Cross and the sword: the Argentine clergy, independence, and the Rivadavian reforms, 1806-27

158 Pages·1994·4.6 MB·English

by  Iglesias, Fidel

THE CROSS AND THE SWORD: THE ARGENTINE CLERGY,
INDEPENDENCE, AND THE RIVADAVIAN REFORMS,
1806-27
By
FIDEL IGLESIAS
A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
1994
Copyright 1994
by
Fidel Iglesias
To the Memory ofMy Father
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to recognize the help received from the supervisory committee in
the preparation ofthis study. Dr. David BushnelFs kindness and patience, typical of
the consummate gentleman that he is, were especially appreciated. The staffs ofthe
various archives mentioned herein are also worthy ofpraise for their diligence and
professionalism in securing the needed documents for me. The Latin American
Collection at the University ofFlorida was an indispensable aid to me in ways too
numerous to list. My thanks go to its good people. In addition, the financial support
provided by the Department ofHistory at the University has been greatly appreciated.
Lastly, sincere acknowledgment is due my family for its love and support during
these many years.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
iv
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES viii
ABBREVIATIONS ix
ABSTRACT x
INTRODUCTION
1
Notes 5
OF POPES, KINGS, AND THE FAITHFUL:
THE NEED FOR A REVISIONIST LITERATURE 6
Notes 14
AN UNSURE PATRONAGE IN UNSTEADY TIMES: THE CHURCHIN
EARLY NINETEENTH-CENTURY RIO DE LA PLATA 18
Notes 44
THE LONG ARM OF HIS WRATH: THE PLATINE
REGULAR AND SECULAR CLERGIES: WHO WERE THEY? 50
Notes 62
THE END OF EMPIRE, THE ECCLESIASTICAL REFORMS, AND A
CHANGING ROLE FOR THE ORDAINED 64
Notes 73
THE SACRED AND PROFANE IN A PERIOD OF "REFORM AND
REACTION" 77
Notes 87
EPILOGUE 90
APPENDIX A THE PROSOPOGRAPHY 93
APPENDIX B THE STATISTICS 105
APPENDIX C A SAMPLER OF CLERICAL BIOGRAPHIES Ill
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 126
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 144
LIST OF TABLES
Table
3.1 The Platinepopulation, 1809-69 21
3.2 A sample ofthe Argentine clergy in the early nineteenth century 22
3.3 Conventual schools in Buenos Aires, 1817-23 25
3.4 Rivadavia's ledger ofecclesiastical wealth, 1822 26
3.5 The dispossession ofporteno church assets, 1822-30 31
3.6 Clerical participants ofthe cabildo abierto ofMay 22, 1810 41
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
3.1 The United Provinces ofRio de la Plata, 1822 30
3.2 Dioceses ofthe River Plate, 1807 43
ABBREVIATIONS
AGN Archivo General de la Nacion (Buenos Aires)
AH Archivo Historico (Mendoza)
BNB Biblioteca National (Buenos Aires)
BNM
Biblioteca National (Madrid)
LC Library ofCongress, Manuscript Division (Washington, D.C.)
MM
Museo Mitre (Buenos Aires)
NA National Archives (Washington, D.C.)
NLS National Library ofScotland (Edinburgh)
MEG University ofTexas, Manuel E. Gondra Collection (Austin)
Abstract ofDissertation Presented to the Graduate School
ofthe University ofFlorida in Partial Fulfillmentofthe
Requirements for the Degree ofDoctor ofPhilosophy
THE CROSS AND THE SWORD: THE ARGENTINE CLERGY,
INDEPENDENCE, AND THE RIVADAVIAN REFORMS,
1806-27
By
Fidel Iglesias
December 1994
Chairman: David Bushnell
Major Department: History
The ecclesiastical history ofthe nineteenth-century River Plate is characterized
by outdated narratives that focus on individual clergymen, the monastic orders,
church-state relations, and the religiosity ofthe independence leaders. My aim is to
redirect the scholarship on the church by incorporating methodologies and themes
common in Latin American history. This study uses descriptive and correlation
statistics to interpret the 204 records composing the database ofclerics constructed
from archival materials, biographies, and biographical dictionaries. The
quantification relates the political attitudes ofthese individuals to their demographic
backgrounds and thereby explains the interaction between the "cross" and the "sword"
in a period ofrapid change. This social history ofthe clergy goes beyond the usual
treatments ofthe patronage.