An exploration of women's involvement in the Latin American Wars of Independence

Antonio José de Irisarri

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Printing press

Tertulia

Printing Press

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Gender:Male

Ethnic origen: Unknown

Events:

Connections:

Biography:
Born in Guatemala in 1786, his mother was Chilean; his father established a Casa de comercio. He studied in a Franciscan college and by the age of 20 was well versed in Maths, physics, astronomy and Latin and could read English French and Italian. He wrote from an early age, but the death of his father in 1805 gave Irisarri business responsibilities that took him to Mexico, Peru and Chile. He was imprisoned by the English in Mexico. He married his cousin Mercedes Trucios Larraín in 1809. They had two children, the youngest, Hermógenes, became a poet. He staunchly supported the independence cause from the outset. In 1811 he was a member of the Santiago Cabildo. He was in opposition to the Carrera brothers from 1811 onwards and the satirical El Duende de Santiago (which he founded on 22 April 1818) was dedicated against them. His writing can also be found in La Aurora and, from August to October 1813, his Semanario Republicano (which he founded on 7 August 1813). He went to Mendoza and Buenos Aires when the Carreras were in power. After the defeat of Rancagua in 1814 he went to London and stayed until the 1817 victory at Chacabuco. He returned to Chile in 1818 and was given the post of Minister of Interior, but went to Buenos Aires in 1819 working to obtain Peruvian independence. He edited the Gaceta Ministerial de Chile with Ignacio Torres in 1818 and participated in El Argos de Chile from May-November 1818. He died in 1868. (Silva Castro, 21, 34, 62-65)




As Secretario de Gobierno in 1818, he was involved in the publication of the weekly newspapers, El Argos, El Duende and El Sol. (Feliu Cruz, 209.)




He is said to have attended Luisa Recabarren's tertulias. (Grez, 63)




He was appointed Chilean minister to Lima in 1837. From 1838-1845 he was in Ecuador. He arrived in New York in 1849 and in 1855 became a diplomat for Guatemala in the United states. He contributed to literary periodicals wherever he went; including Andres Bello's El Censor Americano (London, 1820). He produced political pamphlets and satirical poems. (Coester, 445-446)




He wrote two novels, El cristiano errante (1847) and Historia del perínclito (1863). (Martin, 385)

References:

Smith, Verity (editor). (1997) Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature
Coester, Alfred (1919) The Literary History of Spanish America
Feliu Cruz, Guillermo (1970) Santiago a comienzos del siglo XIX. Crónicas de los viajeros
Grez, Vicente (1966) Las mujeres de la independencia
Silva Castro, Raul (1958) Prensa y periodismo en Chile (1812-1956)