Forgotten Dartmouth Men
Father of the Argentine Navy
[Abridged ir Edited by Paul S. Allen '26]
—William Porter White, 1790
DURING THE TURBULENT times of the British attacks on Buenos Aires in 1806 and 1807 and in the even more chaotic period of the struggle for home rule and independence, which shortly followed, there stands out prominently the curious and unique figure of an American named William Porter White; unique because he was not a military adventurer seeking to win fame and fortune in the patriot armies but the pioneer of the later descending horde .of concession hunters and seekers after special rights and privileges in Latin America. He was a Yankee trader among a people who had traditionally looked down upon commerce as degrading and he used all the Yankee trader's wiles and stratagems to gain his ends. His failing was that he was too smart or too greedy. The chances he took were too long and he did not always guess right.
William Porter White was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on October io, 1769, the son of Ebenezer and Abigail Porter White. His family was one of prominence and means and had played an important part in the early settlement of the Connecticut Valley. William was educated in Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1790, receiving the degree of A.M., and entered the mercantile and shipping business in Boston. Sometime between then and the year 1796, he married Elizabeth Allen of Pittsfield who came from an equally distinguished family. This marriage had a pathetic and tragic ending. Her left arm became infected and was amputated in the fall of 1796. When, shortly after this, White embarked on a voyage to India, she was only dissuaded from accompanying him by her ill-health which grew steadily worse until she died, February 2, 1798. There is a reproduction of a portrait of William White in A. J. Carranza's book, "Campanas Navales de la Republica Argentina" which shows the face of a rather wistful, sad young man with a look of boyish innocence, a recalcitrant forelock, and a general appearance of gentleness of character. How this man became the stormypetrel, the constant intriguer, the bad boy of Buenos Aires is an utter mystery, unless it may be explained by the effects of the tragic death of his young wife or a clash of two widely divergent moral codes.
At all events, William White first arrived permanently in Buenos Aires in 1803. He seems to have arrived as third mate or super-cargo of the Spanish ship Conception, sailing from Lima and way points. He settled down in Buenos Aires to stay and within three years made a mistake which he never lived down. Great Britain was at war with Spain and during June, 1806, a British fleet appeared off Buenos Aires and landed a force of some fifteen hundred men who promptly captured the city. White became most intimate with the British officials and acted as their interpreter and general agent for purchases and as auctioneer in selling the loot which they had captured; in all of which enterprises he was reputed to have made a great deal of money.
ALTHOUGH HIS commercial instinct might „ have been excellent if the British had remained, the unexpected happened, for the Portenos under the leadership of Liniers rose in rebellion and not only captured this small advance force but also, in the next year, decisively repelled an attack by a well-organized British army of some 15,000 men. White was now decidedly in wrong in the community. He fled to Montevideo with the retreating invaders, and upon their evacuation of that city, he was thrown into jail by Governor Elio and his property in Buenos Aires confiscated.
From there White wrote a series of letters to the authorities in Buenos Aires, and especially to Liniers, which should bring tears to the most hardened cynic's eyes. He recited, in the most pathetic vein, all the abuses and calumnies which had been heaped upon his innocent head. He protested his complete innocence of any betrayal of his beloved adopted country and ascribes his plight to a dastardly plot by his enemies. He called upon his rights as an American citizen and reminded Liniers that the United States should be considered an ally of Spain and that there was an actual treaty of alliance in effect which covered the rights of their respective citizens. This last argument seems to have had some effect, for on April 9, 1808, Liniers wrote to the audiencia recommending great care in this case and about a month later he ordered that White should be brought to Buenos Aires.
UPON WHITE'S arrival there he secured the service of Rivadavia as his attorney but the trial never took place for the revolt of May which deposed Liniers so upset the workings of the legal machinery that the case was allowed to drop and
White, by the influence of his friends, regained his full freedom. He now entered the Yerba Mate business and seems to have established himself as a leading factor in its import down the river from Paraguay and in its distribution. There is evidence that he at one time, imported a huge amount of Mate and then by dubious methods caused a high import duty to be placed upon this product by the local authorities, thus gaining a virtual monopoly for himself with resulting large profits and great unpopularity among his fellow citizens.
In 1813, the Spaniards still held the city of Montevideo across the estuary from Buenos Aires and from there they were able to harass the shipping bound for the latter city. The local patriots decided that the Spaniards must be ousted from that base. For this purpose, a committee of three, Juan Larrea, Carlos Alvear and William White, was appointed and White given full charge of the finances, with a free hand and absolute power to purchase ships and equipment. To an impartial observer, it would seem that White did a thoroughly good job, considering the circumstances. By his own efforts and by the use. of his own private capital, he was able to create out of nothing a capable fleet, which sailed the following April, destroyed the enemy fleet in action and captured Montevideo. He did this at a cost to the government of not more than 50,000 pesos, although he claimed to have spent in addition about 300,000 pesos of his own money which he never succeeded in recovering.
White now enjoyed a brief period of great popularity gained by the successes of this fleet but these very successes were in directly the cause of his ultimate downfall. The command of the fleet had been given to one William Brown. White had opposed this choice and Admiral Brown soon developed a hearty dislike for the financial manager of his fleet. On September 26, 1814, Brown met Mr. White on one of the principal streets of Buenos Aires and proceeded to stage an argument which led to fisticuffs. By taking the sworn statements of the two principals some idea of the fracas may be obtained.
Admiral Brown's statement was that he had met Mr. White and in a most polite manner had asked him about his sailors' delinquent wages. White had answered him rudely, saying "Shut up and mind your own business." Admiral Brown was shocked at this display of bad breeding and had gently reproved his colleague, whereupon Mr. White had given him a punch in the nose and had run into a near-by store for safety.
Mr. White's statement was that while taking a quiet stroll he had met the Admiral who began at the top of his voice a tirade against him, insisting on immediate payment of some improper claims. Mr. White did his best to maintain decorum but the Admiral became greatly excited and began yelling "Picaro y Ladron" rogue and thief. To prevent a scandal White said, "I hit him and walked quietly away, but the Admiral followed me with a large crowd at his heels yelling 'Ladron, Ladron!' "
To COMPLICATE matters further, Admiral Brown, the next day, sent ashore a landing party of two officers and seven men, who succeeded in kidnapping Mr. White and carrying him as a prisoner on board Admiral Brown's flagship. This was truly scandalous and Juan Larrea brought government pressure to bear to obtain White's release. Upon regaining his freedom, White immediately brought suit against the Admiral for assault and battery but he did not obtain any redress for a revolt in April, 1815, overturned the government and his friends lost their power. White and Juan Larrea were forced to flee the country; White taking refuge on a British ship of war in which he escaped to Montevideo, from where he bombarded General D. Jose Rondeau with petitions asking to be allowed to return to Buenos Aires to settle his affairs before returning for good to the United States.
The next direct evidence about his activities is supplied by members of the American Commission sent by President Monroe in 1817 to investigate South American affairs. White met the American frigate at the dock and constituted himself a self-appointed committee of welcome and official guide and interpreter. He was afterwards arrested, and when the Commission left he was in prison.
White evidently secured his release from jail in the spring of 1818 and continued to intrigue and become involved in national affairs, for he proposed during that year, several schemes of colonization to the government; also a plan whereby he might raise money in Europe and another in which he might furnish aid to San Martin in Peru. From this time on it has not been possible to secure any direct evidence of White's activities in Buenos Aires, though there exists some correspondence with Simon Bolivar in which Bolivar appointed him "director of correspondence with England and the United States."
White died in Buenos Aires in 1842, aged 73 years and in poverty. A reaction in public opinion in the Argentine took place later and White was given the recognition he deserved, a street in Buenos Aires and a naval destroyer being named for him. A. J. Caranza says that White's descendants were paid 350,000 pesos by the Argentine government in 1863 in settlement for the claims which White had made for personal expenses incurred in organizing the fleet.
Bad Boy of Buenos Aires
