Juan Egaña
Juan Egaña | |
|---|---|
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 President of the Senate of the Republic of Chile | |
| In office 1813–1813 | |
| Preceded by | Camilo Henríquez |
| Succeeded by | Francisco Ruiz-Tagle |
| In office 1827–1827 | |
| Preceded by | Agustín Eyzaguirre |
| Succeeded by | Juan de Dios Vial del Río |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 October 1769 |
| Died | 20 April 1836 (aged 66) |
| Party | None |
| Children | Mariano Egaña (son) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Philosopher |
Juan Egaña Risco (born 31 October 1769 – 20 April 1836) was a Chilean politician and liberal philosopher who wrote the 1823 Constitution of Chile[1] and served as President of the Senate of Chile.
Egaña was born in Lima and studied there,[2] first at the Santo Toribio Seminary College where he received a degree in philosophy and later theology and law.[2] He attended the National University of San Marcos and received degrees in Canon and Civil Law in August 1789.[2]
Egaña came to Chile in October 1789.[2] His degrees from Peru were recognized by the Royal University of San Felipe a year later.[2] When the chair of Latin and rhetoric was created, he was appointed its full professor.[2] Egaña was also a landowner and businessman. He had a silver mine and sugar mill.[2] He was secretary of the Royal Mining Tribunal between 1802 and 1806.[2]
He promoted creating the National Institute.[3] When it was established in 1813, he became a professor.[2] He remained in the position until retiring in 1826.[2]
Politics
Egaña was a member of the first National Congress, representing Melipilla, in 1811.[2] He authored the first Constitutional Regulations in 1812 which created the first ballot voting system and further defined citizenship.[4]
In 1812 the first Senate of Chile was formed.[5] He was one of the first seven Senators elected in Chile with Pedro de Vivar as President of the Senate.[5] One of his proclamations was the founding of the National Library.[6] He contributed part of his library to create the first collection.[6] In October 1813 the Junta suspended the legislature due to the War with Spain.[5]
When Spain returned to power in 1814, Egaña was taken prisoner and confined on the Juan Fernández Islands[3] along with his son Mariano Egaña. He remained there until 1817.[2] When he returned he was appointed acting Secretary of Government and War.[2]
He led a commission responsible for drafting the 1823 constitution.[3] Egaña often wrote of moral issues and the constitution was no exception. He wrote of how the national morality would lead to happiness and tranquility for the people of Chile.[7]
He was elected as a representative of both Melipilla and Santiago in 1823 and chose to represent Santiago.[2] In 1824 he was President of the Senate.[3] In 1825 he was deputy for Santiago.[2] He was elected again to represent Melipilla for 1826 to 1827.[2] When he could not attend he was replaced.[2] He also did not take his seat when elected Senator for Santiago for 1827 to 1828.[2] He did preside over the Provincial Assembly of Santiago in 1827.[2]
In 1833 Egaña was appointed State Councilor.[3]
Literary career
Along with Camilo Henríquez and Manuel De Salas Corbalán he was part of the "trio of enlightenment".[2] He wrote poetry, theater, essays, and technical and philosophical treaties. He was a regular contributor to Aurora de Chile.[2]
Cartas Pehuenches was a series of journal articles Egaña wrote. They were written in the form of a letter and addressed moral issues. He was working toward developing a national value system.[8] Braulio Arenas credits the second letter, "El Picapleitos", as being the first Chilean short story.[8]
In 1832 he was part of a board responsible for reviewing plays to determine which were suitable to be shown to the public.[3] The two other board members were Andrés Bello and Agustin Vial Santelices.[3]
Philosophy
Education was extremely important to Egaña. He followed scientific experiments in agriculture, botany, physics, and chemistry.[7] He pursued economic studies.[7] He was deeply religious and often wrote on moral issues.[7] In the Draft Constitution education was of top importance for the government.[7]
He felt that Chile should be open to foreigners who wished to trade.[7] He wanted the country to focus on agriculture and industry and to avoid traveling for trade.[7]
Music also was of importance, though musical lyrics he felt needed to reflect the appropriate values for Chile.[7] He included music in official ceremonies.
Bibliography
- The Chilean consoled in the prisons: memoirs of my work and reflections written in the act of suffering and thinking, London, 1826
- Memorable Times and Events of Chile: 1810-1814 , Santiago
- Memoir on my public services, 1822
- Defense Plan: studied by a commission composed of Don Juan Egaña, Don José Samaniego and the captain of engineers Don Juan Mackenna and proposed to the Honorable Governing Board by the Santiago City Council, Santiago
- Plan of government: prepared and proposed to the president of the Honorable Governing Board, Santiago
- Political analysis of whether freedom of worship is appropriate in Chile
- Philosophical and poetic leisure in the fifth of delights
References
- ↑ Collier, Simon (1993), "From independence to the War of the Pacific", in Bethell, Leslie (ed.), Chile since Independence, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–32, ISBN 978-0-521-43987-9
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Juan Egaña Risco". Library of the National Congress of Chile. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Juan Egaña Risco (1768-1836)" (in Spanish). Biblioteca Nacional Digital. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
- ↑ "Procesos eleccionarios 1811-1823" (in Spanish). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 "A 208 años del primer Senado" (in Spanish). Senado de la República de Chile. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Biblioteca Nacional celebró 206 años de vida" (in Spanish). Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rodríguez, Antonio Dougnac (1998). "El pensamiento confuciano y el jurista Juan Egaña (1768-1836)" (in Spanish). Revista de estudios histórico-jurídicos. doi:10.4067/S0716-54551998000200005. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Cartas Pehuenches" (in Spanish). Biblioteca Nacional Digital. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
Further reading
- Egaña en la patria vieja, 1810-1814, Raúl Silva Casteo, Santiago, 1959
- The philosophy of Don Juan Egaña, Walter Hanisch, Catholic University of Chile, Institute of History, 1964
- Icarito School Encyclopedia, La Tercera: Great Biographies of Chilean History