Manuel de Bernardo Álvarez del Casal
| Manuel de Bernardo Álvarez del Casal | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Governor President of the State of Cundinamarca | |
|
In office May 14, 1814 – December 12, 1814* |
|
| Preceded by | Antonio Nariño |
| Succeeded by | Camilo Torres Tenorio |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 21, 1743 Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia |
| Died | September 10, 1816 Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia |
| Political party | Centralist |
| Spouse(s) | Josefa del Casal y Freiría |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
|
|
Manuel de Bernardo Álvarez del Casal (May 21, 1743 in Bogotá – September 10, 1816 in Bogotá) was an influential Criollo figure in New Granada at the time of the independence movement. He occupied several important positions in the rebel government. He was also the uncle of Antonio Nariño, forerunner of independence. He served as president of the rebel State of Cundinamarca in 1814.
Álvarez' father, Bernardo Álvarez, was a lawyer of the Royal Council of Castile before he was named prosecutor of the Royal Audiencia of Bogotá. He arrived in Bogotá with his family in 1736. Manuel was born there a few years later.
His sister Catalina married Vicente Nariño y Vásquez, the accountant for Bogotá. Their son, Antonio Nariño y Alvarez del Casal, is considered the forerunner of Colombian independence.
Álvarez studied jurisprudence and the humanities at the Colegio de San Bartolomé from 1762 to 1768. In the latter year he received a doctorate in theology and humanities and became a professor of civil and ecclesiastical law. He was admitted to practice law before the Audiencia.
Also in 1768 he married Josefa Lozano de Peralta, fourth daughter of the first Marqués de San Jorge. This marriage allied him not only with the Marqués's family, one of the richest in the capital, but also with many other rich and influential families of the colony.
From 1768 until the Cry of Independence on July 20, 1810, Álvarez worked for the Spanish administration in Bogotá as an accountant in various departments. Beginning in 1789 he was a member of the city council of Bogotá. On August 11, 1793 his father-in-law, Jorge Miguel Lozano, was arrested and imprisoned in Cartagena, where he died. The following year his nephew Nariño published a Spanish translation of Rights of Man and was also arrested.
At the time of the Cry of Independence in 1810, Álvarez was a member of the city council, and in that capacity he signed the Declaration of Independence. He became part of the Supreme Governing Junta, presided over by José Miguel Pey de Andrade, and on July 26 Álvarez signed the document withdrawing recognition from the Council of Regency in Spain. He was named to the treasury section of the Junta, and also began editing the periodical Aviso al Público (Warning to the Public).
...
Wikipedia