Juan Bautista Azopardi was born in Senglea on the 19th February 1772. In 1793 he joined the French Navy after having previously served as a lieutenant in the Order’s Navy. At around 1799 Azopardi went to Buenos Aires where he enrolled in the Spanish forces, being promoted to the position of Lt. Colonel of the Urban Melitia of Buenos Aires in 1808.
In 1810 he enrolled in the Grenadier Corps seeking Independence. On the 15th August 1810, he was appointed Commander of the first Argentinean Naval Squadron that was set up to fight the Spanish loyalists that were assembled on the Parana and Uruguay Rivers. He was taken prisoner in Montevideo, tried for rebellion against the Viceroy, and sent to Spain in 1811 where he was imprisoned first at Ceuta and later at Cadiz up until 1815. He was liberated in 1820 and once again returned to Buenos Aires where he enjoyed the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Navy. He was promoted to a Navy Colonel in 1824 and later to Navy Captain – a position that he retained until his retirement in 1827. He died on the 23rd October 1848.
At least two tugboats and a Naval Frigate were named after Juan Bautista Azopardi, and throughout Argentina several primary and secondary schools bear the name Juan Bautista in homage to this Senglean who battled for the Argentinean cause. |
