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EYZAGUIRRE (aythahghee'ray), the name of five
brothers, Chileans, who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Agustin Eyzaguirre, statesman, born in Santiago
de Chile in 1766; died there, 17 July 1837. During the first days of the revolt
of Chile against Spanish domination in 1810 he was a member of the municipal
corporation of Santiago, and joined the revolutionary cause with enthusiasm, and
in 1812 was elected deputy to the first congress. When, in 1813, General Carrera
marched to meet the invasion of Pareja, the senate appointed a temporary
government, and Eyzaguirre was elected a member.
He took an active part in founding the national academy
and many schools, and in promulgating the liberty of the press; and during this
administration the first republican paper was printed at Santiago. After the
unfortunate battle of Rancaguas, in October 1814, he, with other patriots, was
imprisoned on the Island of Juan Fernandez, until the battle of Chacabuco, 12
February 1817, restored the exiles to their families.
During the presidency of O'Higgins, Eyzaguirre retired
to private life and devoted himself to his commercial interests. During this
time he organized the famous Calcutta Company, for direct trade between the East
Indies and Valparaiso, and thus was the first that caused the Chilean flag to
float in Asiatic seas.
After the downfall of the O'Higgins government, 28 Jan.
1823, Eyzaguirre was twice called to the executive chair of the republic, first
as a member of the provisional government, and again after the resignation of
President Freire, whom he succeeded as vice president, 10 September 1826, to 26
January 1827, when he resigned in consequence of a military mutiny, and returned
to private life.
Miguel Eyzaguirre, jurist, born in Santiago about
1770; died in Lambayeque, Peru, in 1821. In 1805 he was appointed prosecutor of
the royal Supreme Court of Lima, and afterward was made judge of the same court;
but, on account of the participation of his brothers in the liberation of Chile,
he fell under suspicion, was arrested and sent as prisoner to Spain, but died on
the way.
Domingo Eyzaguirre, philanthropist, born in
Santiago, 17 July 1775; died there in April 1854. He studied in the seminary of
his native City, and showed remarkable aptitude for mathematics and chemistry.
When scarcely nineteen years old he was appointed as saver of the royal mint of
Santiago, but resigned the next year, and devoted himself entirely to the
cultivation of a farm near Santiago, inherited from his father.
There his labors tended more to the improvement of the
condition of the laboring classes than to his own pecuniary interest. He
improved the yield of some of the poorest lands by his knowledge of chemistry,
introduced modern agricultural implements, and, by giving his laborers better
than the accustomed wages and caring for their moral and material welfare, soon
assembled a colony of well to do and contented people. He also introduced looms,
which, although imperfect, served to weave from native wool the coarse cloth
worn by the peasantry.
From the first years of his country life he agitated the
project of a canal to water the barren plain surrounding Santiago, which had
been begun some time before, but was abandoned. The Spanish government approved
the plan, and in 1802 made Eyzaguirre director. He pushed the work with energy
until it was interrupted by the revolution of 1810, and notwithstanding he
sympathized with the patriotic cause, he abstained from any participation.
His prestige as an honorable and impartial man was so
great that, even when his brothers were exiled, he suffered no persecution from
the Spanish authorities, and was enabled to alleviate the sufferings of his
compatriots. When the independence of Chile was finally established in 1817, he
resumed his favorite work, and in 1820, amid great festivities, the canal of
Maipo was opened. This, with many smaller lateral canals, soon converted the
arid plain into a fertile garden. It was placed by the government under the
administration of a board, of which Eyzaguirre was appointed president.
In 1823 he was commissioned to reorganize the charitable
institutions, and undertook the task of building a home for wayfarers and needy
persons. Within a few years he had collected the necessary means, and a new and
commodious building was erected.
In 1835 he was appointed first governor of the
department of Victoria, the capital of which he had founded and spent a good
part of his fortune in improving. He established the agricultural society in
1838, and was elected its president. He was several times deputy to the National
congress, where he soon became noted for his honesty.
In 1845 he attempted to establish a socialistic colony
in the country, where all should share the labor and produce, but soon
dissensions broke out, and the project failed. A few years later he undertook to
establish a large cloth factory, with the object of improving the condition of
the poor and giving occupation to women and children. In this enterprise he
invested the greater part of his fortune, but before the factory was finished he
died. The Maipo canal board erected a statue to his memory.
José Alejo Eyzaguirre, clergyman, born in
Santiago in 1783; died there in 1850, studied in the seminary of his native
City, and in the University of San Felipe, where he was graduated in law in
1803. He began the practice of his profession, and at the same time was made
professor of canon law in the University.
In 1805 he accompanied his brother Miguel to Lima, but
decided to enter the ministry, and in 1807, was ordained priest. He returned in
1815 to Chile, and was appointed attorney of the ecclesiastical court of the
archdiocese of Santiago, and afterward rector of the parish of Sagrario, where
he became known as the most eminent pulpit orator of South America.
In 1822 he was banished by the dictator O'Higgins to
Mendoza, where he was well received by the clergy, and for two years directed an
educational institute that was founded by him. Then he returned to Chile, and by
the government of Freire was appointed to several important commissions. The
archbishop made him his vicar, and afterward canon of the cathedral. He was
elected three times to congress, and as such signed the constitution of 1828,
and later was councillor of state. Some years later he was elected dean of the
cathedral, and when the new bishopric of Serena was founded he was offered the
seat, but declined it.
In 1843, on the death of Archbishop Vicuna, he was
appointed capitular vicar, and soon elected to the archbishopric, in which
dignity he continued his simple, unostentatious life. Toward the end of 1845, on
account of declining health, he resigned the archiepiscopal seat, and lived in
privacy at Santiago till his death.
José Ignacio Eyzaguirre, senator, born in
Santiago about 1787; died there about 1850, took a prominent part in the Chilean
struggle for liberty, was banished with his brother Augustin to Juan Fernandez,
and returned in 1817. In 1823 he was appointed secretary of the treasury, and in
1834 senator of the republic, which place he held until his death. In 1837 he
wrote a history of the Chilean revolution.
His son, José lgnacio Victor Eyzaguirre,
clergyman, born in Santiago de Chile, 20 March 1824; died in Alexandria, Egypt,
8 October 1875, studied in the seminary of Santiago, was early ordained priest,
and soon became famous as an orator. In 1854 he was elected to congress, and in
1856 became vice president of the lower house. At the same time he was a member
of several benevolent societies, and received high credit for promoting public
instruction and protecting the poor. He was also professor of the humanities,
theology, and sacred science.
He traveled extensively in Palestine, Europe, and the
United States, and published a work descriptive of that country. In 1871 he
founded in Rome a South American seminary, and was appointed a monsignor.
Eyzaguirre was elected member of several scientific societies in Italy and
France, and honorary member of the Spanish academy. Returning from one of his
trips to Palestine, he died on board a steamer in the port of Alexandria.
His most important publications are "La historia
eclesiastica, politica y literaria de Chile"; "E1 catolicismo en presencia de
sus disidentes"; and "Los intereses católicos en America"; all of which were
published in Chile, and translated into French (Paris, 1874).
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia by John Looby, Copyright © 2001
StanKlos.comTM
EYZAGUIRRE (aythahghee'ray), the name of five brothers, Chileans, who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. Agustin Eyzaguirre , statesman, born in Santiago de Chili in 1766; died there, 17 July 1837. During the first days of the revolt of Chili against Spanish domination in 1810 he was a member of the municipal corporation of Santiago, and joined the revolutionary cause with enthusiasm, and in 1812 was elected deputy to the first congress. When, in 1813, General Carrera marched to meet the invasion of Pareja, the senate appointed a temporary government, and Eyzaguirre was elected a member. He took an active part in founding the national academy and many schools, and in promulgating the liberty of the press; and during this administration the first republican paper was printed at Santiago. After the unfortunate battle of Rancaguas, in October 1814, he, with other patriots, was imprisoned on the Island of Juan Fernandez, until the battle of Chacabuco, 12 February 1817, restored the exiles to their families. During the presidency of O'Higgins, Eyzaguirre retired to private life and devoted himself to his commercial interests. During this time he organized the famous Calcutta Company, for direct trade between the East Indies and Valparaiso, and thus was the first that caused the Chilean flag to float in Asiatic seas.
After the downfall of the O'Higgins government, 28 Jan.. 1823, Eyzaguirre was twice called to the executive chair of the republic, first as a member of the provisional government, and again after the resignation of President Freire, whom he succeeded as vice president, 10 September 1826, to 26 January 1827, when he resigned in consequence of a military mutiny, and returned to private life.
Miguel Eyzaguirre, jurist, born in Santiago about 1770; died in Lambayeque, Peru, in 1821. In 1805 he was appointed prosecutor of the royal Supreme Court of Lima, and afterward was made judge of the same court; but, on account of the participation of his brothers in the liberation of Chili, he fell under suspicion, was arrested and sent as prisoner to Spain, but died on the way.
Domingo Eyzaguirre, philanthropist, born in Santiago, 17 July 1775; died there in April 1854. He studied in the seminary of his native City, and showed remarkable aptitude for mathematics and chemistry. When scarcely nineteen years old he was appointed as saver of the royal mint of Santiago, but resigned the next year, and devoted himself entirely to the cultivation of a farm near Santiago, inherited from his father. There his labors tended more to the improvement of the condition of the laboring classes than to his own pecuniary interest. He improved the yield of some of the poorest lands by his knowledge of chemistry, introduced modern agricultural implements, and, by giving his laborers better than the accustomed wages and caring for their moral and material welfare, soon assembled a colony of well to do and contented people. He also introduced looms, which, although imperfect, served to weave from native wool the coarse cloth worn by the peasantry. From the first years of his country life he agitated the project of a canal to water the barren plain surrounding Santiago, which had been begun some time before, but was abandoned. The Spanish government approved the plan, and in 1802 made Eyzaguirre director. He pushed the work with energy until it was interrupted by the revolution of 1810, and notwithstanding he sympathized with the patriotic cause, he abstained from any participation. His prestige as an honorable and impartial man was so great that, even when his brothers were exiled, he suffered no persecution from the Spanish authorities, and was enabled to alleviate the sufferings of his compatriots. When the independence of Chili was finally established in 1817, he resumed his favorite work, and in 1820, amid great festivities, the canal of Maipo was opened. This, with many smaller lateral canals, soon converted the arid plain into a fertile garden. It was placed by the government under the administration of a board, of which Eyzaguirre was appointed president.
In 1823 he was commissioned to reorganize the charitable institutions, and undertook the task of building a home for wayfarers and needy persons. Within a few years he had collected the necessary means, and a new and commodious building was erected. In 1835 he was appointed first governor of the department of Victoria, the capital of which he had founded and spent a good part of his fortune in improving. He established the agricultural society in 1838, and was elected its president. He was several times deputy to the National congress, where he soon became noted for his honesty. In 1845 he attempted to establish a socialistic colony in the country, where all should share the labor and produce, but soon dissensions broke out, and the project failed. A few years later he undertook to establish a large cloth factory, with the object of improving the condition of the poor and giving occupation to women and children. In this enterprise he invested the greater part of his fortune, but before the factory was finished he died. The Maipo canal board erected a statue to his memory.
Jose Alejo Eyzaguirre, clergyman, born in Santiago in 1783; died there in 1850, studied in the seminary of his native City, and in the University of San Felipe, where he was graduated in law in 1803. He began the practice of his profession, and at the same time was made professor of canonical law in the University. In 1805 he accompanied his brother Miguel to Lima, but decided to enter the Church, and in 1807.was consecrated priest. He returned in 1815 to Chili, and was appointed attorney of the ecclesiastical court of the archdiocese of Santiago, and afterward rector of the parish of Sagrario, where he became known as the most eminent pulpit orator of South America. In 1822 he was banished by the dictator O'Higgins to Mendoza, where he was well received by the clergy, and for two years directed an educational institute that was founded by him. Then he returned to Chili, and by the government of Freire was appointed on several important commissions. The archbishop made him his vicar, and afterward canon of the cathedral. He was elected three times to congress, and as such signed the constitution of 1828, and later was councillor of state. Some years later he was elected dean of the cathedral, and when the new bishopric of Serena was founded he was offered the seat, but declined it.
In 1843, on the death of Archbishop Vicuna, he was appointed capitular vicar, and soon elected to the archbishopric, in which dignity he continued his simple, unostentatious life. Toward the end of 1845, on account of declining health, he resigned the archiepiscopal seat, and lived in privacy at Santiago till his death.
Jose Ignacio Eyzaguirre, senator, born in Santiago about 1787; died there about 1850, took a prominent part in the Chilean struggle for liberty, was banished with his brother Augustin to Juan Fernandez, and returned in 1817. In 1823 he was appointed secretary of the treasury, and in 1834 senator of the republic, which place he held until his death. In 1837 he wrote a history of the Chilean revolution.
His son, Jose lgnacio Victor Eyzaguirre, clergyman, born in Santiago de Chili, 20 March 1824; died in Alexandria, Egypt, S October 1875, studied in the seminary of Santiago, was early consecrated priest, and soon became famous as an orator. In 1854 he was elected to congress, and in 1856 became vice president of the lower house. At the same time he was a member of several benevolent societies, and received high credit for promoting public instruction and protecting the poor. He was also professor of the humanities, theology, and sacred science. He traveled extensively in Palestine, Europe, and the United States, and published a work descriptive of that country in 1871 he founded in Rome a South American seminary, and was appointed a monsignor. Eyzaguirre was elected member of several scientific societies in Italy and France, and honorary member of the Spanish academy. Returning from one of his trips to Palestine, he died on board a steamer in the port of Alexandria. His most important publications are "La historia eclesiastica, politica y literaria de Chile "; "E1 catolicismo en presencia de sus disidentes" ; and "Los intereses catSlicos en America"; all of which were published in Chili, and translated into French (Paris, 1874).
