Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León facts for kids
Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León (1749–1830) was an important Spanish military leader and politician. He came from a well-known family of wine growers in Andalusia, Spain.
Diego de Alvear was the grandson of the person who started the "Alvear" wine company in Montilla. He was also the father of Carlos María de Alvear, a famous Argentine politician. His family continued to be important in Argentina, with his great-grandson, Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, even becoming president of Argentina (1922-1928).
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Adventures in the Colonies
Diego de Alvear went to Jesuit schools in Montilla and Granada. In 1770, he joined the Spanish navy as a midshipman. He arrived in the Rio de la Plata area (South America) in 1774.
He fought in the "Sacramento War" (1776-1777). This was a fight between Spain and Portugal over a place called Colonia del Sacramento in what is now Uruguay. Spain won this conflict. After the war, King Charles III created the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This was a large Spanish territory in South America.
Diego de Alvear lived in this new viceroyalty for almost 30 years. He became a general in the military. In 1781, he married María Balbastro, and they had nine children together.
One of his biggest jobs was helping to draw the borders between Spanish and Portuguese lands. King Charles III wanted clear borders for their colonies. Diego de Alvear was in charge of mapping a large area around the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. He spent 18 years (1782–1800) doing this important work. He also studied the plants and the local people, like the Tupi and Guarani tribes.
A Tragic Sea Battle
On August 7, 1804, General Diego de Alvear left Montevideo to sail back to Spain. He was on a ship called the "Mercedes." He was bringing his family and the wealth he had earned over many years. His fleet, which had four ships, was heading for Cádiz, Spain.
On October 5, 1804, near Portugal, British ships stopped them. The British commander wanted to search the Spanish ships. Diego de Alvear and his son Carlos María de Alvear were asked to go to the main British ship to help translate.
Suddenly, the meeting turned into a battle. A British cannonball hit the "Mercedes." The ship sank quickly. Diego de Alvear lost his wife and all his children, except for Carlos María, who was with him on the British ship. Two months later, Spain declared war on Great Britain.
New Beginnings in Spain
After the "Mercedes" sank, the British captured Diego de Alvear's fleet. He was taken to England as a prisoner. However, he was treated with respect because of his great loss. The British government even gave him some money to help with his financial losses.
While in England, he met a young Irish woman named Luisa Ward at church. They later married and had ten more children. In December 1805, he returned to Spain, arriving in Madrid in 1806. Diego de Alvear and Luisa married on January 20, 1807, in Montilla, Spain.
Defending Spain from Invasion
In August 1807, Diego de Alvear was put in charge of the cannons defending the city of Cádiz. He became famous for defending the city from French troops. France had invaded Spain in 1808.
Diego de Alvear quickly organized Cádiz's defenses. One of his first successes was getting a French fleet, which was in Cádiz Bay, to surrender in June 1808. He also reorganized the city's volunteer soldiers, called the "Distinguished Volunteers of Cádiz." There were two thousand of them!
In March 1810, Diego de Alvear became the military governor of the Isle of León (now San Fernando). His successful defense of Cádiz earned him a special award called the Gran Cruz de Hermenegildo. A famous writer, José de Espronceda, even wrote a poem about him.
Political Changes in Spain
After the Peninsular War (also known as the War of Independence), Diego de Alvear asked to visit England. He lived there from 1814 to 1817. When he returned in 1817, he lived quietly in Montilla, working in his family's wine business.
However, political events soon brought him back into action. In 1820, Spain had a period called the "Trienio Liberal," where liberals had more power. In 1821, some military groups tried to bring back the king's absolute power. Diego de Alvear disagreed with this. He organized a volunteer army in Montilla and fought against these rebels until more help arrived.
For his actions, he was named Commander of the Montilla Militia in 1822. In 1823, he returned to Cádiz. But when the king's absolute power was restored in 1823, Diego de Alvear had to return to Montilla. He was arrested and released several times. He also lost and regained his titles and honors many times. Finally, in 1829, he got all his titles and honors back. He passed away in Madrid on January 15, 1830.
A Man of Many Talents
Diego de Alvear was a very smart and cultured man. He spoke many languages: Spanish, Latin, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese. He even learned some Tupí and Guaraní from his time mapping the colonial borders.
He was also very good at math and astronomy. These skills helped him in his military work and when he was mapping the borders between Spain and Portugal's colonies.
He wrote several books, including "Descripción de Buenos Aires" (Descriptions of Buenos Aires) and "Demarcación de los territorios de España y Portugal" (Demarcation between the Territories of Spain and Portugal).
Finding the Sunken Ship
The wreck of the frigate Mercedes, the ship that sank with Diego de Alvear's first wife and children, was found recently. A company called Odyssey Marine Exploration found and recovered items from it between March and May 2007. This company found a lot of silver and gold coins, cannons, and copper from the wreck. The Spanish government has sued the company over these recovered treasures.
See also
In Spanish: Diego de Alvear y Ponce de León para niños
