Salvador María del Carril
Encyclopedia
Salvador María del Carril (August 5, 1798January 10, 1883) was a prominent Argentine jurist and policy-maker, as well as his country's first Vice President
-range city of San Juan, Argentina
, del Carril was a precocious student, and enrolled in the University of Córdoba Law School while still in his teens. Mentored by the school's prestigious ecclesiatical Dean, Gregorio Funes
, del Carril received a juris doctor
in 1816, at age 18. He relocated to Buenos Aires
, the capital of the newly-declared United Provinces of South America
, and following a stint as a journalist, he was appointed as an official in the Finance Ministry.
General José María Pérez de Urdininea
, Governor of his native San Juan Province
(which had recently seceded from Mendoza Province
), called on del Carril to replace Francisco Narciso de Laprida
as his Minister of Government in 1822, the highest-ranking advisory position. Amid the turmoil surrounding the Argentine War of Independence
, however, Pérez de Urdininea was returned to active duty in Bolivia
by General José de San Martín
, leaving del Carril as Governor of San Juan.
, and establishing San Juan's first newspaper. Inheriting a province devastated by the wars, he ordered the first Agricultural Census and created a charitable association. The first lawyer to occupy the governor's post, he established San Juan's judicial system and in 1825, promulgated the "May Charter," the province's first constitution
.
The liberal May Charter, the first in Argentina to guarantee freedom of worship and mandate the separation of church and state
, also forced the closure of monasteries, and ran into arduous opposition from the Catholic Church. Facing a firestorm of protest, the governor was overthrown on July 26, and the May Charter was publicly burned.
, a Buenos Aires lawmaker who, in 1826, was elected the first President of Argentina
, and who appointed del Carril Argentina's first Finance Minister. Saddled by the Argentina-Brazil War
, the nation's finances became dependent on credit from Baring Brothers in London
, and del Carril offered the nation's exports as collateral. His introduction of the Argentine peso fuerte - the first local currency convertible into gold
, and the first in Argentina with that name - concentrated wealth into exporters and others with access to hard currency
, making peso circulation scarce for the public in general and the war more difficult to finance. Rivadavia's National Bank
was mismanaged under del Carril, additionally, and unrest resulted in President Rivadavia's resignation in 1827.
The dissolution of national government ensued within months, in favor of an Argentine Confederation
. The advent of the populist Governor of Buenos Aires Province
, Manuel Dorrego
, was opposed by del Carril, who became an adviser to a conservative insurrection led by General Juan Lavalle
. Lavalle's violent 1828 overthrow of Dorrego returned del Carril to the cabinet as Finance and Foreign Minister
. A countercoup led by General Juan Manuel de Rosas
, a supporter of Dorrego's, forced Lavalle to call elections, though del Carril's manipulation of the results triggered Rosas' overthrow and del Carril's subsequent exile in Montevideo
.
and negotiating an entente with the Governor of Corrientes Province
. He struggled financially, however, though these diffulties were mitigated by his meeting Tiburcia Domínguez y López Camelo, whom he married a had seven children with. Rosas' grasp on power began to slip after the 1838 blockade
imposed by France following the death of a French journalist in Buenos Aires, and del Carril was named Supply Commissioner to the French Navy
fleet stationed in the Río de la Plata
. His tenure in the post attracted controversy, however, when he became conspicuously wealthy in the process.
The 1843 overthrow of his ally, President Fructuoso Rivera
of Uruguay
, forced del Carril yet again into exile, and he fled to Brazil
. He cultivated a friendship via corrspondence with the powerful Governor of Entre Ríos, Justo José de Urquiza
, in subsequent years, and following the latter's defeat of Rosas' forces in the 1852 Battle of Caseros
, del Carril returned to Argentina.
and rapport with Urquiza (whom Buenos Aires distusted) made del Carril an easy choice for the latter's running-mate in the elections that November, however, and their national unity ticket was elected handily in the electoral college
.
President Urquiza took care to preserve balance in his government between the two camps, placing the Vice President as a counterweight to the Federalist
Interior Minister (Home Secretary
), Santiago Derqui
. Del Carril became the most prominent voice for Buenos Aires interests in the administration, and compounded with a falling-out with erstwhile allies in his native San Juan Province, this ultimately frustrated his hopes that Urquiza might support his 1860 presidential candidacy (support which was tantamount to victory).
Nominating Derqui instead, Urquiza's choice led to renewed conflict with Buenos Aires, and to Derqui's resignation and exile in 1861. National unity on the brink, del Carril negotiated a settlement between Urquiza and the leader of the Buenos Aires insurrection, General Bartolomé Mitre
, and when the latter was elected President the following September, del Carril was appointed to the Argentine Supreme Court.
Del Carril was a conservative justice, and reliably voted in favor of the executive's frequent use of state of siege
declarations and capital punishment
. This record helped him secure an appointment as Chief Justice in 1870 by Mitre's supporter and successor, President Domingo Sarmiento, and an uneventful tenure ended with his retirement in 1877. He was again in the spotlight, however, after the 1881 publication by historian Ángel Carranza of correspondence between del Carril and Lavalle during the 1828 coup. The letters revealed that del Carril pressed for the duly-elected Governor Dorrego's execution, advising Lavalle that claims of a fair trial should be concocted, adding that "if we should need to lie to posterity, we lie." The former Vice President lived afterwards in seclusion, and died in his Buenos Aires home in 1883, at age 84.
(worth around a million dollars, at the time). Debts incurred by his wife's spending habits strained the marriage, however, and the seasoned lawyer obtained a discharge of his responsibility for their repayment (leaving the debts in her name, solely). The couple subsequently separated, and after the judge's 1883 burial in an ornate La Recoleta Cemetery
crypt, Mrs. del Carril commissioned the grave's sculptor, Camilo Romairone, to create a bust of her likeness - with its back turned towards that of her husband's; she died in 1898.
Early life
Born in the AndesAndes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
-range city of San Juan, Argentina
San Juan, Argentina
San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the ....
, del Carril was a precocious student, and enrolled in the University of Córdoba Law School while still in his teens. Mentored by the school's prestigious ecclesiatical Dean, Gregorio Funes
Gregorio Funes
Gregorio Funes , also known as Deán Funes, was an Argentine clergyman, educator, historian, and lawmaker who played a significant role in his nation's early, post-independence history.-Early life and the priesthood:...
, del Carril received a juris doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1816, at age 18. He relocated to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, the capital of the newly-declared United Provinces of South America
United Provinces of South America
The United Provinces of South America was the original name of the state that emerged from the May Revolution and the early developments of the Argentine War of Independence...
, and following a stint as a journalist, he was appointed as an official in the Finance Ministry.
General José María Pérez de Urdininea
José María Pérez de Urdininea
José María Pérez de Urdininea was the third President of Bolivia and the first to be born in Bolivia itself. He fought with the patriots against the Argentines in Peru. Despite being President for only three months, Pérez held a number of important positions in the Bolivian government including...
, Governor of his native San Juan Province
San Juan Province (Argentina)
San Juan is a province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja, San Luis and Mendoza. It borders with Chile at the west....
(which had recently seceded from Mendoza Province
Mendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
), called on del Carril to replace Francisco Narciso de Laprida
Francisco Narciso de Laprida
Francisco Narciso de Laprida was an Argentine lawyer and politician. He was a representative for San Juan at the Congress of Tucumán, and its president on July 9, 1816, when the Declaration of Independence of Argentina was declared.Laprida started his studies at the Real Colegio de San Carlos in...
as his Minister of Government in 1822, the highest-ranking advisory position. Amid the turmoil surrounding the Argentine War of Independence
Argentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
, however, Pérez de Urdininea was returned to active duty in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
by General José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
, leaving del Carril as Governor of San Juan.
Governor of San Juan
Taking office in January 1823, the 24-year-old Governor undertook an ambitious modernization program, commissioning the construction of roads, bridges, water works, public buildings and parks, purchasing the province's first printing pressPrinting press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
, and establishing San Juan's first newspaper. Inheriting a province devastated by the wars, he ordered the first Agricultural Census and created a charitable association. The first lawyer to occupy the governor's post, he established San Juan's judicial system and in 1825, promulgated the "May Charter," the province's first constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
.
The liberal May Charter, the first in Argentina to guarantee freedom of worship and mandate the separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, also forced the closure of monasteries, and ran into arduous opposition from the Catholic Church. Facing a firestorm of protest, the governor was overthrown on July 26, and the May Charter was publicly burned.
National policy-maker
Del Carril's efforts, however, had gained him the respect of the influential Bernardino RivadaviaBernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino de la Trinidad Gónzalez Rivadavia y Rivadavia was the first president of Argentina, from February 8, 1826 to July 7, 1827 . He was a politician of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Argentina today...
, a Buenos Aires lawmaker who, in 1826, was elected the first President of Argentina
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
, and who appointed del Carril Argentina's first Finance Minister. Saddled by the Argentina-Brazil War
Argentina-Brazil War
The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...
, the nation's finances became dependent on credit from Baring Brothers in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and del Carril offered the nation's exports as collateral. His introduction of the Argentine peso fuerte - the first local currency convertible into gold
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
, and the first in Argentina with that name - concentrated wealth into exporters and others with access to hard currency
Hard currency
Hard currency , in economics, refers to a globally traded currency that is expected to serve as a reliable and stable store of value...
, making peso circulation scarce for the public in general and the war more difficult to finance. Rivadavia's National Bank
Banco de la Nación Argentina
Banco de la Nación Argentina is a state-owned bank in Argentina, and the largest in the country's banking sector.-Overview:The bank was founded on October 18, 1891, by President Carlos Pellegrini by way of stabilizing the nation's finances following the Panic of 1890; its first director was...
was mismanaged under del Carril, additionally, and unrest resulted in President Rivadavia's resignation in 1827.
The dissolution of national government ensued within months, in favor of an Argentine Confederation
Argentine Confederation
The Argentine Confederation is one of the official names of Argentina, according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35...
. The advent of the populist Governor of Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, Manuel Dorrego
Manuel Dorrego
Manuel Dorrego was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was governor of Buenos Aires in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828....
, was opposed by del Carril, who became an adviser to a conservative insurrection led by General Juan Lavalle
Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo de Lavalle was an Argentine military and political figure.-Biography:Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José de La Vallée y Cortés, general accountant of rents and tobacco for the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.In 1799, the family moved to...
. Lavalle's violent 1828 overthrow of Dorrego returned del Carril to the cabinet as Finance and Foreign Minister
Foreign relations of Argentina
This article deals with the diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and international relations of Argentina.At the political level, these matters are officially handled by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, also known as the Cancillería, which answers to the President...
. A countercoup led by General Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
, a supporter of Dorrego's, forced Lavalle to call elections, though del Carril's manipulation of the results triggered Rosas' overthrow and del Carril's subsequent exile in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
.
Exile and return
Del Carril remained an active opponent of Rosas' while in exile, supporting a failed 1830 invasion of Entre Ríos ProvinceEntre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
and negotiating an entente with the Governor of Corrientes Province
Corrientes Province
Corrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by : Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil, Uruguay, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.-History:...
. He struggled financially, however, though these diffulties were mitigated by his meeting Tiburcia Domínguez y López Camelo, whom he married a had seven children with. Rosas' grasp on power began to slip after the 1838 blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
imposed by France following the death of a French journalist in Buenos Aires, and del Carril was named Supply Commissioner to the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
fleet stationed in the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
. His tenure in the post attracted controversy, however, when he became conspicuously wealthy in the process.
The 1843 overthrow of his ally, President Fructuoso Rivera
Fructuoso Rivera
José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana was an Uruguayan general and patriot who assisted in the efforts to force Brazilians out of the Banda Oriental.-Founder of Colorado Party and President of Uruguay:...
of Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, forced del Carril yet again into exile, and he fled to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. He cultivated a friendship via corrspondence with the powerful Governor of Entre Ríos, Justo José de Urquiza
Justo José de Urquiza
Justo José de Urquiza y García was an Argentine general and politician. He was president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860.He was governor of Entre Ríos during the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas, governor of Buenos Aires with powers delegated from the other provinces...
, in subsequent years, and following the latter's defeat of Rosas' forces in the 1852 Battle of Caseros
Battle of Caseros
The Battle of Caseros was fought near the town of Caseros, more precisely between the present-day train stations of Caseros and Palomar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas...
, del Carril returned to Argentina.
Vice Presidency
Del Carril was elected to the assembly that approved the 1853 Argentine Constitution. Enmities remaining from the Rosas era thwarted an opportunity to return to the Governor's post in San Juan, however, and despite his personal efforts, Buenos Aires lawmakers rejected the new constitution. His belonging to the Buenos Aires-centric Unitarian PartyUnitarian Party
Unitarianists or Unitarians were the proponents of the concept of a Unitary state in Buenos Aires during the civil wars which shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in 1816. They were opposed to the Argentine Federalists, who wanted a federation of independent provinces...
and rapport with Urquiza (whom Buenos Aires distusted) made del Carril an easy choice for the latter's running-mate in the elections that November, however, and their national unity ticket was elected handily in the electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
.
President Urquiza took care to preserve balance in his government between the two camps, placing the Vice President as a counterweight to the Federalist
Federales (Argentina)
Federales was the name under which the supporters of federalism in Argentina were known, opposing the Unitarios that claimed a centralised government of Buenos Aires Province, with no participation of the other provinces of the custom taxes benefits of the Buenos Aires port...
Interior Minister (Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
), Santiago Derqui
Santiago Derqui
Santiago Rafael Luis Manuel José María Derqui Rodríguez was president of Argentina from March 5, 1860 to November 5, 1861. He was featured on the 10 Australes note, which is now obsolete....
. Del Carril became the most prominent voice for Buenos Aires interests in the administration, and compounded with a falling-out with erstwhile allies in his native San Juan Province, this ultimately frustrated his hopes that Urquiza might support his 1860 presidential candidacy (support which was tantamount to victory).
Nominating Derqui instead, Urquiza's choice led to renewed conflict with Buenos Aires, and to Derqui's resignation and exile in 1861. National unity on the brink, del Carril negotiated a settlement between Urquiza and the leader of the Buenos Aires insurrection, General Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...
, and when the latter was elected President the following September, del Carril was appointed to the Argentine Supreme Court.
Del Carril was a conservative justice, and reliably voted in favor of the executive's frequent use of state of siege
State of Siege
State of Siege is a 1972 French film directed by Costa Gavras starring Yves Montand and Renato Salvatori.-Summary:...
declarations and capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. This record helped him secure an appointment as Chief Justice in 1870 by Mitre's supporter and successor, President Domingo Sarmiento, and an uneventful tenure ended with his retirement in 1877. He was again in the spotlight, however, after the 1881 publication by historian Ángel Carranza of correspondence between del Carril and Lavalle during the 1828 coup. The letters revealed that del Carril pressed for the duly-elected Governor Dorrego's execution, advising Lavalle that claims of a fair trial should be concocted, adding that "if we should need to lie to posterity, we lie." The former Vice President lived afterwards in seclusion, and died in his Buenos Aires home in 1883, at age 84.
Epilogue
Del Carril became a wealthy man, and in later life owned over 130,000 hectares (330,000 acres) of land in the agriculturally productive La Pampa ProvinceLa Pampa Province
La Pampa is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza.-History:...
(worth around a million dollars, at the time). Debts incurred by his wife's spending habits strained the marriage, however, and the seasoned lawyer obtained a discharge of his responsibility for their repayment (leaving the debts in her name, solely). The couple subsequently separated, and after the judge's 1883 burial in an ornate La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery is a famous cemetery located in the exclusive Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, Raúl Alfonsín, and several presidents of Argentina.- History :...
crypt, Mrs. del Carril commissioned the grave's sculptor, Camilo Romairone, to create a bust of her likeness - with its back turned towards that of her husband's; she died in 1898.