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First Lady of Chile, 1811-1813 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso (June 18, 1799 – May 5, 1853) was a First Lady of Chile for less than two months in 1814 through her marriage to José Miguel Carrera.[1]
Mercedes Fontecilla | |
---|---|
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First Lady of Chile | |
In role August 20, 1814 – October 2, 1814 | |
President | José Miguel Carrera |
Personal details | |
Born | María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso June 18, 1799 Santiago, Viceroyalty of Peru |
Died | May 5, 1853 53) Santiago, Chile | (aged
Nationality | Chilean |
Spouses | |
Children | 9 |
Fontecilla was born to Diego Antonio Fontecilla Palacios and Rosa Valdivieso Protusagasti[1] in Santiago.[citation needed] On 20 August 1814, at 15, Fontecilla married 29 year old José Miguel Carrera, a political leader in Chile, at the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral.[2][1][3] Less than two months later, Carrera's forces were defeated in the Battle of Rancagua and the family, including Carrera's two brothers, fled to Mendoza, Argentina.[4] While there, Fontecilla passed secret information between military personnel and sewed clothing for soldiers.[5] Fontecilla supported and was affectionate towards her husband despite his long absences to Anapolis, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires as he sought allies to fight for Chilean independence.[2][3][6]
In 1821, Carrera was handed over to Colonel José Albino Gutiérrez as prisoner by his own men.[2] Within days, he was tried, sentenced, and executed.[2] The morning of his death, he wrote Mercedes a letter, in which he told her of his imminent execution and expressed regret for leaving her to care for their five children.[2] Following Carrera's death, Fontecilla and her children lived in extreme poverty in Rosario.[7] Eventually, Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's Supreme Director and one of Carrera's main enemies, allowed them to return to Chile, largely due to "good public relations... [so the public would think] '[O'Higgins] was as generous as he was courageous.'"[5][7] She later married politician Diego José Benavente, with whom she had four children.[8][9][10]
There is a school in the Quilicura area of Santiago, Chile named Escuela Mercedes Fontecilla de Carrera.[16] Javiera Díaz de Valdés, a descendent of Fontecilla's sister-in-law Javiera Carrera, portrayed her in the Chilean miniseries Héroes.[17][18]
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