Conspiracy of the three Antonios facts for kids
The Conspiracy of the Three Antonios was a secret plan in 1781 against the Spanish rulers in Chile. It was led by two Frenchmen, Antoine Gramusset and Antoine-Alexandre Berney, and a Chilean man of Spanish descent, José Antonio de Rojas. They were called the "Three Antonios" because all three shared the same first name, Antonio. This plan was a small attempt to make Chile independent from Spain, but it didn't succeed.
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What Happened?
In 1780, Antonio Berney was a Frenchman living in Santiago. He taught Latin and Mathematics. Berney loved reading the Encyclopédie, a famous book from the Enlightenment. Inspired by new ideas about freedom and rights, he dreamed of making Chile an independent country with its own government.
He shared his ideas with Antonio Gramusset, another Frenchman in Chile. Gramusset then convinced José Antonio de Rojas, a very important citizen in Chile, to join their cause.
The three friends wanted to create a government where everyone could vote. They planned to get rid of social classes and end slavery. Their ideas were very advanced for their time, even before the French Revolution. They also wanted to change how land was owned and allow Chile to trade freely with all countries. This secret plan was one of the most democratic ideas in the Spanish Empire.
How the Plan Was Discovered
One day, Gramusset was traveling and lost his bag. Inside the bag were detailed plans of their secret conspiracy. Local policemen found the bag. Since they couldn't read the documents, they sent the bag to their main office in Santiago.
Once the Spanish authorities read the plans, they quickly found out about the plot. The three men were secretly arrested at night on January 1, 1781, during New Year's.
Berney and Gramusset were quickly sent to Peru. They were to be tried in the courts there, as Peru was a major Spanish colony. Rojas, because he was so important in Chile, managed to avoid prison for a while. The Frenchmen were treated very politely. After a year in prison in Lima, they were sent to Spain for trial.
However, the ship carrying them, the San Pedro de Alcantara, sank in a storm off the coast of Portugal. Berney drowned. Gramusset survived the shipwreck but died three months later because of the cold and bad weather he had faced.
Meanwhile, Rojas was sent away to Spain for a short time. He later returned to Chile. In 1809, he was arrested again because people thought he was plotting against the government. This time, there was no proof. His arrest helped lead to the downfall of the Royal Governor Francisco Garcia Carrasco, who had ordered the arrest. This event was one of the things that helped start the Chilean independence movement.
Want to Learn More?
In Spanish: Conspiración de los tres Antonios para niños
- History of Chile
- Chilean War of Independence
- List of Chilean coups d'état
Where We Got Our Information
