Antonio "El Gaucho" Rivero was a gaucho known for his leading role in the Port Louis Murders of 26 August 1833, in which five prominent members of the settlement of Port Louis on the Falkland Islands were murdered. In Argentine revisionist historiography and public consciousness, Rivero is viewed as a patriotic hero who rebelled against British authority. However, academic historians both in Argentina and abroad agree that Rivero's actions were not motivated by patriotism, but by disputes over pay and working conditions with the representatives of Louis Vernet, the former Argentine Political and Military Commander of the islands.
Biography
Rivero's place of birth, like almost all other details of his life outside the events of 1833–1834, is unknown. Argentine historians generally state he was born in today's Entre Ríos Province, then part of Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, now in Argentina. However, no documentation exists to support this assertion.
Rivero's presence on the islands is first recorded in Emilio Vernet's diary on 18 May 1829. He was taken to the Falkland Islands by Luis Vernet, to work as a gaucho. Conditions of employment caused discontent among Vernet's workers. They were paid with promissory notes which Matthew Brisbane, Vernet's deputy, devalued by 60% following the reduction in Vernet's fortunes. On 26 August 1833, five Indian convicts and three gauchos led by Rivero embarked on a killing spree which resulted in the deaths of Brisbane and the senior leaders of the settlement. Thomas Helsby, a clerk in the employ of Vernet, wrote an account of the murders.
At around ten in the morning, Helsby departed Brisbane's house to buy some oil from William Dickson, whom he found at the house of Antonio Wagner. Other people there included Daniel McKay and Joseph Douglas. On leaving, as he passed the house of Santiago Lopez, Helsby encountered the murderers. The gang was led by Rivero and comprised the gauchos José María Luna, Juan Brasido and the five Charrúa Indians Manuel Gonzales, Luciano Flores, Manuel Godoy, Felipe Salagar and Lattorre. They were armed with "muskets, pistols, swords, dirks and knives".
Alarmed, Helsby ran to Brisbane's house for aid, but he found it locked and could raise no response. He was informed by other residents that Brisbane had been killed, along with Juan Simon (the Capatáz or foreman of the Gauchos). A third man, Don Ventura, had been left for dead, wounded in the throat by a musket, his head split and his hand almost severed by a sword, but he had since escaped by a back window and headed toward the house of Antonina Roxa. Helsby then heard two musket shots from the house of Antonio Wagner: Wagner and Dickson had been killed, witnessed by Joseph Douglas and Daniel McKay.
The gang then returned to Brisbane's house to find Ventura missing. After a brief search they found him. Ventura tried to flee, but was shot down. Helsby witnessed the murder and attempted his own escape, but was soon caught by Felipe Salagar, who was on horseback. Convinced he was about to be killed, he complied with their instructions, and was allowed to live.
The population of that time, mainly women and children, fled to the nearby Peat island (today Hog Island), until rescued by the sealer Hopeful in October 1833, which then passed information about the murders to the British squadron at Rio de Janeiro.
In January 1834, the British ship HMS Challenger arrived in the islands, bringing Lt. Henry Smith, who set out to capture the murderers, who fled into the interior. The gang was sent for trial in London, but under the British Legal system could not be tried because the Crown Court did not have jurisdiction over the Falkland Islands at the time of the alleged offences. In the British colonial system, colonies had their own, distinct governments, finances, and judicial systems. Rivero was not tried and sentenced because the British local government and local judiciary had not yet been installed in 1834; these were created later, by the 1841 British Letters Patent. Subsequently, Rivero has acquired the status of a folk hero in Argentina, where he is portrayed as leading a rebellion against British rule. However, all five of the victims of the massacre were employees of Vernet. They were deported to Rio de Janeiro, and returned later to the zone of the Río de la Plata.
The circumstances of Rivero's death are unknown.
Victims
Rivero and his associates were responsible for the deaths of five individuals of various nationalities, all employees of Louis Vernet with close links to the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata.