Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana
Encyclopedia
Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana is a biography of José de San Martín
, written by Bartolomé Mitre
in 1869. Along with his biography of Manuel Belgrano
, it is one of the earliest major works of the historiography of Argentina
.
and the most harsh times of the civil war
, and began to strengthen its culture. One of the pending issues was to define the Father of the Nation
, which was faced by Bartolomé Mitre
. The first one thus defined was Bernardino Rivadavia
, who served briefly as President of Argentina
in 1826. The policies implemented by Rivadavia back then were similar to those implemented by the current governments.
However, Rivadavia was a statesman without a military career. Mitre sought to create a military Father of the Nation, to complement Rivadavia, and wrote Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina
, a biography of Manuel Belgrano
. This attempt did not prove completely effective, as Belgrano had provided the key victories at the battles of Tucumán
and Salta
, but was defeated in the Paraguay campaign
and the whole second Upper Peru campaign.
, and "The ostracism and apotheosis of General San Martín", with his life afterwards. Balcarce sent him the personal documents of San Martín in Europe for his work.
However, unlike the case of Rivadavia, San Martín's support to the Latin American integration
contradicted the strong centralism of the government party. As a result, the biography modified details about his biography. The Spanish American wars of independence are not treated as a continent-wide revolution, but merely as an Argentine revolution that extends freedom to Chile and Peru. Bolívar is portrayed instead as a conqueror, annexing the new free countries into an artificial unity. The war is described to be separatist
from the beginning, and encouraged and supported by Britain. However, in the specific case of San Martín this scenario could seem contradictory, as he had left America as a child and served for the Spanish army for 22 years. As a result, his military career in Spain
is summarized in six pages (the whole book has more than six hundred), giving very little detail about him before his arrival to Buenos Aires. As for the reason for his departure from the Spanish army to join the South American ones, the book describes that "he decided to return to his distant nation, which he had always loved as a true mother, to offer her his sword and devote her his life". Meaning, that his first six years living in America shaped his personality more than the twenty eight he had lived so far in Spain. This point generated controversy among historians.
The second projected volume, with the life of San Martín after his military career, was never written. Historian Norberto Galasso
considers that his late life was full of events that would contradict the portrait of San Martín by Mitre: his rivalry with Rivadavia, his rejection of the execution of Manuel Dorrego
and his conflict with Juan Lavalle
, his support to Juan Manuel de Rosas
(including the gift of his sword), and his repudiation to the French
and Anglo-French
blockades and the role of the unitarians in them.
The book was finally edited in 1887.
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
, written by Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...
in 1869. Along with his biography of Manuel Belgrano
Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina
Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina is an Argentine history book written by Bartolomé Mitre. It is mainly a biography of Manuel Belgrano, but the author expanded the scope into the whole Argentine War of Independence, where Belgrano was involved...
, it is one of the earliest major works of the historiography of Argentina
Historiography of Argentina
The Historiography of Argentina is composed of the works of the various authors that have written about the History of Argentina. Despite the existence of authors who had written about events they were directly involved in, or which were contemporary to them, the first real historiographical works...
.
Context
During the second half of the XIX century Argentina had left behind the War of IndependenceArgentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
and the most harsh times of the civil war
Argentine Civil War
The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of internecine wars that took place in Argentina from 1814 to 1876. These conflicts were separate from the Argentine War of Independence , though they first arose during this period....
, and began to strengthen its culture. One of the pending issues was to define the Father of the Nation
Father of the Nation
Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a man considered the driving force behind the establishment of their country, state or nation...
, which was faced by Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...
. The first one thus defined was Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino de la Trinidad Gónzalez Rivadavia y Rivadavia was the first president of Argentina, from February 8, 1826 to July 7, 1827 . He was a politician of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Argentina today...
, who served briefly as President of Argentina
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
in 1826. The policies implemented by Rivadavia back then were similar to those implemented by the current governments.
However, Rivadavia was a statesman without a military career. Mitre sought to create a military Father of the Nation, to complement Rivadavia, and wrote Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina
Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina
Historia de Belgrano y de la Independencia Argentina is an Argentine history book written by Bartolomé Mitre. It is mainly a biography of Manuel Belgrano, but the author expanded the scope into the whole Argentine War of Independence, where Belgrano was involved...
, a biography of Manuel Belgrano
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...
. This attempt did not prove completely effective, as Belgrano had provided the key victories at the battles of Tucumán
Battle of Tucumán
The Battle of Tucumán was a battle fought on 24 and 25 September 1812 near the Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucumán, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, commanded by General Manuel Belgrano, defeated the royalist troops commanded by General Pío de Tristán, who had a...
and Salta
Battle of Salta
The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, near the present-day Argentina city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general...
, but was defeated in the Paraguay campaign
Paraguay campaign
The Paraguay campaign was the attempt by a Buenos Aires sponsored militia, commanded by Manuel Belgrano, to win the Intendency of Paraguay for the revolutionary cause. The first battle was fought in Campichuelo and the Argentines claimed victory. However, they were completely vanquished in the...
and the whole second Upper Peru campaign.
The book
Mitre began to work on the biography of San Martín right after ending his presidency. He wrote his initial project to Mariano Balcarce: he wanted to write two books, "History of San Martín" from 1812 to 1822, from San Martín's arrival to Buenos Aires to the Guayaquil conferenceGuayaquil conference
The Guayaquil Conference was a meeting that took place on July 26, 1822, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, between José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar, to discuss the future of Perú .-Overview:...
, and "The ostracism and apotheosis of General San Martín", with his life afterwards. Balcarce sent him the personal documents of San Martín in Europe for his work.
However, unlike the case of Rivadavia, San Martín's support to the Latin American integration
Latin American integration
The integration of Latin America has a history going back to Spanish American and Brazilian independence, when there was discussion of creating a regional state or confederation of Latin American nations to protect the area's newly won autonomy...
contradicted the strong centralism of the government party. As a result, the biography modified details about his biography. The Spanish American wars of independence are not treated as a continent-wide revolution, but merely as an Argentine revolution that extends freedom to Chile and Peru. Bolívar is portrayed instead as a conqueror, annexing the new free countries into an artificial unity. The war is described to be separatist
Separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
from the beginning, and encouraged and supported by Britain. However, in the specific case of San Martín this scenario could seem contradictory, as he had left America as a child and served for the Spanish army for 22 years. As a result, his military career in Spain
Military career of José de San Martín in Spain
José de San Martín was an Argentine-born general that moved from South America to Spain during his infancy. He served in the Spanish army from 1789 to 1811, fighting in the Peninsular War...
is summarized in six pages (the whole book has more than six hundred), giving very little detail about him before his arrival to Buenos Aires. As for the reason for his departure from the Spanish army to join the South American ones, the book describes that "he decided to return to his distant nation, which he had always loved as a true mother, to offer her his sword and devote her his life". Meaning, that his first six years living in America shaped his personality more than the twenty eight he had lived so far in Spain. This point generated controversy among historians.
The second projected volume, with the life of San Martín after his military career, was never written. Historian Norberto Galasso
Norberto Galasso
Norberto Galasso is a historian and essayist from Argentina, who wrote many books related with the history of Argentina. His career as historian spans nearly forty years.-Biography:He studied economy in the University of Buenos Aires, graduating in 1961....
considers that his late life was full of events that would contradict the portrait of San Martín by Mitre: his rivalry with Rivadavia, his rejection of the execution of Manuel Dorrego
Manuel Dorrego
Manuel Dorrego was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was governor of Buenos Aires in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828....
and his conflict with Juan Lavalle
Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo de Lavalle was an Argentine military and political figure.-Biography:Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José de La Vallée y Cortés, general accountant of rents and tobacco for the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.In 1799, the family moved to...
, his support to Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
(including the gift of his sword), and his repudiation to the French
French blockade of the Río de la Plata
The French blockade to the Río de la Plata was a two-year long naval blockade imposed by France on the Argentine Confederation ruled by Juan Manuel de Rosas. It closed Buenos Aires to naval commerce. It was imposed in 1838 to support the Peru–Bolivian Confederation in the War of the Confederation,...
and Anglo-French
Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata
The Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata was a five-year long naval blockade imposed by France and Britain on the Argentine Confederation ruled by Juan Manuel de Rosas. It was imposed in 1845 to support the Colorado Party in the Uruguayan Civil War and closed Buenos Aires to naval commerce...
blockades and the role of the unitarians in them.
The book was finally edited in 1887.