Anchorena, Tomás Manuel de (1773–1847)

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Anchorena, Tomás Manuel de (1773–1847)

Tomás de Anchorena (November 29, 1873–April 29, 1847), an important figure in Argentina's political struggles after independence, was a consistent promoter of a republican program with Catholic and conservative leanings and incorporating a degree of xenophobia. The son of a Basque merchant who amassed a significant fortune, Anchorena studied at the Real Colegio de San Carlos in Buenos Aires and earned a doctorate in law from the Universidad de Charcas in 1807. He began his public life as an alderman on the town council of Buenos Aires in the last years of Spanish rule, but with the May Revolution of 1810 he joined the supporters of the break with Spain. He was a deputy in the Congress of 1816 that declared independence; in that occasion, he made a well-known speech in favor of federal republicanism and against the proposals of monarchy.

An enemy of the Directorate and later of Bernardino Rivadavia's centralizing project, Anchorena was a distinguished member of the Buenos Aires faction of the Federalists in the 1820s. During the first administration of Juan Manuel de Rosas (1829–1832), he served as minister of foreign affairs. In 1832, in broken health, he retired from political life but continued to exercise influence over Governor Rosas, his cousin, until his (Anchorena's) death in 1847.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hora, Roy. "Patrones de inversión y negocios en Buenos Aires en la primera mitad del siglo XIX: La trayectoria de Tomás Manuel de Anchorena." História Econômica & História de Empresas 8, no. 1 (January-June 2005).

Irazusta, Julio. Tomás de Anchorena: Prócer de la Revolución, la independencia y la federación, 1784–1847. Buenos Aires: Editorial La Voz del Plata, 1950.

Poensgen, Ruprecht. Die Familie Anchorena, 1750–1875: Handel und Viehwirtschaft am Rio de la Plata zwischen Vizeköningreich und Republik. Cologne, Germany: Böhlau, 1998.

Roy Hora

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture