Friar José Camilo Henríquez González (Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈmilo enˈrikeθ]; July 29, 1769 in Valdivia, Chile – March 16, 1825 in Santiago de Chile) was a priest, author, politician, and is considered an intellectual antecedent to and founding father of the Republic of Chile for his passionate leadership and influential writings.^[1] He was also one of the most important early South American newspaper writers and wrote several essays, most notably the Proclama de Quirino Lemachez, which promoted Chilean independence and liberty. He also wrote under the pseudonym Quirino Lemachez.

Henríquez was born in a house that belonged to his grandmother Margarita de Castro, located on what is now Yungay street in the city of Valdivia, Chile. His parents were Rosa González y Castro (1747–1798) and Félix Henríquez y Santillán (1745–1798), a former Spanish infantry captain. Although a native of Valdivia, Henríquez spent much of his youth away from the city. When he was nine years old, he was brought to Santiago de Chile for the start of his formal education at the Convictorio Carolino.^[2][3]

In 1784, at the age of fifteen, Henríquez was sent to study in Lima under the direction of his maternal uncle, Juan Nepomuceno González, a member of the Order of Ministros de los Enfermos Agonizantes de San Camilo de Lelis. While in Lima, he was educated at a convent of his uncle's Order (usually referred to as simply the "Buena Muerte"), where, notably, he was taught by Friar Isidoro de Celis, an author of works on logic, mathematics, and physics, and a strong proponent of science, rationality, and humanism. After presenting proof of his limpieza de sangre (pure Christian blood), Henríquez joined the Order of Buena Muerte as a novice on January 17, 1787, and was officially ordained as a priest on January 28, 1790. Henríquez then cloistered himself to continue his studies. There he befriended José Cavero y Salazar, a fellow student, who would later become a prominent member of the first independent government of Peru and ambassador to Chile; throughout his stay in Lima, Henríquez frequented literary circles, associating with local socialites.^[4]

After his order sent him to Quito, Henríquez became a witness to the violence of the royalists in 1809. Henríquez wrote about these experiences in what would become the more famous of his two plays, Camila o la Patriota de Sud América (Camila, or the Patriot of South America). In 1811, he returned to Chile and became involved in politics. He wrote the Proclama de Quirino Lemachez, (Proclamation of Quirino Lemachez) under a pseudonym created with an anagram of his name. In this influential essay, he argued for the support of pro-independence candidates in the next election for the First National Congress (Primer Congreso Nacional). His literature instantly catapulted him into the national consciousness, even though his true identity had not yet been made public.

Despite his forays into the political arena, Henríquez was perhaps most famous for his lifelong promotion of and contributions to newspapers. He wrote for numerous periodicals and edited at least 10 newspapers in Santiago and Buenos Aires during his lifetime. On January 16, 1812, Henríquez became the first editor of the La Aurora de Chile (The Dawn of Chile). La Aurora was the first newspaper in Chile, and used a printing press bought from the United States. The first issue was published on February 13, 1812.^[7]

During this period, in which Henríquez was serving as a senator, he produced the drama "La Procesión de los Tontos" (The Procession of the Fools"). Due to the censorship of the administration of José Miguel Carrera, the Monitor Araucano (Araucanian Monitor) began publication under the direction of Camilo Henríquez as a substitute for La Aurora, and their first issue was published on April 17, 1813. He also published the Catecismo de los patriotas (“Catechism of the Patriots”) in the Monitor.

Henríquez was one of the most outspoken agitators for Chilean independence, and both with his polemical publications and his career in politics, he became one of the most prominent early national leaders.

Henríquez was named librarian of the National Library of Chile and was in charge of the editing of the La Gazeta Ministerial de Chile^[13] (Ministerial Gazette of Chile) and another other bulletin about the administration of the country which was the precursor to the El Mercurio (The Mercury) of Chile.

In 1823, he was an interim deputy for Chiloé and afterwards served as an interim and then fully titular deputy for Copiapó in 1824. During this time, Henríquez was a part of the nine-member senado conservador (conservative senate) created to advise the new Supreme Director of Chile, Ramón Freire.^[14]

Henríquez died in Santiago in 1825. After his death, the government declared a national period of mourning.