Scottish & Argentine Connection

Bro. Julian A lvarez was the son of the Burgos Saturnino Jose A lvarez, successful merchant, treasurer of the commerce of Buenos Aires and accountant of the court of the consulate and the Creole Ana Marí a Perdriel. He studied at the Colegio de San Carlos and graduated in law at the University of Charcas. He participated in the May Revolution and was one of the signatories of the people's petition of May 25, which appointed those who would be the members of the First Junta.

After the defeat, exile and death of Mariano Moreno, he led the "Sociedad Patrio tica", the most openly liberal group of the time. He was arrested during the April Revolution of 1811, but soon regained his freedom. He supported the formation of the First Triumvirate and collaborated in its secretariat, exercised by Bernardino Rivadavia.

It appears that he was initiated into the lodge attached to the 71st Foot (The Highland Light Infantry) just before 1812 when this lodge initiated some locals when stationed in Buenos Aires. The 71st left Argentina and a lodge with Bro. Alvarez as master continued. This lodge merged with Logia Lautaro in 1812 –see next moth for an article on this lodge.

As Grand Master of the Independence Lodge of Buenos Aires in 1812, he received General Jose de San Martí n on his arrival from Europe with the rest of the members of the Lautaro Lodge, to which he joined.

He supported the Second Triumvirate, although he was briefly arrested for having demanded its dissolution. Supreme Director Gervasio Posadas appointed him as deputy secretary of state, supporting the administration of Nicola s Herrera. After the fall of Supreme Director Alvear, he moved away from politics for a while.

In 1816 he re-founded the Lautaro Lodge, now called "Ministerial Lodge", which was led by minister Gregorio Garcí a de Tagle, and which served Juan Martí n de Pueyrredo n as political support. He directed for a time the Gazeta de Buenos Ayres. In 1819 he was an emissary of Pueyrredo n before Estanislao Lo pez, who was convinced that he was a dangerous enemy.

In 1820, at the outbreak of the Anarchy of the Year XX, Governor Manuel de Sarratea imprisoned him at the request of Lo pez. He escaped amid the political chaos of the city a few months later and fled to Montevideo.

He supported the government of the Empire of Brazil over the so-called Cisplatina Province and held some public office during the government of Carlos Federico Lecor. When it separated from Brazil and Argentina, as the Eastern State of Uruguay, it was a member of the constituent Congress of the new country for San Jose de Mayo, in 1830. In 1829 he had edited the newspaper El Constitucional in Canelones.

During the first independent decade of Uruguay he was part of the group known as Los cinco hermanos, of great influence during the presidency of Fructuoso Rivera.

He was elected deputy on several occasions for which he was part of the House of Representatives of Uruguay a number of times. From 1831 he was president of the Supreme Court of Justice of Uruguay and during the Great War, he was a prominent member of the Government of Defence.