Matías Cousiño
Matías Cousiño Jorquera | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1810 Santiago, Chile |
| Died | 1863 Santiago, Chile |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, politician |
| Years active | 1828–1863 |
| Known for | Coal mining in Lota, founding figure of the Cousiño lineage |
Matías Cousiño Jorquera (1810–1863) was a prominent Chilean coal entrepreneur and the founding figure of the affluent Cousiño lineage. His principal coal operation was located in Lota, a seaside town within the Bío-Bío Region, which provided coal to steamships navigating the Strait of Magellan.
Early and personal life
Matías was born in Santiago, Chile to parents José Agustín Cousiño Zapata and Josefa de Jorquera y Alfaro, descending from Galician and Spanish ancestry. Following his family's financial decline during the War for Independence, he began working at a young age at the Valparaíso post office, taking over his father’s position in 1828. His first marriage was to Loreto Squella y Lopetegui, who passed away during childbirth delivering their son Luis Cousiño Squella. Subsequently, in 1841, he wed Luz Gallo Zavala, with whom he had two offspring.
Using his economic standing, Cousiño was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, representing Petorca from 1849 to 1852 and then Quillota from 1852 until 1855. He later served as a senator from 1855 until his passing in Santiago in 1863.
Birth of the entrepreneur
After departing from the postal service, Cousiño ventured into livestock exports to Argentina, an endeavor that proved successful and enabled him to invest in silver mining during the Chilean silver rush centered in Copiapó. By the late 1840s, he diversified into the milling sector in Concepción, where he organized a consortium exporting flour and wheat along the Pacific coastline.
His mining pursuits began under Ramón Ignacio de Goyenechea’s employ at the Descubridora de Chañarcillo silver mine in the Atacama Desert. His 1841 marriage to Luz Gallo Zavala, widow of Ignacio de Goyenechea, united two significant estates. In 1844, together with Rafael Torreblanca, he developed a metal extraction device and obtained an exclusive decade-long license authorized by President Manuel Bulnes. By 1850, Cousiño held the position of director of The Copiapó Mining Group, recognized as Chile’s most influential mining organization.