Description

Mariano Heinrich (Enrique) DE BARY (1874-1917).

[My Diary of Our Trip to the Argentine Republic, June 28 – October 24, 1891].

[S.l., but north Germany or Netherlands, 1891].

day on board on July 1, 1891. In his travelogue written in a form of a diary, he describes travel to Buenos Aires, the home city of his deceased mother Célina Saavedra, the city itself, travel through Rosario to Santa Fé, the province Entre Rios, Paranà, back to Buenos Aires and then to Montevideo in Uruguay and Bahia. On the way back home Marian depicts St. Vincent and Lisbon.

The German manuscript is accompanied by 43 original photographs taken with a portable Kodak camera, highlighting moments from the boat journey, the group of travelers, and views of the cities visited.

The text was prepared in elegant German Gothic cursive, beautifully bound in expensive Morocco leather, and adorned with an illustrated title page. Mariano de Bary dedicated it to his father and stepmother, both of whom appear in some of the group photos included in the book.

Family Relationships and Their Connection to the History of Argentina

Mariano de Bary was the son of Heinrich Albert de Bary (also von Bary, 1847-1929), who was born in Wuppertal, Germany. Heinrich Albert became one of the most prominent bankers in the Netherlands and founded a firm that would later evolve into Deutsche Bank.

Mariano’s mother was Célina Saavedra (1852-1876), who met Heinrich Albert de Bary while he was training as a merchant in Argentina. Her father, Mariano Saavedra (1810-1883), was a politician and served as the governor of Buenos Aires Province from 1862 to 1866.

On his mother’s side Mariano de Bary came from one of the most influential families in Argentina. His lineage traces back to Hernando Arias de Saavedra, also known as “Hernandarias” (1561–1634). Hernandarias was the first person born in the Americas to become a governor of a European colony in the New World. He served as the governor of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata from 1597 to 1599 and again from 1602 to 1609, and he was also the governor of Paraguay from 1615 to 1617.

Mariano de Bary’s great-grandfather was a key figure in Argentina’s fight for independence. Cornelio Saavedra (1759-1829) was a renowned military officer and statesman who became the first president of the Primera Junta, which would eventually evolve into Argentina. In 1801, he married María Saturnina Bárbara de Otálora y Ribero (1771-1842), who came from one of the wealthiest families in Argentina.

Mariano de Bary was related to several prominent individuals through his mother’s family. He was the first cousin of Carlos Saavedra Lamas (1878 – 1959), the first Latin American recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Additionally, he was a nephew of the Chilean politician Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez (1821 – 1891) and a cousin once removed of Matilde Ibáñez Tálice (1907 – 2002), who was married to Uruguayan president Luis Batlle Berres (in office from 1947 to 1951), and was also a relative of president Jorge Batlle Ibáñez, who served from 2000 to 2005.

In 1901, Mariano de Bary married a British citizen, Elsie Andreae, and settled in Antwerp. There, he held various important positions in business and diplomacy and during World War I as a high military official. Tragically, he died unexpectedly in 1917 from spinal meningitis at the age of 43, leaving behind his widow and three children.

During Mariano’s funeral, German Emperor Wilhelm II gave Elsie, a British citizen, only 48 hours to leave the country due to suspicions of being a British spy. After seeking refuge in Wiesbaden with family friends, the members of Mariano’s family eventually settled in the United States, Rhodesia, London and Geneva. (We would like to thank Mrs. Jean deBary, Mariano de Bary’s granddaughter, for kindly providing information on the family`s history).