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Domingo de Basavilbaso
portrait of Domingo Basavilbaso
Mayor of Buenos Aires
In office
1745–1746
Preceded byFrancisco de Herrera y Loizaga
Succeeded byJuan Martín de Mena
Vice-Mayor of Buenos Aires
In office
1738–1739
Preceded byAlonso del Pozo Vitte
Succeeded byFaustino de Larrea
Procurador General of Buenos Aires
In office
1739–1740
Preceded byCarlos Narváez
Succeeded byMiguel Antonio de Merlo
Administrador General of the Real Renta de Correos
In office
1768–1772
Succeeded byManuel de Basavilbaso
Personal details
Born
Domingo de Basavilbaso y de la Presa

1 September 1709
Bilbao, Spain
Died9 May 1775
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Resting placeBuenos Aires Cathedral
SpouseMaría Ignacia de Urtubia y Toledo
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Spanish Empire
Branch/serviceSpanish Army
Years of service1729-1760
RankCaptain
UnitFuerte de Buenos Aires
CommandsMilicias de Caballería de Buenos Aires

Domingo de Basavilbaso (1709 – 1775) was a Spanish politician and military, who served during the colonial period of Argentina as alcalde, comandante, procurador and regidor of Buenos Aires.[1] He was the founder of the Basavilbaso family in Buenos Aires, related from the colonial period to the beginning of the 20th century with the main Spanish, Argentine and Uruguayan patrician families.[2]

He took an active part in the expulsion of the Jesuits,[3] and in some military campaigns aimed at containing the indigenous advance in the Province of Buenos Aires.[4] He also had a distinguished career as General Mail Administrator in the Río de la Plata territories, actively participating in the beginnings of the Argentine mail.[5]

Biography[edit]

He was born in Llodio, Bilbao, Spain, the son of Domingo de Basavilbaso and María Rosa de la Presa, belonging to a distinguished family.[6] He arrived at the port of Buenos Aires from Montevideo, establishing itself in the city of Buenos Aires around the year 1729, where it was dedicated to the commerce.[7]

Its main activity in the territories of the Viceroyalty of Peru was the establishment of mail in the Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. In 1748, Basavilbaso established the mail between Buenos Aires and Potosí, being his general administrator until 1772. He had created a system of posts, which linked Buenos Aires with Mendoza and Santiago de Chile, to the west; Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, the northern provinces and Upper Peru. He also took active part in the organization of the maritime mail of the Río de la Plata.[8]

He held various political positions during the colonial period of Argentina, including as Vice Mayor of Buenos Aires in 1738,[9] and Mayor in 1745.[10] He also served as Councilor, Alférez Real,[11] and was appointed as Attorney General of Buenos Aires in 1739.[12] He also had a long participation in the military expeditions against the indigenous incursions in the current Argentine territories. He served as commander of provincial militias cavalry regiment of Buenos Aires, in charge of organizing an expedition against the Pampas tribes, who had invaded the borders of jurisdiction of Buenos Aires Province. In these expeditions it was possible to capture the cacique Calelián, main leader of the attacks against the civil populations of the Province of Buenos Aires.[13]

Domingo de Basavilbaso was one of the first Spaniards to carry out explorations in the Patagonia towards the middle of the 18th century.[14] He also carried out some activities as a legal representative of distinguished colonial political personalities such as Guillermo Ross, a Scottish military and politician genealogically linked to the Basavilbaso family.[15]

Family[edit]

Domingo de Basavilbaso was married on 20 February 1730 in the Buenos Aires Cathedral to María Ignacia de Urtubia Toledo, daughter of José de Urtubia Enríquez and María de Toledo Ojeda, a distinguished Spanish family from Navarre and Buenos Aires.[16]

He and his wife were the parents of Francisco Antonio Basavilbaso, Manuel Basavilbaso, María Gabriela Basavilbaso, abbess,[17] María Rosa Basavilbaso, wife Vicente de Azcuénaga, and mother of Miguel de Azcuénaga,[18] María Victoria Basavilbaso, married Domingo Ignacio Urien, born in Biscay,[19] Rafaela Basavilbaso, wife José Ignacio Merlo,[20] and María Paula Basavilbaso, who was married to Francisco Mariano Mendizaga, a silversmith, born in 1752 in Buenos Aires.[21]

In his house, Domingo de Basavilbaso hosted important political figures of the time as José Joaquín de Viana, governor of Montevideo,[22] and Ambrosio O'Higgins, personal friend of the family.[23] His luxurious residence was located in the current Avenida Belgrano between Calle Balcarce and Paseo Colón (neighborhood of Santo Domingo).[24]

His descendants were linked directly and indirectly with the families of Carlos Anaya, Luis Alberto de Herrera, Juan de Lezica, Marcos de Riglos, Juan Dillon. His granddaughter Ana de Azcuénaga, was married to Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú, Viceroy of Río de la Plata.[25] His son, Manuel de Basavilbaso was awarded the knighthood of the Royal Order of Charles III in 1788.[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Calatrava. Alcantara. Montesa. Carlos III. Malta, Guillermo Lohmann Villena, 1947
  2. ^ Revista histórica, Volumen 2, Impr. Universitaria, 1988, 1929
  3. ^ Coleccion de documentos relativos á la expulsion de los Jesuitas, Francisco Javier Bravo, 1872
  4. ^ Revista chilena de historia y geografía, Volumen 156, Impr. Universitaria, 1988, 1988
  5. ^ Historia de correos y telégrafos de la República Argentina..., Argentina. Correos y Telecomunicaciones, Ramón de Castro Esteves, 1938
  6. ^ Diccionario biográfico colonial argentino, Institución Mitre, 1945
  7. ^ Revista Chilena de historia y geografía, Sociedad Chilena de Historia y Geografía, 1988
  8. ^ Historia social y cultural del Río de la Plata, 1536-1810, Guillermo Fúrlong Cárdiff, 1969
  9. ^ Anales de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias Económicas, Academia Nacional de Ciencias Económicas, 1959
  10. ^ Buenos Aires--historia de las calles y sus nombres, Vicente Osvaldo Cutolo, 1988, ISBN 9789509921207
  11. ^ Revista Chilena de historia y geografía, Sociedad Chilena de Historia y Geografía, 1988
  12. ^ Dote matrimonial y redes de poder en el antiguo régimen en Espan̋a e Hispanoamérica, Nora Siegrist de Gentile, Samudio Azpúrua Samudio A., 2006, ISBN 9789801222347
  13. ^ Historia de los medios de communicación y transporte en la República Argentina, Ramón José Cárcano, 1893
  14. ^ Congreso de Historia Argentina y Regional, Volume 1, Academia Nacional de la Historia, 1973
  15. ^ Protocolos:Registro No. 3, 1716-1800, Archivo General de la Nación Argentina
  16. ^ Presencia alavesa en América y Filipinas (1700-1825), Ángel Martínez Salazar, 1988, ISBN 9788478210077
  17. ^ Crónica histórica de la venerable Orden Tercera de San Francisco en la Républica Argentina, Enrique Udaondo, 1920
  18. ^ Archivum: revista de la Junta de Historia Eclesiástica Argentina, Junta de historia eclesiatica Argentina, 1998
  19. ^ Diáspora vasca, William A. Douglass, 1999, ISBN 9781877802058
  20. ^ Acuerdos del extinguido Cabildo de Buenos Aires, Volume 9, República Argentina, 1931
  21. ^ Anales, Issues 7-9, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas, 1954
  22. ^ Historia de la Argentina, Volumen 3, Vicente D. Sierra, 1959
  23. ^ Los origenes del correo terrestre en Chile, Imprenta Universitaria, 1936
  24. ^ Período colonial, Ricardo Levene, 1920
  25. ^ El río de la sangre, Alfredo Vitón, 1959
  26. ^ Notas biográficas publicadas en la sección Efemérides americanas de "La Nación": en los años 1907-1909, José Arturo Scotto, 1910

External links[edit]

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