La masonería y los diputados hispanoamericanos en las Cortes de Cádiz

Abstract

In the Cortes of Cadiz there were a total of 67 deputies corresponding to the overseas territories who exercised, on a completely equal footing, their parliamentary duties alongside the peninsular representatives. Among them there were a certain number, although it is not known exactly, who not only sympathised with pro-independence ideas, but also belonged to secret societies that made their conspiratorial tasks possible. In the first place, there is Freemasonry which, although with a certain presence in Cadiz from the end of the 18th century, does not seem to have had such a remarkable influence on the development of the Cortes as is commonly believed. More operative were other societies which, without any dependence on Freemasonry, since they did not belong to it, did have a certain relationship with it and even followed some of its ideals and forms of action. We are referring to the Caballeros Racionales (Rational Knights) and an affiliated society of theirs, the Logia Lautaro (Lautaro Lodge). Both, founded by prominent pro-independence Creoles, maintained a hidden and continuous activity in Cadiz during the years of the Cortes (1810-1813), which continued later, with even more intensity if possible, on the occasion of the revolution of 1820 which re-established the Constitution of 1812.