Mercedes Fontecilla
First Lady of Chile (1799–1853)
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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]
June 18, 1799
Mercedes Fontecilla | |
|---|---|
| |
| First Lady of Chile | |
| In role August 20, 1814 – October 2, 1814 | |
| President | José Miguel Carrera |
| Preceded by | Nicolasa Valdés |
| Succeeded by | Isabel Riquelme |
| Personal details | |
| Born | María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso June 18, 1799 Santiago, Viceroyalty of Peru, Spanish Empire |
| Died | May 5, 1853 (aged 53) Santiago, Chile |
| Spouse(s) |
José Miguel Carrera
(m. 1814; died 1821) |
| Children | 9 |
Biography
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]
Family
- Marriage: José Miguel Carrera (1814-1821, his death)[2][11]
- Francisca Javiera Carrera Fontecilla (1817-1850; wife of Francisco Javier Valdés Aldunate and mother of José Miguel Valdés)[1][7][2][9][12]
- Roberta Carrera Fontecilla[2]
- Rosa Carrera Fontecilla (1819-1862; wife of Ambrosio Aldunate Carvajal, mother of Luis Aldunate)[1][2][13]
- Josefa Carrera Fontecilla (1820-1898; wife of José Ramón Lira Calvo)[1][2]
- José Miguel Carrera Fontecilla (es) (1820-1860); husband of Emilia Pinto Benavente, father of Ignacio Carrera Pinto)[2][1][14]
Legacy
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]