Mercedes Fontecilla

María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso (June 18, 1799 – May 5, 1853) was a First Lady of Chile for less than two months in 1814 through her marriage to José Miguel Carrera.[1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fontecilla and the second or maternal family name is Fernández de Valdivieso or simply Valdivieso.
Mercedes Fontecilla
First Lady of Chile
In role
August 20, 1814 – October 2, 1814
PresidentJosé Miguel Carrera
Personal details
Born
María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso

(1799-06-18)June 18, 1799
Santiago, Chile
DiedMay 5, 1853(1853-05-05) (aged 53)
Santiago, Chile
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1814; died 1821)​
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1823)​
    Children9

    Biography

    Fontecilla was born to Diego Antonio Fontecilla Palacios and Rosa Valdivieso Protusagasti[1] in Santiago. On 20 August 1814, at 15, Fontecilla married 29 year old José Miguel Carrera, a political leader in Chile, at the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral.[2][1][3] Less than two months later, Carrera's forces were defeated in the Battle of Rancagua and the family, including Carrera's two brothers, fled to Mendoza, Argentina.[4] While there, Fontecilla passed secret information between military personnel and sewed clothing for soldiers.[5] Fontecilla supported and was affectionate towards her husband despite his long absences to Anapolis, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires as he sought allies to fight for Chilean independence.[2][3][6]

    In 1821, Carrera was handed over to Colonel José Albino Gutiérrez as prisoner by his own men.[2] Within days, he was tried, sentenced, and executed.[2] The morning of his death, he wrote Mercedes a letter, in which he told her of his imminent execution and expressed regret for leaving her to care for their five children.[2] Following Carrera's death, Fontecilla and her children lived in extreme poverty in Rosario.[7] Eventually, Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's Supreme Director and one of Carrera's main enemies, allowed them to return to Chile, largely due to "good public relations... [so the public would think] '[O'Higgins] was as generous as he was courageous.'"[5][7] She later married politician Diego José Benavente, with whom she had four children.[8][9][10]

    Family
    • Marriage: Diego José Benavente[14][10]
      • José Benjamín Benavente Fontecilla (husband of Rosa Vargas González)[10]
      • Mercedes Quiteria Benavente Fontecilla (wife of Miguel Calvo Valenzuela)[10][15]
      • Mariana Benavente Fontecilla[10]
      • Carolina Benavente Fontecilla[10]

    Legacy

    There is a school in the Quilicura area of Santiago, Chile named Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera.[16] Javiera Díaz de Valdés, a descendent of Fontecilla's sister-in-law Javiera Carrera, portrayed her in the Chilean miniseries Héroes.[17][18]

    See also

    References
    1. "Carrera Verdugo José Miguel" (in Spanish). Anales de la Republica. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
    2. "EL AMOR, PRESENTE EN LA HISTORIA DE UNO DE LOS PRÓCERES DE NUESTRA PATRIA" (in Spanish). Archivo Nacional. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
    3. "Jose Miguel Carrera Verdugo" (in Spanish). Aurora de Chile. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
    4. "Muerte del General José Miguel Carrera" (in Spanish). La Discusion. 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
    5. "Las libertadoras de San Martín" (in Spanish). CONICET. 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
    6. "EL AMOR PRESENTE, EN LA HISTORIA DE UNO DE LOS PRÓCERES DE NUESTRA PATRIA" (in Spanish). Archivo Nacional. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
    7. Chambers, Sarah C. Families in War and Peace: Chile from Colony to Nation.
    8. Reyes del Villar, Soledad. Javiera Carrera. Y la formación del Chile republicano (in Spanish).
    9. Vidal, Virginia. Javiera Carrera, madre de la patria (in Spanish). p. 128.
    10. "Diego Jose Benavente Bustamante" (in Spanish). Anales de la Republica. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
    11. "GENEALOGIA DE LA FAMILIA CARRERA (DE LA CARRERA)" (in Spanish). La familia Carrera. 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
    12. Mettele, G.; Rendall, J.; Hagemann, K. Gender, War and Politics: Transatlantic Perspectives, 1775–1830. p. 347.
    13. Valdés, Ambrosio. Carrera: revolución chilena y campañas de la independencia, con un apéndice sobre la jenealojía de la familia del Jeneral (in Spanish).
    14. Swinburn, Daniel (2018-09-19). "Donan valiosas cartas inéditas de la familia de José Miguel Carrera" (in Spanish). Economia y negocios. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
    15. "Benavente, Diego Jose" (in Spanish). icarito. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
    16. "Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera" (in Spanish). Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera. n.d. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
    17. "Descendientes de... Los famosos con sangre histórica" (in Spanish). El Mercurio. 2006-10-08. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
    18. "José Miguel Carrera, Príncipe de los Caminos" (in Spanish). 13th Festival Cultural de Mayo. 2010. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.