died Jan. 18, 1906, Buenos Aires
politician, soldier, and author, who as president of Argentina was instrumental in uniting a war-torn nation and inaugurating an era of peace and economic progress in the
died Jan. 18, 1906, Buenos Aires
politician, soldier, and author, who as president of Argentina was instrumental in uniting a war-torn nation and inaugurating an era of peace and economic progress in the last half of the 19th century.
Growing up in Buenos Aires under the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas, Mitre began a 15-year exile in 1837. Travelling to Uruguay, Bolivia, and Peru, he served in military campaigns, edited the newspaper El Mercurio, and wrote constantly against the Rosas regime. In 1852 he returned to Argentina as the leader of the Uruguayan forces in the Battle of Caseros, which led to the downfall of Rosas.
The next year Mitre became the leader of secessionist Buenos Aires province, whose citizens had refused to accept the new federal constitution, which minimized the role of their city in Argentine affairs. He held a number of offices in the provincial government and was the governor when the province defeated the federal forces in 1861. The national capital was moved again to Buenos Aires, and he was elected president of a united Argentina. Establishing an efficient administration, he suppressed the rural caudillos (bosses), extended the postal service and telegraph lines, organized public finances, and established new courts. He fostered increased foreign trade and encouraged immigration. W