Francisco Antonio Basavilbaso Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Don
Francisco Antonio de Basavilbaso
Office1:Mayor of Buenos Aires
Term Start1:1774
Term End1:1775
Predecessor1:Domingo Urien
Successor1:Manuel Antonio Warnes
Order3:Procurador General of Buenos Aires
Term Start3:1775
Term End3:1776
Predecessor3:Felipe Santiago del Pozo
Successor3:Martín de Sarratea
Order4:Escribano Mayor de Gobierno of Buenos Aires
Term Start4:1784
Term End4:1795
Predecessor4:Tomás Fernández de Paredes
Successor4:Ramón de Basavilbaso
Order5:Regidor of the Buenos Aires Cabildo
Term Start5:1768
Term End5:1769
Birth Name:Francisco Antonio de Basavilbaso y Urtubia
Birth Date:March 28, 1732
Birth Place:Buenos Aires, Argentina
Death Date:c. 1800
Resting Place:Buenos Aires Cathedral
Spouse:María Aurelia Ross y del Pozo Silva
Signature:Francisco Basavilbaso firma.jpg
Branch:Spanish Army
Serviceyears:1760-1790
Rank:Captain
Unit:Fuerte de Buenos Aires

Francisco Antonio de Basavilbaso (1732 – c. 1800) was a jurist and politician, who held various government posts under the Viceroyalty of Peru and later the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, including alcalde, escribano, regidor, and emissary of Buenos Aires in Spain.

Biography

He was born in Buenos Aires (then part of the Viceroyalty of Peru), the son of Domingo de Basavilbaso and María Ignacia de Urtubia, belonging to a noble family of the city. He completed his elementary education in the city and traveled to Europe to study at the University of Seville, where he obtained his law degree in 1759. He married María Aurelia Ross in Buenos Aires. She was a daughter of Guillermo Ross and María Antonia del Pozo Silva, belonging to a family of Scottish and Creole origin .

He held various political positions in Buenos Aires including as regidor and alcalde of first vote in 1774, being appointed to the office of attorney general of the city in 1775. His works as procurador general of Buenos Aires, included various works concerning the establishment of public schools in the parishes of the city. He was also involved in educational reforms at the University of Córdoba, aimed at avoiding the long trips that law students had to make to the universities of Chuquisaca and Santiago.

He also had a distinguished job as Escribano Mayor of Government of the Río de la Plata, serving between 1784 and 1795. He was succeeded by his son José Ramón Basavilbaso, who also served as a government notary during the post colonial period. During his residence in Spain he had served like intermediary between the Spanish Court and his father, who held the position of administrator general of the Correo of the Río de la Plata.