Domingo Matheu
| Domingo Matheu | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Domingo Matheu
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| Committee member of the Primera Junta and Junta Grande | |
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In office May 25, 1810 – September 23, 1811 Serving with Manuel Alberti, Miguel de Azcuénaga, Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Juan Larrea |
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| 2nd President of the Junta Grande | |
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In office August 26, 1811 – September 23, 1811 |
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| Preceded by | Cornelio Saavedra |
| Succeeded by | First Triumvirate |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Domingo Bartolomé Francisco Matheu August 4, 1765 Barcelona, Spain |
| Died | March 28, 1831 (aged 65) Buenos Aires, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata |
| Resting place | La Recoleta Cemetery |
| Nationality | Argentine |
| Political party | Patriot |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Battles/wars | British invasions of the Río de la Plata |
Domingo Bartolomé Francisco Matheu (4 August 1765, in Barcelona, Spain – 28 March 1831, in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was a Spanish-born Argentine businessman and politician. He was a member of the Primera Junta, the first national government of modern Argentina, and the second president in the end of the Junta Grande from August to September 1811.
Domingo Bartolomé Francisco Matheu was born in August 4, 1765, in Mataró. His parents were Juan Pablo José Benito Matheu Ros and Antonia Xicola. He studied in the school "Pías" of Mataró, and then focused in math and naval studies. He became a pilot, and visited other Spanish territories as La Habana, Philippines and the Canary Islands. He moved to Buenos Aires in 1791, and opposed the trade regulations of the time. He sought both economic and political support among the local society.
Matheu joined the Regiment of Miñones during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata. He was appointed lieutenant of the second company, under the command of Juan Larrea. On August 19, 1806, a few days after the liberation of Buenos Aires from British rule, Matheu, Larrea and other neighbours requested authorization to create a new military unit, "Urbanos Voluntarios de Cataluña". Viceroy Santiago de Liniers approved it on September 26. As Larrea got ill, Matheu led this unit during the second British attack in 1807. He retired from the combats in Miserere, and waged urban warfare from the buildings of the city. He was awarded by a Real Order in January 1809 for his role in the defense of Buenos Aires.
The Peninsular War in Spain, along with the capture of the king Ferdinand VII and the fall of the Junta of Seville, escalated political disputes in Buenos Aires that led to the May Revolution. Several criollos thought that the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, appointed by the fallen Junta, did not have legitimacy, and requested an open cabildo to discuss it. Azcuénaga attended it, and voted for the creation of a Junta with deputies from all the provinces, with the Cabildo ruling in the interregnum. However, the majority agreed with the creation of a junta, but with another junta of people from Buenos ruling during in the meantime. The viceroy tried to stay in government as president of the Junta, which was resisted by the criollos. The reasons of Matheu's inclusion in the Junta are unclear, as with all its members. A common accepted theory considers it to be a balance between Carlotists, Alzaguists, the military and the clergy.
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