rodríguez maintained a relationship with Francisca de Paula Segura y Ruiz, a Chilean woman of 36 years. However, there is no evidence of a marriage. In Francisca Segura's death certificate, however, it is stated that she is the "widow of Manuel Rodríguez". The two had a son named Juan Esteban Rodríguez Segura, who was born in Santiago on April 24, 1818. He embarked on a political career, became mayor of Copiapó and Talca and finally a deputy and senator. As for his origins, he was very reluctant, which may have something to do with the fact that he had to be considered a possibly illegitimate child, which was a serious flaw in the strictly religious ideas of the time. From two marriages he had 14 children, whose descendants still bear the famous name.

Afterlife

The memory of the patriot inspired folklore and oral tradition in Chile. His heroic deeds were retold and spun on in dime novels. His life was carried on in novels and plays, as well as in songs (including one with a text by Pablo Neruda ) and films.

Honors

Many fire brigade units in Chile have his name and image on their coat of arms. It is also depicted on the Chilean 2,000 peso banknotes.

Manuel Rodríguez is namesake for several political movements. Especially for politicians from the left spectrum, Rodríguez is still an inspiration and point of reference.

literature

• Guillermo Matta: Don Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza. Biografía , 1856.
• Diego Barros Arana : Historia General de Chile .
• Manuel Antonio Talavera: Revoluciones de Chile. Discurso histórico, diario Imparcial, de los sucesos memorables acaecidos en Santiago de Chile, desde el 25 de mayo de 1810 hasta el 20 de noviembre de 1811 , 1937.
• Ernesto Guajardo: Manuel Rodríguez. Historia y leyenda . RIL editores, Santiago de Chile 2010.

Web links

Commons : Manuel Rodríguez  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• 2,000 peso banknote
• 2,000 peso banknote (2)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Talavera, MA, Revoluciones de Chile , p. 424.
3. ↑ http://diario.elmercurio.com/2009/05/25/nacional/nacional/noticias/14564692-FBFD-4927-B850-0AEF2C49E03A.htm?id=%7B14564692-FBFD-4927-B850-0AEF2C49E03A newspaper report in the Mercury (Spanish)