Rafael del Riego | |
|---|---|
 Detail from an anonymous portrait of del Riego | |
| Born | 7 April 1784 |
| Died | 7 November 1823(1823-11-07) (aged 39) |
| Allegiance | Spain |
| Branch | Spanish Army |
| Years of service | 1807–1822 |
| Rank | Captain general |
| Battles / wars | Peninsular War;Spanish American wars of independence |
Captain-GeneralRafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was aSpanish Army officer and politician who played a key role in the establishment of theLiberal Triennium (Trienio liberal in Spanish). The failure of the Cádiz army to set sail has been identified as the most important factor in the loss of Spanish control over theRío de la Plata.[1]
Riego was born on 7 April 1784[2] inTuña,Asturias. After graduating in Law from theUniversity of Oviedo[3] in 1807, he moved toMadrid to join theRoyal Guard.[3] In March 1808 his company was involved in theTumult of Aranjuez and dissolved.[3]
In November 1808, as a captain andaide-de-camp to GeneralVicente María de Acevedo, he fought at theBattle of Espinosa de los Monteros, after which he once again was taken prisoner. Sent to France, he remained there until January 1814, when he managed to escape and make his way to England, where he joined a unit of foreign soldiers raised by the British government to send to Spain.[3]
Returning shortly before theSpanish Constitution of 1812 was abolished by KingFernando VII, Riego was appointed a captain in the Infantry Regiment of the Princess (Regimiento de Infantería de la Princesa) in 1814.[3] During the six years ofabsolutism that followed the restoration of the king, Spanish liberals wished to restore the Spanish Constitution, which the King had abolished in May 1814.
_(cropped).jpg)
Having joined the Ejército de Ultramar, theexpeditionary force commanded byEnrique O'Donnell, Conde de La Bisbal,[4] that was being prepared to put down theSpanish American wars of independence, and later promoted to lieutenant colonel, Riego was incorporated into theAsturian Battalion, then under the command ofEvaristo San Miguel, atLas Cabezas de San Juan (Seville).[3] However, the Expeditionary Force, numbering some twenty thousand men,[3] was unable to embark due to the lack of transport ships. Moreover, the troops themselves were badly equipped and morale in general was very low.[3]
San Miguel, from Asturias, like Riego, had also been deported for his liberal ideas and was, at that moment, involved in a plot with other army officers and leading members of thebourgeoisie in Cádiz, including people likeIstúriz,Alcalá Galiano,Antonio Quiroga andMendizábal. However, the plot was discovered when the plotters tried to recruit GeneralSarsfield,[5] the second-in-command of the expeditionary force,[4] San Miguel, Quiroga,O'Daly andRoten[5] among others, were arrested. With the leading plotters imprisoned, Riego decided to go ahead with the mutiny and on 1 January 1820, at the head of his battalion at Cabezas de San Juan proclaimed the restoration of theSpanish Constitution of 1812,[3] the start of what is known as thePronunciamiento de Riego, a major event in the historiography ofLiberalism and radicalism in Spain, along with theLiberal Triennium.
Riego's troops marched through the cities of Andalusia with the hope of starting an anti-absolutist uprising, but the local population was mostly indifferent. An uprising, however, took place inGalicia, and quickly spread throughout Spain.[6] On 7 March 1820, the royal palace in Madrid was surrounded by soldiers under the command of GeneralFrancisco Ballesteros, and on 10 March, the King agreed to restore the Constitution.
The new progressive government promoted Riego tofield marshal and appointed himCaptain General of Galicia, post which he did not assume[3] and, in January 1821, he took up a new appointment as Captain General ofAragon, and moved toZaragoza.[3] On 18 June, he married his cousin Maria Teresa del Riego. On 4 September 1821, because of a failedrepublican revolt, he was demoted and transferred to barracks at Lleida and, later, toCastelló de Farfaña.[3]
However, Riego's popularity grew, and in March 1822, he was elected to theCortes Generales and became thepresident of the Cortes the following February.[3]
Meanwhile, in December 1822, at theCongress of Verona, theQuintuple Alliance countries had decided that a Spain bordering on republicanism was a threat to the balance of Europe, and France was chosen to force a restoring of the absolute monarchy in Spain. On 7 April 1823,the French army crossed over the Pyrennes. Riego resigned from the presidency of the Cortes[3] and took command of the Third Army,[citation needed] which never actually entered into combat.[3] On 15 September he was taken prisoner near the village of Arquillos,Jaén and sent to Madrid.
Despite asking for clemency from the King, having approachedreligion[citation needed] and repented of his "constitutional crimes" during his imprisonment, completely retracting at the last minute his political convictions to the delight of the absolutists, Riego was found guilty of high treason againstaltar and throne, as he was one of the members of parliament who voted in favor of taking the power from the King. On 7 November 1823, he was hanged at La Cebada Square in Madrid.[7][3]
TheHimno de Riego, a song written in honour of Riego by his friendEvaristo Fernández de San Miguel,[3] became the anthem of theFirst (1873–1874) andSecond Spanish Republic (1931–1939). A portrait of Riego is displayed in the building of theCortes Generales. Riego was perceived as a "civic hero" by the RussianDecemberists.[8]
