Mercedes Fontecilla
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Mercedes Fontecilla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lady of Chile | |
| In role August 20, 1814 – October 2, 1814 | |
| President | José Miguel Carrera |
| Personal details | |
| Born | María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso June 18, 1799 Santiago, Chile |
| Died | May 5, 1853 (aged 53) Santiago, Chile |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 9 |
María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso (June 18, 1799 – May 5, 1853) was a First Lady of Chile for less than two months in 1814 through her marriage to José Miguel Carrera.[1]
Biography[edit]
Fontecilla was born to Diego Antonio Fontecilla Palacios and Rosa Valdivieso Protusagasti[1] in Santiago.[citation needed] On 20 August 1814, at 15, Fontecilla married 29 year old José Miguel Carrera, a political leader in Chile, at the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral.[2][1][3] Less than two months later, Carrera's forces were defeated in the Battle of Rancagua and the family, including Carrera's two brothers, fled to Mendoza, Argentina.[4] While there, Fontecilla passed secret information between military personnel and sewed clothing for soldiers.[5] Fontecilla supported and was affectionate towards her husband despite his long absences to Anapolis, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires as he sought allies to fight for Chilean independence.[2][3][6]
In 1821, Carrera was handed over to Colonel José Albino Gutiérrez as prisoner by his own men.[2] Within days, he was tried, sentenced, and executed.[2] The morning of his death, he wrote Mercedes a letter, in which he told her of his imminent execution and expressed regret for leaving her to care for their five children.[2] Following Carrera's death, Fontecilla and her children lived in extreme poverty in Rosario.[7] Eventually, Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's Supreme Director and one of Carrera's main enemies, allowed them to return to Chile, largely due to "good public relations... [so the public would think] '[O'Higgins] was as generous as he was courageous.'"[5][7] She later married politician Diego José Benavente, with whom she had four children.[8][9][10]
Family[edit]
- Marriage: José Miguel Carrera (1814-1821, his death)[2][11]
- Francisca Javiera Carrera Fontecilla (1817-1850; wife of Francisco Javier Valdés Aldunate and mother of José Miguel Valdés)[1][7][2][9][12]
- Roberta Carrera Fontecilla[2]
- Rosa Carrera Fontecilla (1819-1862; wife of Ambrosio Aldunate Carvajal, mother of Luis Aldunate)[1][2][13]
- Josefa Carrera Fontecilla (1820-1898; wife of José Ramón Lira Calvo)[1][2]
- José Miguel Carrera Fontecilla (es) (1820-1860); husband of Emilia Pinto Benavente, father of Ignacio Carrera Pinto)[2][1][14]
- Marriage: Diego José Benavente[14][10]
Legacy[edit]
There is a school in the Quilicura area of Santiago, Chile named Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera.[16] Javiera Díaz de Valdés, a descendent of Fontecilla's sister-in-law Javiera Carrera, portrayed her in the Chilean miniseries Héroes.[17][18]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g "Carrera Verdugo José Miguel" (in Spanish). Anales de la Republica. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "EL AMOR, PRESENTE EN LA HISTORIA DE UNO DE LOS PRÓCERES DE NUESTRA PATRIA" (in Spanish). Archivo Nacional. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ a b "Jose Miguel Carrera Verdugo" (in Spanish). Aurora de Chile. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Muerte del General José Miguel Carrera" (in Spanish). La Discusion. 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ a b "Las libertadoras de San Martín" (in Spanish). CONICET. 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ "EL AMOR PRESENTE, EN LA HISTORIA DE UNO DE LOS PRÓCERES DE NUESTRA PATRIA" (in Spanish). Archivo Nacional. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ a b c Chambers, Sarah C. Families in War and Peace: Chile from Colony to Nation.
- ^ Reyes del Villar, Soledad. Javiera Carrera. Y la formación del Chile republicano (in Spanish).
- ^ a b Vidal, Virginia. Javiera Carrera, madre de la patria (in Spanish). p. 128.
- ^ a b c d e f "Diego Jose Benavente Bustamante" (in Spanish). Anales de la Republica. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "GENEALOGIA DE LA FAMILIA CARRERA (DE LA CARRERA)" (in Spanish). La familia Carrera. 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ Mettele, G.; Rendall, J.; Hagemann, K. Gender, War and Politics: Transatlantic Perspectives, 1775–1830. p. 347.
- ^ Valdés, Ambrosio. Carrera: revolución chilena y campañas de la independencia, con un apéndice sobre la jenealojía de la familia del Jeneral (in Spanish).
- ^ a b Swinburn, Daniel (2018-09-19). "Donan valiosas cartas inéditas de la familia de José Miguel Carrera" (in Spanish). Economia y negocios. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ "Benavente, Diego Jose" (in Spanish). icarito. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera" (in Spanish). Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Descendientes de... Los famosos con sangre histórica" (in Spanish). El Mercurio. 2006-10-08. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "José Miguel Carrera, Príncipe de los Caminos" (in Spanish). 13th Festival Cultural de Mayo. 2010. Retrieved 2022-02-26.