Antonio González de Balcarce

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is González and the second or maternal family name is de Balcarce.
Antonio González de Balcarce
Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
In office
17 April 1816 – 11 July 1816
Preceded byIgnacio Álvarez Thomas
Succeeded byJuan Martín de Pueyrredón
Personal details
Born(1774-06-24)June 24, 1774
Buenos Aires, Viceroyalty of Peru
DiedAugust 5, 1819(1819-08-05) (aged 45)
Buenos Aires, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
ProfessionSoldier

Antonio González de Balcarce (24 June 1774 – 5 August 1819) was an Argentine soldier and statesman of the independence era. He briefly served as interim Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata between April and July 1816, and earlier led the patriot victory at the Battle of Suipacha (7 November 1810), the first major triumph of the revolutionary forces in Upper Peru.[1] He was also governor-intendant of Buenos Aires during 1814, and later served as second-in-command to José de San Martín in Chile.[2][3]

Early life and military career

González de Balcarce was born in Buenos Aires, then capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru. He joined the provincial forces as a cadet of the Blandengues corps in 1788.[4] During the British invasions of the River Plate he defended Montevideo and was captured in 1807; released in Europe, he subsequently fought in Spain during the Peninsular War.[5]

May Revolution and Upper Peru campaign

After returning to Buenos Aires, González de Balcarce took part in the May Revolution of 1810. He was appointed to the first auxiliary expedition to Upper Peru and achieved the victory at Suipacha on 7 November 1810, regarded as the first major success of the patriot arms in the region.[6][7]

Governor-Intendant of Buenos Aires

In 1814 he held the post of governor-intendant (gobernador intendente) of Buenos Aires. Contemporary documents preserved by the Academia Nacional de la Historia refer to him in that capacity, including a petition dated 4 July 1814 addressed to “the Governor-Intendant of Buenos Aires, General Antonio González Balcarce.”[8]

Interim Supreme Director (1816)

Following the resignation of Ignacio Álvarez Thomas, the General Constituent Assembly designated González de Balcarce as interim head of state. Archival and prosopographical reconstructions place his term from 17 April to 11 July 1816, pending the arrival and installation of the elected Supreme Director, Juan Martín de Pueyrredón.[9] The Gazeta de Buenos Ayres recorded official notices relating to his assumption of authority in April 1816.[10]

Army of the Andes and campaigns in Chile

After Pueyrredón took office, González de Balcarce joined the Army of the Andes. During the campaign in Chile he acted as San Martín’s second-in-command and took part in the operations leading to the victory at Maipú (5 April 1818). Contemporary and later compilations from the Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano and the Museo Histórico Nacional identify him as “Segundo Jefe del Ejército Unido” in that campaign.[11]

Illness and death

He fell ill during the Chilean operations and returned to Buenos Aires, where he died on 5 August 1819.[12] The site of his birthplace is today occupied by the former National Congress building (Balcarce 139), currently the headquarters of the Academia Nacional de la Historia.[13][14]

Legacy

González de Balcarce is commemorated in numerous toponyms in Argentina. The Partido de Balcarce (Buenos Aires Province) bears his name and local institutional histories recall his role at Suipacha and in the Chilean campaign.[15] On official anniversaries the national government highlights his command at Suipacha as an early milestone of the independence struggle.[16]

References

  1. ^ "7 de noviembre: Batalla de Suipacha, la primera victoria patria". Argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Secretaría de Cultura de la Nación. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  2. ^ "Archivo de la Academia Nacional de la Historia – ítems de Buenos Aires (AR ANH EF-Secc.IV-37, 4 Jul 1814)" (in Spanish). Academia Nacional de la Historia. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Batalla de Maipú" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano / Museo Histórico Nacional. 2018. p. 3. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  4. ^ Cutolo, Vicente Osvaldo (1968). Nuevo diccionario biográfico argentino (1750–1930) (in Spanish). Vol. 3. Buenos Aires: Editorial Elche. pp. 60–62.
  5. ^ Roberts, Carlos (2000). Las invasiones inglesas del Río de la Plata (1806–1807) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Emecé. ISBN 950-04-2021-X.
  6. ^ "7 de noviembre: Batalla de Suipacha, la primera victoria patria". Argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Secretaría de Cultura de la Nación. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  7. ^ Ávila, María Florencia (2018). "La batalla de Suipacha (1810, Bolivia): un abordaje desde la historia militar". Revista Digital de la Academia de Historia y Letras (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Archivo de la Academia Nacional de la Historia – ítems de Buenos Aires (AR ANH EF-Secc.IV-37, 4 Jul 1814)" (in Spanish). Academia Nacional de la Historia. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Argentina: Supreme Directors: 1814–1820". Archontology.org. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Documentos publicados: Gazeta de Buenos Ayres, Nº 52 (20 abril 1816)" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Ravignani, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Batalla de Maipú" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano / Museo Histórico Nacional. 2018. p. 3. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  12. ^ Cutolo, Vicente Osvaldo (1968). Nuevo diccionario biográfico argentino (1750–1930) (in Spanish). Vol. 3. Buenos Aires: Editorial Elche. pp. 60–62.
  13. ^ "Historia – Antiguo Recinto del Congreso Nacional" (in Spanish). Academia Nacional de la Historia. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Recinto del antiguo Congreso Nacional". Argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Ministerio de Cultura. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  15. ^ "Historia de Balcarce" (in Spanish). Municipalidad de Balcarce. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  16. ^ "A 215 años de la Batalla de Suipacha". Casa Rosada (in Spanish). 7 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.

Further reading

Media related to Antonio González de Balcarce at Wikimedia Commons

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