Manuel Rodríguez 1647380 225623783 2008-07-14T16:40:49Z Kbdankbot 6505923 Robot - move category per [[WP:CFD|CFD]] [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 July 8|2008 July 8]] {{Infobox Person |name=Manuel Rodríguez |image=ManuelRodrigez.jpg |caption=in ''Húsares de la Muerte'' uniform |birth_date={{birth date|1785|2|27|mf=y}} |dead=dead |birth_place=[[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]], [[Chile]] |death_date={{death date and age|1818|5|26|1785|2|27|mf=y}} |death_place=[[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]], [[Chile]] }} {{otheruses|Manuel Rodríguez Orellana}} {{otheruses|Manuel Rodríguez (manager)}} '''Manuel Javier Rodríguez Erdoíza''' ([[February 27]] [[1785]] - [[May 26]] [[1818]]) [[Chilean]] [[lawyer]] and [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] leader, considered one of the founders of independent [[Chile]]. ==Early life== He was born on [[25 February]] [[1785]] and was the son of Don Carlos Rodríguez de Herrera y Zeballos, a customs officer of [[Peru]]vian nationality, and María Loreto de Erdoyza y Aguirre who was a young Chilean aristocrat. Rodríguez entered the esteemed Carolino College where he was a classmate of [[José Miguel Carrera]]. He went on to study law at the Royal University of San Felipe, and subsequently became a lawyer in [[1807]]. ==The "Patria Vieja" (Old Fatherland) (1810-1814)== On [[18 September]] [[1810]], in the absence of the Spanish monarch, a national government (primera junta nacional de gobierno) was formed from which sprung the struggle for Chilean Independence. In May [[1811]], he was named attorney for [[Santiago de Chile]]. His attitude towards the independence cause was moderate up until the arrival from [[Spain]] of his old friend, José Miguel Carrera who was passionately revolutionary. In the latter part of 1811, Rodríquez was subsequently elected as parliamentary representative for [[Talca]] on [[4 September]], named Secretary of War on [[15 November]] and on [[2 December]] was conscripted into the army with the rank of Captain. In [[1813]], the friendship between Rodríguez and Carrera (who by this time had seized control of the Chilean government) had begun to cool. Rodríguez and his brothers were detained and charged for conspiracy against Carrera. They were condemned to one year's exile on [[Juan Fernández]] island, however Rodríguez was able to procure a document that impeded the completion of this sentence. Carrera and Rodríguez renewed their friendship in [[1814]]. The government ''junta'' presided by Carrera was replaced by a new one led by Colonel [[Francisco de la Lastra]], which Rodríguez criticized profusely in the newspaper ''Monitor Araucano''. When the Carrera brothers were removed from command, José Miguel was concealed by Rodríguez. After recovering control of the government, Carrera formed a new ''junta'' in which Rodríguez was made Secretary. However, Spanish forces led by General [[Mariano Osorio]] advanced from the south towards Santiago. After the [[Disaster of Rancagua]], the Spanish took back control of Chile and Rodríguez, along with many other patriots, fled to [[Mendoza, Argentina|Mendoza]], [[Argentina]]. == The Reconquest (1814-1817)== [[Image:MonumentRodriguez.jpg|thumbnail|left|Monument of Manuel Rodríquez displayed in Bustamante Park in Santiago, Chile]] [[José de San Martín]], Governor of [[Cuyo]], welcomed the Chilean exiles with open arms and organized a "Liberation Army" with Chileans and Argentinians included. San Martín saw in Rodríguez the ideal spy since he was very shrewd and skilled for this position, and furthermore, his humble origins allowed him to easily pass for a commoner. He began creating disguises and communications systems -- often carrying out his duties disguised as a [[monk]], [[farmer]], street [[merchant]], [[servant (domestic)|domestic servant]] or even as a woman. He was the most-wanted man during the rule of the Spanish Governor of Chile, [[Casimiro Marcó del Pont]]. His assaults on [[Melipilla]] and San Fernando were an important part of San Martín's strategy to divert attention away from the "Liberating Army" that entered Chile and triumphed at the [[Battle of Chacabuco]]. ==The "Patria Nueva" (New Fatherland) (1817-1818)== After the victory at [[Chacabuco]], the Chilean commander [[Bernardo O'Higgins]] ordered the arrest of Rodríguez who managed to escape capture and was hidden until San Martín was able to intervine on his behalf and conferred on him the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the surprise attack by the Spanish forces at the [[Battle of Cancha Rayada]], Rodríguez was instrumental in maintaining calm in Santiago amid false rumors of the death of O'Higgins. It was during this event that he uttered his most famous quote ''Aún tenemos patria, ciudadanos'' (We still have a fatherland, citizens). After the events at Cancha Rayada, Rodríguez and other Carrera supporters organised a regiment called the ''Húsares de la Muerte''. The characteristic symbol of this organisation was a white skull over a black background, symbolising their will to die in battle rather than allowing the enemy to win. However, this regiment was not considered for the battle of [[Maipu]] and was latter dissolved by Bernardo O'Higgins (he and San Martín both opposed the Carrera brothers). ==Assassination == Rodríguez was killed on [[26 May]] [[1818]] in [[Til-Til]] by soldiers of the "[[Cazadores de los Andes]]" battalion commanded by [[Antonio Navarro (soldier)|Antonio Navarro]], after being imprisoned by orders of O'Higgins. His execution was extra judicial, and it's widely attributed to the head of the government. Rodriguez's body was mutilated and abandoned in a trench, but a group of local peasants found it and recognized Rodriguez, burying him secretly behind the chapel of Til-Til with the help of the local priest. This was a sample of the affection the people has for Manuel Rodriguez, as well as the fear and contempt for the government of O'Higgins. In the end of the XX century, Rodríguez's body were moved to the [[General Cemetery of Santiago]], although it is known today (just very recently) that the remainings that were buried were not really Rodriguez's, but from an older unknown soldier wearing the ''Husares de la Muerte'' uniform, although at the time of his assassination, Rodriguez was not wearing his legendary uniform. As of today Rodriguez body remains missing. == Trivia== * In the historical fiction TV series ''Héroes'', Manuel Rodríguez is played by popular actor [[Benjamín Vicuña]]. * The outlawed [[Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez]], a Communist anti-[[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]] organization, took his name. * In the historical movie, Manuel Rodríguez is played by [[Pedro Sienna]]. {{start box}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title={{nowrap|[[Ministry of the Interior (Chile)#Patria Vieja period|Secretary of Government]]}} | before=[[Agustín Vial]] | after=[[Agustín Vial]] | years='''1811-1812'''}} {{succession box | title={{nowrap|[[Ministry of the Interior (Chile)#Patria Vieja period|Secretary of Government and Finance]]}} | before=[[Bernardo Vera]] | after=[[Miguel Zañartu]] | years='''1814'''}} {{succession box | title=[[Ministry of National Defense (Chile)#Patria Vieja period|Secretary of War]] | before=[[Andrés Nicolás de Orjera]] | after=[[José Ignacio Zenteno]] | years='''1814'''}} {{end box}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodríguez, Manuel}} [[Category:1785 births]] [[Category:1818 deaths]] [[Category:Chilean people]] [[Category:Chilean politicians]] [[Category:Chilean Ministers of the Interior]] [[Category:Chilean Ministers of Foreign Affairs]] [[Category:Chilean Ministers of Defense]] [[Category:Chilean Ministers of Finance]] [[Category:Chilean revolutionaries]] [[Category:People of the Chilean War of Independence]] [[Category:Chilean Army officers]] [[Category:People from Santiago]] [[Category:Chileans of Basque descent]] [[es:Manuel Rodríguez]] [[it:Manuel Rodríguez]]