Carlos María de Alvear
| Carlos María de Alvear | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata | |
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In office 9 January 1815 – 18 April 1815 |
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| Preceded by | Gervasio Antonio de Posadas |
| Succeeded by | Third Triumvirate: José de San Martín Matías de Irigoyen Manuel de Sarratea |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Carlos Antonio del Santo Ángel Guardián de Alvear y Balbastro 25 October 1789 Santo Ângelo, Rio Grande do Sul |
| Died | 3 November 1852 (aged 63) New York City, United States |
| Resting place | La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires |
| Nationality | Argentine |
| Spouse(s) | María del Carmen Sáenz de la Quintanilla |
| Children | María Carlota Emilio Marcelo Camilio Urbelino Carlos F. Torcuato Antonio Joaquina del Carmen Virginia Mercedes Diego Juan Nepomuceno León Gabino |
| Profession | Politician, soldier |
Carlos María de Alvear (October 25, 1789 in Santo Ángel, Rio Grande do Sul – November 3, 1852 in New York), was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815.
He was born Santo Ángel in the northern part of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate (now in Rio Grande do Sul) to a Spanish nobleman father, Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León, and a criollo mother, María Balbastro and baptised Carlos Antonio del Santo Ángel Guardián. His birthplace Santo Ángel was, at that time, part of Misiones Province, but currently belongs to the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.
While travelling in Spain, Alvear's brothers and mother died in an incident that took place on October 5, 1804, when English frigates opened fire on the Spanish ship that was transporting them. This incident was a preamble to the Battle of Trafalgar and the consequent war between both countries. The English took Alvear and his father, together with other survivors, as prisoners to England, where Diego de Alvear would later marry an Irish woman.
Honouring his mother, Carlos de Alvear adopted the name of Carlos María de Alvear. Notwithstanding the fate of his mother and brothers at the hands of the English, 15-year-old Carlos was partially educated in the English culture, adopting, in his adult age, what some would later see as a position partial to English interests.
Alvear was one of the few professional military officers to participate of the Argentine War of Independence on the side of the revolutionaries, having served in the Spanish Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He became an active Freemason. While in Cadiz, he founded the Sociedad de los Caballeros Racionales, a masonic secret society, made up of South Americans. José de San Martín, with whom Alvear would always have a conflictive and contradictory relationship, would later also become a member of this secret society.
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Wikipedia