Editing Abolitionism (section)

=== [[File:JuanJoseCastelli.png]] '''Castellism''' ===
Juan José Castelli was an [[File:Cball-Argentina.png]] Argentine lawyer, [[File:InfRevolutionaryism.png]] revolutionary, and political leader who played a central role in the early phase of the Río de la Plata independence movement. Born in Buenos Aires in 1764, Castelli was educated at the Royal College of San Carlos and later studied law at the University of Chuquisaca. During his time in Upper Peru, he encountered [[File:Enlightenment.png]] [[Enlightenment Thought|Enlightenment]] philosophy and absorbed the political doctrines of [[File:Rousseau.png]] {{PHB|Rousseauism|Jean-Jacques Rousseau}} and other eighteenth-century thinkers. These influences shaped his commitment to [[File:DemPop.png]] [[Democracy|popular sovereignty]], [[File:Equality.png]] {{PHB|egalitarianism}}, and [[File:Anti-Absolutism.png]] [[Anti-Authoritarianism|anti-absolutism]], which later defined his revolutionary activity.


Castelli emerged as a leading figure during the May Revolution of 1810, aligning closely with [[File:MarianoMoreno.png]] {{PCBA|Morenism|Mariano Moreno}} and the [[File:RadLib.png]] [[Radicalism|radical]] faction within the Primera Junta. His political formation reflected Enlightenment thought, [[File:Jacobin.png]] [[Jacobinism]], and a [[File:CapAnti_Clerical.png]] rejection of both clerical authority and hereditary monarchy. Although he initially supported the Carlotist project of a [[File:Conmon.png]] [[Constitutional Monarchism]] under Carlota Joaquina of Spain, this stance functioned as a tactical measure rather than a lasting conviction. His rhetoric and policy initiatives showed [[File:Antimon.png]] [[Republicanism|anti-monarchism]], [[File:Anticon.png]] {{PCBA|anti-conservatism}}, and [[File:AntiModer.png]] [[Anti-Centrism|anti-moderatism]], positioning him among the most uncompromising revolutionaries of the Río de la Plata.


Appointed to lead military and political operations in Upper Peru, Castelli implemented, along with his secretary [[File:BernardoDeMonteagudo.png]] [[Revolutionary Progressivism|Bernardo de Monteagudo]], sweeping reforms following early patriot victories. He abolished [[File:Native.png]] Indigenous tribute and forced labor systems, decreed the elimination of the [[File:Inquisition.png]] Inquisition and the suppression of titles of nobility, authorized [[File:Globcap.png]] [[Globalism#Economic_Globalisation|free trade]] and [[File:LandReform.png]] [[Agrarian Socialism|redistributed land]] expropriated from the [[File:Slavery.png]] [[w:Mit'a|Mit'as]], and proclaimed legal equality for Indigenous populations. His policies reflected [[Indigenism|indigenist]] sympathies and admiration for the legacy of [[File:TúpacAmaruII.png]] [[Indigenism|Túpac Amaru II]], whose eighteenth-century rebellion he interpreted as a precursor to continental liberation. Castelli’s gestures toward an [[File:Cball-Inca.png]] [[Indigenism|Inca restoration]] were designed to mobilize Indigenous support and legitimize revolutionary authority. These measures illustrate his fusion of [[File:RevNat.png]] [[Revolutionary Nationalism]] with [[File:Anti-Colonial.png]] {{PCBA|Anti-Imperialism|anti-colonial}} and [[File:AntiHisp.png]] anti-Spanish sentiment.

Castelli’s governance in Upper Peru also displayed authoritarian progressivism. While advocating egalitarian principles and popular sovereignty, he endorsed harsh disciplinary measures against royalist opponents. His critics accused him of [[File:Robespierre.png]] Robespierreism and [[File:StateTerrorist.png]] {{PCBA|state terrorism}}, citing executions of counterrevolutionaries and his defense of the [[File:Death_Penalty.png]] {{PCBA|Pro-Death Penalty|death penalty}} as necessary instruments of revolutionary justice.


Intellectually, Castelli combined Rousseauian concepts of the general will with [[File:Utility.png]] {{PCBA|Utilitarianism|utilitarian}} reasoning about political necessity. He rejected [[File:AntiReact.png]] [[Reactionaryism|reactionary]] and [[File:AntiTrad.png]] [[Traditionalism|traditionalist]] structures that, in his view, perpetuated colonial hierarchy and racial stratification. His [[File:AntiRacism.png]] {{PCBA|Anti-Racism|anti-racist}} orientation was expressed in decrees promoting legal equality and dismantling caste distinctions, though practical implementation remained uneven. At the same time, his support for [[File:Globcap.png]] [[Globalism#Economic_Globalisation|free trade]] signaled a break from mercantilist colonial restrictions and aligned with broader revolutionary economic reform.

Castelli’s defeat at the Battle of Huaqui in 1811 weakened the [[File:Authradicalism.png]] radical faction within the revolutionary government. Recalled to Buenos Aires and placed on trial, he defended his policies before dying of cancer in 1812. Despite his short political career, he left a lasting imprint on Argentine and Andean revolutionary memory. His synthesis of Enlightenment radicalism, anti-colonial militancy, Indigenous inclusion, and centralized revolutionary authority situates him as one of the most ideologically assertive figures of the early independence era.