Pueyrredón, Juan Martín de (1777–1850)

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón (b. 18 December 1777; d. 13 March 1850), one of the most important figures in Argentina's wars of independence. Pueyrredón was born in Buenos Aires of French and Spanish ancestry and became one of the leaders in the defense of Buenos Aires against the British invasion in 1806. He played an important role in recruiting men and matériel for the defense effort, and his own squad of Hussars fought brilliantly. Santiago de Liniers, then the military governor, promoted him to lieutenant colonel. After the British were driven out, secure in the prestige and influence that he enjoyed, Pueyrredón demanded that the cabildo remove Viceroy Rafael de Sobremonte and replace him with Liniers. In recognition of his contributions, the cabildo sent Pueyrredón to Madrid.

He was in Spain when the French invaded the Iberian peninsula in 1808, and seeing what was happening, he became convinced that Argentine independence was necessary to prevent the country from being dominated by a Spanish junta or by the French. Disillusioned with the turn of events, Pueyrredón wrote to the cabildo advising it not to accept the appointments of viceroys that any junta would probably make. This act was considered treasonable, and when he returned to Argentina in 1809, he was arrested. He soon escaped to Brazil with the help of Manuel Belgrano and others.

Pueyrredón returned to Argentina after the May 1810 revolution and was appointed governor of Córdoba. In January 1811, he was sent to the northern regions as governor and president of the Audiencia of Charcas. In 1812, Pueyrredón was elected to the first triumvirate to govern the United Provinces of Río de la Plata. He was overthrown in the October revolution and moved to San Luís.

In 1816, Pueyrredón was elected supreme director of the United Provinces. His tenure brought stability, which enabled him to concentrate on the war effort against Spain. His total support for José de San Martín's expedition to Chile was crucial to its success. Pueyrredón favored a centralized form of government dominated by Buenos Aires, for which he often faced rebellions by the provinces. He resigned in June 1819 and soon left for Europe, where he remained for most of the next thirty years. He went home to Buenos Aires in 1850, where he died.

See alsoArgentina: The Nineteenth Century; British in Argentina; Wars of Independence, South America.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adrián Beccar Varela, Juan Martín de Pueyrredón (1924).

Hialmar Edmundo Gammalsson, Juan Martín de Pueyrredón (1968).

Additional Bibliography

Halperin Donghi, Tulio. Revolución y guerra: Formación de una elite dirigente en la Argentina criolla. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI Editores Argentina, 2002.

Herrero, Fabián, and Klaus Gallo. Revolución, política e ideas en el Río de la Plata durante la década de 1810. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Cooperativas, 2004.

Szuchman, Mark D., and Jonathan C. Brown, eds. Revolution and Restoration: The Rearrangement of Power in Argentina, 1776–1860. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994.

                                 Juan Manuel PÉrez