| Jean I | |
|---|---|
| His Royal Majesty
| |
| |
| King of Patagonia | |
| Reign | 12 August 1875 - Incumbent |
| Coronation | 4 September 1875 |
| Predecessor | Antoine I |
| Crown Prince of Patagonia | |
| Reign | 18 December 1860 - 12 August 1875 |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | Vincent-Antoine de Tounens |
| Born | 21 February 1844 Paris, Kingdom of France |
| Spouse | Béatrice Montessier |
| Issue | Vincent-Antoine de Tounens |
| Full name | |
| Adrien-Jean de Tounens | |
| Regnal name | |
| Jean I | |
| House | de Tounens |
Jean I (english: John I, spanish: Juan I, german: Johann I) was the king of Patagonia from 1875 until his death. He succeeded to the Patagonian throne following the death of his uncle during an hunting accident.
Unlike his uncle, Jean I was a true conservative who believed in the supremacy of the Europeans over the local Mapuches and in the power of the nobility.
Biography[]
Early Life and Crown Prince[]
Adrien-Jean is born in the city of Paris, born from the brother of Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, future Antoine I of Patagonia.
He lived the end of the French Monarchy, then the short-lived Second Republic and finally grew up in the Second French Empire. He studied politics and economy in Paris, being noted for his conservatives views, which were not populars among the other students.
In 1860, his uncle founded a kingdom in South America, which was named Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia. Since his uncle lacked any child, he became the crown prince. He arrived in the country in 1862 in order to learn his future role as monarch.
He was bethroted to the daughter of Vincent Montessier, Marshal of Patagonia and one of his uncle's most trusted men. They married in 1866 following the end of the Chilean-Patagonian War. The marriage received wide media covering and saw many foreign rulers attempt to it, including the President of Argentina.
During the 10 years that followed, he grew close to the conservative ideology of his wife's family, who are also ultra-conservatives like him.
Reign[]
During the first year of his reign, he got into conflict with the Secretary of State Heiner von Kermann, who,s liberal ideas came in opposition to the conservative king. He finaly replaced von Kermann by Pierre-Pascal Montessier, his brother-in-law.
During the following years, he worked on improving the rights of the nobility while limiting the rights of the Mapuches. In 1877, he even went as far as cancelling the charter of rights given to the Mapuches under the reign of Antoine I. This was not well received by the Mapuches, and the King decided to deploy troops to keep them calm. However, Vincent Montessier stepped down of his position as Marshal, leading Jean to name the Croatian Gizdan Ravlic as the new Marshal.
Children[]
Jean I married Béatrice Montessier in 1866. So far, they only had one child:
- Vincent-Antoine (M): Born 12 October 1872, crown prince.
- Amélie (F): Born 18 November 1877.