| Carrera family Familia Carrera | |
|---|---|
| Family | |
 Arms of the Carrera family | |
 | |
| Country | Chile |
| Place of origin | Basque Country |
| Founded | 1620 |
| Founder | Juan Ignacio de la Carrera Yturgoyen |
The Carrera family of Chile became politically influential during the colonial period and played a significant role in the Chilean independence. They remained politically important throughout the 19th century.
The children of Ignacio de la Carrera are known in Chilean history as the Hermanos Carrera (Carrera siblings). All except Javiera were military commanders in the fight against Spanish reconquest:
Other descendants also notable in their time:
The Carrera name has disappeared by way of marriage from Chilean society, but their descendants, who number in the few hundred, are socially, politically and financially prominent.
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the Patria Vieja. After the Spanish "Reconquista de Chile" ("Reconquest"), he continued campaigning from exile after defeat. His opposition to the leaders of independent Argentina and Chile, San Martín and O'Higgins respectively, made him live in exile in Montevideo. From Montevideo Carrera traveled to Argentina where he joined the struggle against the unitarians. Carreras' small army was eventually left isolated in the Province of Buenos Aires from the other federalist forces. In this difficult situation Carrera decided to cross to native-controlled lands all the way to Chile to once and for all overthrow Chilean Supreme Director O'Higgins. His passage to Chile, which was his ultimate goal, was opposed by Argentine politicians and he engaged together with indigenous tribes, among them the Ranquel, in a campaign against the southern provinces of Argentina. After the downfall of Carrera's ally, the Republic of Entre Ríos, and several victories against the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Carrera's men were finally defeated by numerically superior forces near Mendoza. Carrera was then betrayed by one of his Argentine helpers, leading to his capture and execution in that city.
Carrera, de la Carrera or Karrera is a surname originated in Venice, Italy. Later, also a Basque surname from Alegría de Oria and Amezketa, in Guipúzcoa. Other references show that it is also a Castilian surname. There is also evidence that the name originated in Barcelona in Catalonia, in northeastern Spain. And may refer to:
Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente was a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile between 1827 and 1829.
General Francisco de la Lastra y de la Sotta was a Chilean military officer and the first Supreme Director of Chile (1814).
Estanislao López was a caudillo and governor of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, between 1818 and 1838, one of the foremost proponents of provincial federalism, and an associate of Juan Manuel de Rosas during the Argentine Civil War. He is considered an iconic figure in Santa Fe and one of the most influential political actors in the Argentine conflicts of the 1820s and 1830s.
The Chilean War of Independence was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Monarchy, ending the colonial period and initiating the formation of an independent republic.
Mateo de Toro Zambrano y Ureta, 1st Count of La Conquista, was a prominent Spanish military and political figure of Criollo descent. He held the position of a knight in the Order of Santiago and was the lord of the Toro-Zambrano estate.
Colonel Luis Florentino Juan Manuel Silvestre de los Dolores de la Carrera y Verdugo was a Chilean military officer who fought in the Chilean War of Independence. Together with his brothers José Miguel and Juan José, they were some of most important leaders of Chilean struggle for independence during the period of the Patria Vieja. The Carrera family is of Basque origin.
Francisca Xaviera Eudoxia Rudecinda Carmen de los Dolores de la Carrera y Verdugo, better known as Javiera Carrera, was a Chilean independence activist. Together with her brothers José Miguel, Juan José and Luis, she was one of the leading figures of the early Chilean struggle for independence during the period known as the Patria Vieja. She is credited with having sewn the first national flag of Chile and is considered to be the "Mother of Chile".
Ignacio de la Carrera y Cuevas (1747–1819) was a Chilean aristocrat, member of the First Government Junta of Chile, and father of the Carrera brothers, who were some of the most important leaders of the early Chilean struggles for independence during the period of the Patria Vieja. Ignacio de la Carrera was of Basque descent.
María Mercedes Fontecilla y Fernández de Valdivieso was a First Lady of Chile for less than two months in 1814 through her marriage to José Miguel Carrera.
Héroes is a Chilean TV miniseries produced by Canal 13 in 2007.
José Miguel Valdés Carrera was a Chilean political figure and liberal politician, who served several times as minister. José Miguel Valdés was of Basque descent by his mother's side.
Many Basques arrived in Chile in the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century from their homeland in northern Spain and parts of southwestern France, as conquistadors, soldiers, sailors, merchants, priests and labourers. Due to their traditional hard work and entrepreneurship, many of them rose to the top of the social scale and intermarried into the Chilean elites of Castilian descent, giving birth to the new Basque-Chilean aristocracy in Chile. This union is the basis of the Chilean elite of today. But also, they immensely contributed to the ethnic make up of the bulk of the Chilean population. The Basque settlers also intermarried into the Mestizo and Castizo population of central Chile in the middle of the colonial period to form the large Criollo population that exists in Chile today; Castizos create modern middle and lower classes. Many years after the first waves of settlers, thousands of Basque refugees fleeing Spanish Civil War in 1939 also settled and have many descendants in the country and have even intermarried with Spanish ethnic groups other than Castilians, and other European ethnic groups. An estimated 1.6 million (10%) to 5 million (30%) Chileans have a surname of Basque origin. This figure is to the least as the number of Basque descendence is great and plentiful. Due to Basque migration, Chile has a higher number of people of Basque descent than the Basque Country itself.
The Chilean Declaration of Independence is a document declaring the independence of Chile from the Spanish Empire. It was drafted in January 1818 and approved by Supreme Director Bernardo O'Higgins on 12 February 1818 at Talca, despite being dated in Concepción on 1 January 1818. The ceremony of independence was performed on 12 February 1818, the first anniversary of the Battle of Chacabuco.
Juan José Pedro de la Carrera y Verdugo or Juan José Pedro Carrera was a Chilean soldier and patriot who actively participated in the first phase of the Chilean War of Independence, a stage known as the Patria Vieja. In support for his brother José Miguel Carrera, and together with his younger brother Luis and other Republican officers, he formed one of the main factions within the supporters of Independence: the Carrerino group. He was shot to death in Mendoza together with his brother Luis, at the hands of the city authorities.