Andrés Bello

Abstract

Andrés Bello (b. 1781–d. 1865) is widely recognized as a leading Latin American intellectual whose life spanned the late colonial period, the independence process, and the postindependence building of new nations. He lived in three cities, all of which had a major impact in his life, career, and thought: Caracas (1781–1810), London (1810–1829), and Santiago de Chile (1829–1865). During the first period, he received his university education, joined the colonial administration as a minor official, and was recruited by the new provisional junta established in 1810 in response to the Spanish imperial crisis. In London he was commissioned, along with Simón Bolívar and Luis López Méndez, to secure the support of Great Britain in case of a French invasion or retaliation on the part of the recently established Spanish Council of Regency. The diplomatic mission failed in these objectives, and Venezuela soon collapsed before a royalist assault. Bello remained in England for nineteen years, initially barely making ends meet and eventually representing Chile and Colombia as legation secretary. He was recruited by the government of Chile in 1828 to join its fledgling nation-state in an administrative capacity, first in the ministry of finance and then in the ministry of foreign relations. Chile proved to be a congenial place for Bello’s impressive level of activity. He was editor of the official newspaper El Araucano, prolific contributor to other journals, teacher, senator for twenty-seven years, founder and rector of the University of Chile, and author of works that, once collected, numbered twenty-six volumes. He is best known for his Principles of International Law (1832, 1844, 1864), Grammar of the Spanish Language (1847, 1850, 1853, 1857, 1860), and Civil Code of the Republic of Chile (1855), but a fuller assessment must consider the wide range of his interdisciplinary concerns, including philosophy, poetry, education, literary criticism, and science. In political terms he was first a loyal member of the imperial government, then a supporter of constitutional monarchy when independence seemed imminent, and eventually a committed republican once independence was secured. His main concern became providing the new republican systems with enough authority and legitimacy to become self-sustaining. It is for this reason that he contributed to the writing of the constitution of 1833, a highly centralist constitution with strong executive powers, and then he devoted over twenty years to reforming civil legislation to provide a stable environment for the rule of law to prosper. He became influential far beyond Chile and his native Venezuela. In the early twenty-first century virtually no country in Latin America is without some university, street, or monument to commemorate his life and works. He is certainly one of the most studied intellectuals in Latin America. This article provides guidance on how to locate the central and most informative sources to understand Bello’s variegated work.

Chilijski kodeks cywilny i przyczyna jego sukcesu

“…Także w Londynie zaprzyjaźnił się z Mariano Egañą, która to znajomość przyczyniła się później do przyjęcia kodeksu 47 . W czasie tego pobytu dwukrotnie się ożenił i miał łącznie piętnaścioro dzieci 48 .…”

“…W czasie pracy uniwersyteckiej poznał Manuela Montta, również wykładowcę prawa rzymskiego, a przyszłego prezydenta Republiki. W uznaniu zasług i wiedzy prawniczej w 1836 r. uzyskał tytuł Bakałarza Praw Uniwersytetu Świętego Filipa w Santiago 50 , rok później -mandat senatora republiki, który jeszcze trzykrotnie odnawiał 51 . W senacie skupiał się na zagadnieniu kodyfikacji, i to na tej płaszczyźnie miał największe zasługi.…”

La circulation des idées de Jeremy Bentham au Chili pendant la première moitié du XIXème siècle et Andrés Bello, leur divulgateur.

“…Les dix premières années de son séjour au Chili représentent un pont entre ses activités intellectuelles à Londres et les grands ouvrages qui seront publiés durant les décennies de 1840 et 1850. Ceux-ci seront publiés à mesure que Bello fera ses preuves en tant que rédacteur de presse, homme de confiance d'hommes politiques, fonctionnaire de l'administration publique et un des architectes de la constitution de 1833 26 .…”

“…Bello avait été engagé par le gouvernement libéral de Francisco Antonio Pinto -qu'il avait connu à Londres entre 1813 et 1817 -et par conséquent, il pouvait s'attendre à des attaques provenant du camp conservateur, comme la critique que fait José Miguel Infante dans le journal El Valdiviano Federal faisant référence à sa nationalité étrangère 27 . Cependant, cela n'empêchera pas Bello, à peine arrivé au Chili, de faire campagne en faveur de la codification du droit.…”

Andres Bello and the Challenges of Spanish American Liberalism

“…For Iván Jaksic, the only time that the Venezuelan intellectual seriously considered leaving Chile was in late 1836, when Portales was set upon destroying the new Peru-Bolivia Confederation set up by Marshal Santa Cruz. 42 Now serving as minister of war, Portales wrote to Admiral Blanco Encalada, I have argued a thousand times with don Andrés, against his opinions on the blockade etc., but he keeps on putting texts in front of me, and I have to shut up. Today I had him come back .…”