A Woman, A Man, A Nation: Mariquita Sánchez, Juan Manuel de Rosas, and the Beginnings of Argentina by Jeffrey Shumway (review)

In death, Mariquita Sánchez de Mendeville and Juan Manuel de Rosas are separated by a short walk between their tombs in La Recoleta cemetery. The former was a celebrated chronicler of her times, a host of gatherings for the leading lights of Buenos Aires, where, according to nationalist lore, the Argentinean anthem was first intoned. The latter was among the most powerful leaders in Latin America’s early postcolonial era, part of a generation of polemical figures labeled caudillos. Jeffrey Shumway’s engaging new book offers a dual biography of Sánchez and Rosas, placing one alongside the other to see “what issues and events touched them both” (2). This is an inspired choice: not only did their lives intersect in revealing ways, but both participated in the major trends of their day. With these joined biographies, Shumway traces a path through a turbulent era marked by the collapse of Spanish rule, fractious attempts to create new republics, and the rise and fall of the Rosas regime. Along the way, we come to see why two childhood friends grew into enemies and we understand better the personal toll of the period’s bitter political contests.

Recounting this history from the vantage of individuals from similar social backgrounds has its advantages. On one hand, the approach underscores the different opportunities presented to women and men of the same class. We see Rosas emerge supreme as the “Restorer of the Laws,” while Sánchez struggles with her first husband’s mental breakdown and the long absences of her second. Nevertheless, the caudillo’s career was shaped by formidable women, starting with a mother who meted out tough discipline, followed by a savvy wife and daughter who played key roles in his movement. Sánchez was no pushover either and clashed with authority figures, even taking her parents to court over her choice of marriage partner. Moreover, Sánchez did not just convene her salon; she was an active participant in intellectual life and political endeavors, such as the newly founded Sociedad de Beneficiencia.

On the other hand, by profiling two members of the porteño elite, this study reveals how partisanship was tempered by social bonds. The ties between Sánchez and Rosas shielded her from the worst of his regime’s repression, although she still felt safer relocating to Montevideo. But while living in exile, Sánchez rented a property in Buenos Aires to a Rosas loyalist and was aided by the Restorer’s brother in managing other holdings. Naturally, there are limitations to this dual biographical approach, and questions arise about the lives of those outside the upper ranks. To compensate, Shumway integrates recent research on popular-sector groups, such as Afro-Argentines, during the Rosas years throughout the work. This combination of elements allows his study to transcend the stark binaries of early national histories, typically centered on oppositions between liberals and conservatives, centralists and federalists.

It is clear that the author has thought carefully about his book’s pedagogical purpose. Although based on ample archival research and incorporating the latest scholarship, it seeks to communicate with audiences encountering Sánchez and Rosas for the first time. Specialists will appreciate how the book’s attention to gender advances the efforts to reconsider the late colonial period and independence era from fresh perspectives. But the study’s narrative flow and focus on two main characters make it an appealing undergraduate teaching book as well. Complex events like the May Revolution of 1810 are presented with clarity and situated within broader contexts. Shumway draws connections between republican figures in Buenos Aires and regional counterparts like Bolívar; similarly, Rosas is presented as a leader cut from a political cloth similar to that of his US contemporary Andrew Jackson.

Accordingly, this book...