Stations Simón Bolívar etc.docx

8/14/2019 Stations Simn Bolvar etc.docx

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Simn BolvarGrandiose in his schemes, headstrong and difficult, Simn Bolvar nevertheless conquered enormousobstacles in gaining South American independence from Spain, particularly in his homeland of Venezuela.

Bolvar was born on July 24, 1783 in Caracas, Venezuelato a wealthy family of Spanish descent. By the time hewas nine years old, he had lost both his parents, and hismaternal uncle, Carlos Palacios, supervised hisupbringing. From a tutor, he learned Enlightenment

ideas and was especially attracted to the philosophy ofJean-Jacques Rousseau. In 1799, he was sent to Europe,where he completed his education. He lived in Spain forthree years and married Maria Teresa de Toro, thedaughter of a Spanish nobleman. Soon after Bolvarreturned to Venezuela in 1802, his wife died of yellowfever.

Bolvar again journeyed to Europe in 1804 and visitedItaly and France, where Napoleon I's grandeurimpressed him. He traveled to the United States in 1807and then sailed to Venezuela. The following year, the

Spanish Empire trembled when Emperor Napoleon Iconquered the Iberian peninsula and appointed hisbrother ruler of Spain. In Spanish America, confusionresulted. Although the colonies unanimously refused torecognize the new ruler, some colonists opted to remainloyal to the deposed king, while others decided to fightfor independence. Bolvar sided with the latter and in1810, joined a revolutionary group that expelled theSpanish governor from Venezuela. The ruling junta thensent Bolvar to England in search of assistance. Althoughthe English refused Bolvar's requests, the revolutionaryconvinced Francisco de Miranda, a prominentVenezuelan nationalist, to return home and help the

rebellion.

In 1811, Venezuela declared its independence, and early the following year, Miranda became head ofthe revolutionary government (the rebel Congress eventually granted him dictatorial powers). Bolvar won animportant battle at Valencia, an engagement that earned him the loyalty and admiration of his men. A splitdeveloped in the revolutionary leadership, however. Miranda gained Bolvar's enmity when he signed anarmistice with Spaina move engendered in part by Bolvar's having lost a harbor fortress to the enemy. Bolvarthen delivered Miranda to the Spanish. In gratitude, Spain decided not to jail Bolvar and instead rewarded himwith passage to Curacao, a Dutch Caribbean island.

After journeying to New Granada (Colombia), Bolvar planned another attack and in August 1813, ledan army triumphantly into Caracas, proclaimed the country a republic, and was made its leader with the title

of "Liberator." He had not, however, secured his position, and in 1814, the Spanish, supported by Venezuelanllaneros, or cowboys, defeated the Liberator, who fled to Jamaica. Bolvar then wrote one of the mostimportant works in Latin American history, "The Letter from Jamaica," in which he expressed his grand schemeto establish republics throughout Spanish America with representative bodies and presidents chosen for life.Anxious to continue the fight, he obtained weapons and money from Haiti and in March 1816, sailed forVenezuela. However, Spanish forces again turned him away.

Despite this setback, several factors converged to work in Bolvar's favor. For one, the llaneros, led by JosAntonio Pez, a daring cavalryman who became one of the founders of Venezuela, shifted their loyalty to therevolutionaries. Second, Bolvar changed his strategy to focus on the resource-rich Orinoco River basin, ratherthan Caracas with its heavy fortifications. Third, several thousand adventurers arrived from England to helpBolvar.


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In 1817, Bolvar led his army into the Orinoco region and established a temporary capital, Angostura.He then surprised the Spanish by attacking New Granada. In 1819, he and his men trekked through steamytropical jungles and across the frigid 11,000-foot Andes and on August 7, met the enemy at Boyac, scoring astunning victory.

Even though Spain still held substantial territory, Bolvar audaciously formed a new state, GranColombia, encompassing Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. By now, he held the initiative, and turmoil withinSpain disrupted the Spanish war effort. In June 1821, Bolvar, leading an army of 6,500 men, won a crucial battle

at Carabobo, and the following year, Antonio de Sucre, Bolvar's foremost general, defeated the Spanish atPichincha, in Ecuador. On June 16, Bolvar marched his army into Quito. Thus Gran Colombia had beenliberated, and Bolvar ruled under a new constitution that made him president.

Spain still maintained control of Peru, however, and at this point, Bolvar met with Jos de San Martn, the greatArgentinean revolutionary who had liberated his homeland and Chile. San Martn had already entered Limaand declared Peruvian independence, but the Spanish retained a grip on the interior. On July 26, 1822, Bolvarand San Martn conferred at Guayaquil in Ecuador. Details of their discussion have been lost, but San Martn leftEcuador, apparently resigned to Bolvar's dominance, and went into exile.

In August 1824, Bolvar and Sucre defeated the Spanish at Junin in Peru, and four months later, Sucre defeatedthem at Ayacucho. The country was now free of Spanish influence, and Bolvar was made president of Gran

Colombia and Peru. In 1825, Sucre eliminated the last Spanish opposition in Upper Peru, which uponindependence became the country of Bolivia, named after Bolvar. Bolvar drafted the constitution for thatrepublic, complete with a weak legislature and a lifetime president, a position filled by Sucre (after Bolvar ruledon an interim basis for five months).

Bolvar, meanwhile, battled severe illness and a spreading discontent with his rule. In 1826, he crafted a leagueof Hispanic-American states that held a congress in Panama. Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and the CentralAmerican Federation sent delegates, and they agreed to a treaty of alliance. Plans for a joint military and aregular congress proved unsuccessful, however.

Civil war soon erupted in Gran Colombia when Venezuelan and Colombian forces clashed. Bolvar quickly leftPeru and arranged a new constitution that granted Venezuela greater autonomy. Elections to a nationalconvention in 1828 produced more opposition to Bolvar, who then assumed dictatorial powers over Gran

Colombia. That autumn, dissidents tried to kill Bolvar but failed. As he battled tuberculosis, Venezuela secededfrom Gran Colombia in September 1830, followed by Ecuador.

On May 3, 1830, Bolvar left Bogot, headed for exile in Europe, but he made it only to Santa Marta on theCaribbean coast, where he died on December 17.


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Miguel Hidalgo y CostillaFather Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was the author of the "Grito de Dolores" ("Cry from Dolores"), thepassionate speech in his parish of Dolores that ignited the independence struggle in Mexico on September 16,1810. Leading a rebellion of Indian peasants and mestizos (mixed-bloods) against Spanish colonial rule, Hidalgobecame wildly popular and badly frightened the colony's white elite, who joined forces to defeat his army in1811.

Hidalgo was born on May 8, 1753 in Guanajuato, Mexico on theCorralejo hacienda of which his father was the manager. He

entered a school in Valladolid (now Morelia) and studiedtheology under the strong influence of the Jesuit Order. Peoplehe knew began to call him "the Fox" because they consideredhim sly and crafty. Upon his graduation in 1782, Hidalgo becamea Roman Catholic priest and a professor at the famous seminaryof San Nicols, where he wrote two treatises concerningtheology.

Hidalgo was assigned to fulfill his priestly duties in a wealthyparish in San Felipe Torres Mochas.Before long, however, his parishioners began to complain thatHidalgo's activities and thoughts were too radical. He critics

went before the Inquisition to accuse him of gambling andwomanizing, complaining of his continual celebrations that theyreferred to as "litt le France." His opponents also accused Hidalgoof public heresy, claiming they had heard him deny theexistence of hell, lampoon Santa Teresa, and argue that"fornication is not a sin." The wayward priest also read bannedbooks. Despite these accusations, Hidalgo continueduntouched by the authorities.

In his parish work, Hidalgo did not like the mundane aspects ofthe priesthood; he consumed moneylavishly and was often late to repay his loans. He preferred topreach and enjoyed the tasks of paternal humanitarianism. He

learned the language of the Indians of his parish and taughtthem trades. In Dolores, he put particular effort into cultivatingsilk from silkworms, one of the more famous of his large-scaleprojects. Hidalgo was part of an intellectual circle of priests whohad access to all varieties of European and colonial literature.His friend Bishop Manuel Abad y Queipo enjoyed such liberal

writers of the Enlightenment as Adam Smith and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In contrast, Hidalgo preferred earliercritics of monarchy and absolutism.

Hidalgo agreed with early 17th-century Spanish philosopher Francisco Surez, who had written that politicalsovereignty resided in the people, not the king. Hidalgo supported these ideas and their implication thatMexican-born Spaniardscriollos or Creoleswere the sovereigns of Mexico. Hidalgo and several other Creoles

in the local government began to conspire against the Spanish crown. Throughout Latin America, the Creolepopulation was denied access to the privileged government positions it was qualified to hold by a crown policythat insisted on sending officials directly from Spain to run the colonies.

Resentment about Spanish preferment was very strong in some regions, as Creoles hoped to free the coloniesfrom Spain in order to assume the privileges of Spanish government themselves. Hidalgo had other motives aswell. In 1804, the Spanish government had passed a controversial law, the Consolidacin de Vales Reales, inanattempt to raise royal revenues. As a result of these measures, the government had taken money from theHidalgo family, almost ruining the family fortune and pushing Hidalgo's brother toward madness.

In September 1810, one member of the anticrown conspiracy betrayed the others by informing royal


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officials of the plot. Now forced to make his move, Hidalgo claimed that his rebellion was not only for theCreoles but for all Mexicans. Proclaiming his authority in the name of the Mexican nation, on September 16,1810, Hidalgo rang his church bell. Once the parishioners assembled, he delivered the legendary "Grito deDolores." He cried, "Death to the Spaniards! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!" Riding an emotional high,Hidalgo took an image of the virgin on canvas and placed it on a stick to lead the rebellion. Without delay, thegroup followed his call to sack and destroy the homes of all Spaniards. More than 20,000 of the region's poorand oppressed Indians and mestizos followed him. Creole observers characterized the rebellion as a crude andunruly mob. This upset Hidalgo, since he wanted the revolution to free Creoles of Spanish rule. Less than 100Creoles would ever join, however, so Hidalgo made do with his roving horde.

Hidalgo and his unorganized rebellion moved toward the city of Guanajuato. News of the rebellion and itsviolence reached the city ahead of them. Some of the Spanish population fled, while others remained todefend their wealth. Once the army entered the city, the rebellion killed any white people it found, fol lowed bylooting and destruction of property. One survivor described the scene as a frenzy of racial hatred. The rebellionand its violence against all white Mexicans galvanized the Spaniards and Creoles of Mexico. Instead ofdwelling on their differences, these two groups were inspired by Hidalgo's threat to view each other as allies.

After the sacking of Guanajuato, Hidalgo was unsure of his next move; he did not have a specificmilitary strategy. The army moved forward and captured Valladolid, after which his old friend, Bishop Abad yQueipo, excommunicated Hidalgo. To show his indifference, Hidalgo proceeded in a more radical directionand declared the abolition of slavery in Mexico.

Hidalgo's army consisted of mostly Indians and mestizos to whom the respective ideals of republicanism andabsolutism were far less important than the opportunity to escape the domination of Europeans and take uptheir own lives in an unfettered fashion. Moreover, a central aspect of their lives was their spiritual belief system,and Hidalgo's banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe had brought out their devotion to this popular religious iconwhose brown skin associated her with the poor. Many believed that they were fighting for the Virgin ofGuadalupe against the white devils. One witness remembered that the insignia of the Virgin was everywhere,even on hats and banners.

By October, the number of rebels had reached 80,000, and the enthusiastic horde reached the outskirts ofMexico City, ready to plunder the largest jewel in the Spanish Empire. As they waited, a Creole-Spanish armyappeared and fired artillery rounds into Hidalgo's irregular army. For reasons unknown to anyone, then or now,Hidalgo stopped his advance, departing instead to Guadalajara. There, he declared the restoration of Indian

lands to their communities and the abolition of taxes.While garrisoned in Guadalajara, Hidalgo and his army continued to massacre whites, including the executionof 350 prisoners at Hidalgo's request.

Stalled in Guadalajara, the movement began to break apart. The recruits began to leave as mysteriously asthey had appeared a few months before. They removed the Virgin from their hats and went back to theirvillages. Without an army, Hidalgo fled to the North with only the remnants of his rebellious followers. A royalistofficer captured Hidalgo in Chihuahua, where he endured a military and ecclesiastical trial. During the trial, hedefended his actions as humanitarian and claimed that he had underestimated the Indians' desire for Spanishblood. To the Inquisition, he recanted all of his previous heresies. The courts defrocked him and sentenced himto death by firing squad. After three rifle volleys failed to kill him, the commander ordered two soldiers to walkup to Hidalgo and shoot him in the heart. Hidalgo died on July 30, 1811.


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Benito JurezDespite the limited effectiveness of Benito Jurez'reforms, he remained the hero of Mexican nationalism, aleader who weakened colonial practices and created anew Mexico in the mid-19th century.

Jurez was born on March 21, 1806 in San PabloGuelatao, Oaxaca State. His parents were peasants andfull-blooded Zapotec Indians. They died when Jurez was

three years old, and he subsequently lived with an uncle.Jurez received little education and worked tending hisuncle's sheep. One day, he lost one of the sheep and,fearful that his uncle would punish him, ran away toOaxaca City. There, a Franciscan lay brother introducedhim to books and the ideas that subsequently stirred himto change Mexico.

At one time, Jurez considered entering the priesthood,and toward this end, he studied theology and Latin. In1829, however, he began pursuing science and law atthe Oaxaca Institute of Arts and Sciences.

Two years later, he obtained his law degree and wonelection to the municipal council. As a lawyer, he at firstearnedlittle money, representing mainly the impoverished. By1843, however, he acquired sufficient finances to marryinto a prominent family.

During the 1840s, Jurez advanced politically andattracted national attention. He became a judge andthen governor of Oaxaca State. He criticized the aristocracy and the Catholic Church, with its massive hold onland, for stifling Mexico, and he supported capitalist growth that would break monopolies and stimulate theeconomy. He also desired a federal political system that would give Mexico's states more authority.

By 1853, President Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna had developed a despotic regime, and in 1854, anuprising began in the nation's southern highlands. Led by Juan lvarez, the rebels espoused liberal ideas anddemanded a new constitution. Many middle-class mestizos (people of Spanish and Indian blood) supportedthe rebellion, particularly after the rebels rejected radicalism and issued a moderate declaration for change in1854.

Jurez' support for this uprising resulted in his exile by Santa Anna. For two years, beginning in 1853, he livedin New Orleans, where he plotted with fellow exiles. Late in 1855, Jurez returned home and joined the rebelforce that captured Mexico City without a fight and toppled Santa Anna. lvarez emerged as president andappointed Jurez minister of justice. lvarez soon resigned the presidency, and Ignacio Comonfort succeededhim. Jurez and Comonfort differed on many issues, but the administration pursued a liberal program that

Jurez helped shape, including forcing the church to sell its lands with the intent of offering them at low pricesto the landless. Unfortunately for the poor, the land was purchased mainly by wealthier Mexicans, and thepeasants benefited little.

In yet another reform, a new constitution in 1857 established a federal political system. Elections that yearresulted in a victory for Comonfort, and Jurez became vice president and chief justice of the Supreme Court.Conservatives, however, rebelled against the liberal victory and forced Comonfort to resign, an upset thatunleashed a civil war between the conservative government and the liberals, who named Jurez as Mexico'spresident.

At first, the army of the conservatives gained the upper hand, partly due to funds supplied by theCatholic Church. In reaction to this, in 1859 Jurez ordered the confiscation of all church property not used for


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religious services. He also separated church and state and proclaimed religious liberty. As the civil warcontinued, Jurez established close ties with the United States that led to charges he was a tool of theAmericans. By 1860, the army of the liberals had obtained the advantage, and in December, it entered MexicoCity. Victorious, Jurez presided over all of Mexico. He displayed leniency toward the conservative rebels andallowed full freedom of speech. The conservatives took advantage of this, severely criticized him, and throughtheir control of Congress nearly removed him from office.

Jurez' greatest threat, though, entailed the national debt. The nation's treasury was empty, yet Mexicostill owed money to foreign investors. In July 1861, Jurez ordered the suspension of payments on the debt,

bringing an angry response from Europeans, including the severing of diplomatic relations. France went evenfurther: with the United States preoccupied by the American Civil War, the French government under EmperorNapoleon III decided to install Archduke Maximilian of Austria as Emperor Ferdinand-Joseph Maximilian ofMexico. Within a year after French troops invaded in 1862, Jurez was forced to flee Mexico City. Theconservatives hailed Maximilian's arrival, thinking they had a fellow believer, but Maximilian stunned themwhen he announced his support for liberal reforms.

This position, however, proved his undoing, for the conservatives deserted him and the liberals distrusted him.Then, when the American Civil War ended, the United States informed France it would not allow Maximilian'sgovernment to continue. Once the French withdrew their troops, Jurez and the liberals defeated Maximilianand in 1867 executed him. Despite the turmoil, the Maximilian affair boosted Mexican nationalism when largesegments of the population united to expel the foreigners. Unity did not, however, mark Jurez' return to power.

He won reelection to the presidency in 1867 but ruled increasingly without consulting Congress. At the sametime, his health deteriorated, and Mexico's financial situation remained bleak. Jurez angered many liberalswith his unilateral approach, his decision to grant amnesty to the conservatives, and his unsuccessful attempt toalter the constitution and increase executive power. Furthermore, he angered the army when he reduced itssize by two-thirds.

In 1871, Jurez ignored liberal requests that he step aside; he sought reelection and won in voting marred byfraud. One of the defeated candidates, Porfirio Daz, led an armed revolt, but Jurez crushed it. The president'shealth, however, worsened, and he died on July 18, 1872.


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Toussaint L'OuvertureToussaint L'Ouverture was the dominant figure in the largest slave revolt in the Western hemisphere and the onlyone to be fully successful. He rose from enslavement to the military and political leadership of the Haitianstruggle for independence within the French Revolution. He abolished slavery and established an autonomousnation based on the concept that all men should be equal. L'Ouverture became a symbol of blackpower,

dignity, and autonomy, inspiring both thosewho supported and those who opposed thoseideals.

L'Ouverture was born on May 20, 1743, to slaveparents on the Breda sugar estate outside ofCapFranais, one of the leading cities of the islandcolony Saint-Domingue. Tradition holds that hisfather was once a chief of the West AfricanArada tribe. Whatever his background,L'Ouverture did not grow into a field hand butbecame a domestic worker, probably acoachman. As a child, he had learned variousfolk and herbal remedies from his mother andachieved some fame as a healer. At the same

time, he was a devout Catholic and lateroutlawed voodoo from his armies. By 1779,Toussaint de Breda, as he was known beforethe revolution, was a free black growingcoffee on rented property with a work force of12 slaves, leased from a wealthy planter. Helearned to read and write when he was about30, taught by an ex-priest.

During L'Ouverture's youth, Saint-Domingue(present-day Haiti) was the most prosperous ofFrance'scolonies. Its economy was based on the

plantation and slavery system. More than 3,000plantations produced coffee, sugar, cotton,indigo, tobacco, and cocoa. Under themercantilist system practiced by France, Saint-Domingue could not develop its own industriesbut was forced to purchase finished goodsfrom France. All trade was carried by Frenchships. Although many planters became

fabulously wealthy, they harbored some resentment against the royal government.

The population on Saint-Domingue comprised three separate groups. Whites held most of the power in thecolony; in 1789, they numbered about 45,000 persons. Free blacks or mixed bloods occupied an intermediate

position. Many members of this group were wealthy in their own right and owned slaves and plantations. Theywere, however, systematically discriminated against by the whites and excluded from real power in the colony.Free blacks and mulattos totaled about 30,000 persons. Most of the population of Saint-

Domingue were slaves of African descent. Their numbers were approximately 450,000.The French Revolution began in 1789 and quickly spread to the colonies. On Saint-Domingue, thewhites were divided between those supporting and those opposing the revolution. Free blacks and mulattosalso took sides, and fighting began between the different factions. In Saint-Domingue, the fighting centeredaround the idea of racial equality, which weakened the control of slave owners.

On August 22, 1791, the slaves of the Cap Franais hinterland rose up in revolt. L'Ouverture apparently joinedthe revolt as a doctor. He is said to have saved the lives of the Breda plantation manager and his family early in


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the revolution. L'Ouverture's first recorded activity with the rebels, however, was on December 4, 1791, when heparticipated in negotiations between white and black leaders. Negotiations broke down, and the revolutionspread to slaves in other parts of the island.

L'Ouverture quickly became chief lieutenant to slave general Biassou, and in 1793, the two men alliedtheir forces with the Spanish in Santo Domingo on the eastern side of the island. As war broke out in Europebetween revolutionary France on the one hand and England and Spain on the other, the latter countriesinvaded Saint-Domingue. In those circumstances, many blacks presented themselves as counterrevolutionariesloyal to the French king and willing to fight with the Spanish. Tens of thousands of slaves were mobilized and

armed to fight. In one month, more than 1,000 plantations were burned. To prevent total defeat, therepresentatives of the revolutionary government in Paris abolished slavery in September 1793.L'Ouverture quickly changed sides, joining with the French against the Spanish and British, who sought tocontinue the institution of slavery. He soon became the leading black general for the French and defeatedthose of his former colleagues who were still allied with the Spanish. Fighting continued until the Treaty of Baylein 1795 ended the war between France and Spain.

By 1796, L'Ouverture was the leading figure on Saint-Domingue. He was named deputy governor andproved to be an excellent military leader. The French-educated, mulatto class sought to replace the largelydestroyed white class and take control of the colony, but L'Ouverture limited them for the most part to thesouthern peninsula of the island. Many of his black officers took over the abandoned plantations and revivedtheir production, using compulsory, but paid, labor of former slaves.

L'Ouverture used his army and influence with the free blacks to increase the autonomy of Saint-Domingue from France. He engineered the forced return to France of various representatives of the centralgovernment. He also negotiated a trade agreement with the United States and an agreement with the Britishto withdraw their troops and open trade with British colonies.

Supported by Great Britain and the United States, L'Ouverture entered into civil war in July 1799 withhis mulatto counterpart, Andr Rigaud. The so-called War of the South ended with a total victory forL'Ouverture's blacks over the mulatto class. Yet the violence of the war made it impossible for blacks andmulattos to reunite. By the end of 1800, L'Ouverture had also conquered Spanish Santo Domingo, againstorders from Paris. In that and other situations, L'Ouverture displayed increasing independence from the Frenchgovernment. He promulgated a new colonial constitution that made him governor-general for life. He did notdeclare complete independence, however, for fear of alienating Britain and the United States and ending theirsupport. L'Ouverture maintained a strong attachment to French culture. He sent his children to school in

France.He valued education and ability above race. Unqualified blacks who asked for positions were rejected,while his entourage included three white priests and several white advisers.

In early 1802, Napoleon I sent a military expedition to reassert French control over Saint-Domingue. In a brief butcostly campaign, L'Ouverture was defeated and exiled to France. Many blacks had turned against L'Ouvertureduring the fighting. Once the campaign ended, however, they quickly realized that the French planned toreestablish slavery. Under the general and future monarch of Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, combatants of allcolors united to expel the French. The colony was declared free on November 29, 1803, and given the name ofHaiti to emphasize the break with European colonialism.

The first modern black state was established. Much of the credit for laying the groundwork belongs toL'Ouverture, who demonstrated that blacks were capable of self-rule. He never saw the fruit of his labors,

however. He died in prison in France on April 7, 1803.


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Jos de San MartnJos de San Martn led the rebellion against Spain that liberated Argentina, Chile, and Peru. This came after hemade an abrupt change in 1812 from commanding Spanish forces to allying with nationalist rebels.

San Martn was born on February 25, 1778 in a small villagecalled Yapey, located on the northernfrontier of Argentina. His father served as an official in theSpanish colonial government that controlled thearea. In 1785, his parents returned to Spain, where they had

both been born, and took young Jos with them. Heattended an aristocratic school, the Nobles' Seminary, inMadrid and began his military career when he enteredthe Royal Academy and became a cadet in the Muricainfantry regiment. He subsequently fought in battlesagainst the British and Portuguese and by 1804 advanced tothe rank of captain. Following this, he fought in thewar between Spain and Napoleonic France.

After Napoleon occupied Spain, San Martn continued tofight for the Spanish Crown, earning promotion to lieutenantcolonel and in 1811 commanding the Sagunto Dragoons.

The following year, he made his puzzling and unexpectedtransformation, quitting the Spanish military in 1812 andreturning to Argentina where he allied with the rebels inBuenos Aires who demanded independence from Spain. Tothis day, historians are uncertain as to why San Martnswitched his loyalty; he may have been influenced by aBritish agent who sought to undermine Spain, or he mayhave become disgusted with the prejudice he encounteredfrom Spaniards who looked down upon him as an inferiorCreole, a person of Spanish blood born in the Americas.

Whatever the case, in 1812 he helped found the LautaroLodge, a secret organization committed to

independence. He organized Argentine troops against thepro-Spanish royalist forces and in 1813 won animportant battle at San Lorenzo, which secured supply lineswith Montevideo. The following year, he was

appointed general and ordered to attack Upper Peru (today, Bolivia). He publicly balked at the impossibility ofthis mission, while privately he concluded that independence from Spain could not be secured without avictory in Peru, which had become a royalist stronghold. In a skillful maneuver, he resigned his commandclaiming ill healthand requested an obtained appointment as governor of Cuyo Province, located near theAndes, where he could supposedly recuperate. he actually used this move to gather his forces in westernArgentina and develop a plan to cross the Andes into Chile, acquire reinforcements, and attack Peru.With little support from Buenos Aires, San Martn gathered his men over a three-year period and joinedwith the Chilean liberator, Bernardo O'Higgins.

Early in 1817, San Martn led his men over the Andes, scaling incredible heights and fighting Spanish forces in acampaign that enhanced his reputation as a great general. About this feat, he observed: "The difficulty thathad to be overcome in the crossing of the mountains can only be imagined by those who have actually gonethrough it." In February, he captured Santiago and was offered the Chilean governorship. He refused, however,so that his friend O'Higgins could rule, a move that also allowed him to secure Chile militarily and prepare for hisattack on Peru. In 1818, he defeated the last Royalist troops in Chile.

San Martn then aimed at Peru. After gathering his force, he departed aboard a ramshackle naval fleet in1820 and landed at Pisco. Rather than directly assault the heavily fortified capital, Lima, San Martn waited outhis enemy. The Royalist troops failed to get supplies and reinforcements. When they retreated into themountains in 1821, San Martn entered Lima. On July 28, the revolutionaries declared Peru independent and


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San Martn their nation's protector.

Trouble soon arose, however, for Spanish troops remained in Peru and many Peruvians feared SanMartn's intentionsperhaps he would make himself dictator, weaken the Catholic Church, or destroy the largelandholdings. As disorder threatened, San Martn indeed became dictator, and to defeat the Royalists hedecided to form an alliance with Simn Bolvar, the great South American liberator. Bolvar had recentlydefeated the Spanish in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.

In July 1822, the two leaders met at Guayaquil in Ecuador. Little is known about what transpired, but after two

days of talks, San Martn unexpectedly returned to his ship and, under the cover of darkness, set sail for Peru. Helikely believed it impossible to reconcile his differences with Bolvar, who did not offer him an adequate numberof reinforcements and opposed the idea of San Martn serving under him in the final assault against theSpaniards. The two men may also have disagreed over territory, with San Martn opposing Bolvar's havingdeclared Guayaquil a part of Colombia.

In any event, San Martn apparently believed his presence would bring discord and disrupt the war. InSeptember 1822, he resigned as protector and, while suffering from illness, he traveled to Chile. After his wifedied in 1824, he sailed for England with his daughter and settled in Belgium. In 1829, he decided to return toBuenos Aires, but when he received news aboard ship that political strife had intensified, he headed back toEurope without having entered Argentina. He lived in Paris and then Boulogne, where he died on August 17,1850. The "Liberator of the South" eventually returned home: in 1880, his remains were moved to Buenos

Aires.


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Antonio Lpez de Santa AnnaOne of Mexico's most influential leaders of all time, president and general Antonio Lpez de Santa Annadirected the Mexican government and military from September 1846 to September 1847, when MexicoCity was seized by Gen. Winfield Scott.

Born in Jalapa in 1794 to a middle-class family,Santa Anna received little schooling before he

joined the Spanish Army in 1810 as a cadet. As asoldier, he helped suppress Indian tribes, public

uprisings against theRoman Catholic Church, and Mexican and U.S.settler uprisings in Texas. His bravery led torecognition andpromotions. As did many other officers in theSpanish Army, Santa Anna embraced therevolution of Augustnde Iturbide, which resulted in independence fromSpain in 1821. Soon afterward, Santa Anna waspromoted tobrigadier general and supported the overthrowof Iturbide.

In 1829, Santa Anna gained widespreadrecognition by raising and commanding a 2,000-man army thatdefeated a Spanish expeditionary force in 1829at Tampico. His success at Tampico resulted in hiselection asthe (liberal) president of Mexico in 1833, withValentn Gmez Faras as vice president. By 1834,mostly forreasons of self-preservation, he adopted acentralist platform, exiled his vice president, shutdown Congress, and declared himself dictator. In

1836, Santa Anna replaced the constitution withthe "Seven Laws," whicheliminated self-rule in the states of Mexico andlengthened his term to eight years. As dictator, hespent much of his time acquiring vast landholdings around Veracruz.

Santa Anna continued to rule with a heavy hand,repressing rebellious cultures in the Yucatn and

Tabasco. In 1836, with an army of 6,000 men, he defeated Texan rebels at the Alamo and Goliad, but wasbadly beaten by Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto, where he displayed poor tactical judgment and akeen interest in self-preservation. He ultimately signed the Treaties of Velasco, which granted Texas its freedom

from Mexico.

A few months after his return to Mexico in 1837, Anastasio Bustamante had been chosen as president by thecentralist regime, and Santa Anna retired to his hacienda at Veracruz. In 1838, Santa Anna was called upon toexpel a French force at Veracruz; during the skirmish, he was wounded by a cannonball, and his left leg wasamputated below the knee. The bone was not properly cut, and he lived with pain for the rest of his life. Back infavor, and with the help of generals Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga and Gabriel Valencia, Santa Anna regainedthe presidency in 1843. His severed leg was disinterred from his estate at Veracruz and, in a formal militaryprocession, escorted in an urn to the cemetery of Santa Paula, where it was placed in a vault.

In 1844, Santa Anna ordered a levy of 30,000 new troops. Under his leadership, the country was nearlybankrupt through the misuse of government funds. Santa Anna's preoccupation with regaining Texas was not


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embraced by other Mexican leaders. The political and mi litary arenas grew increasingly unstable, and uprisingsincreased. After he left Mexico City to deal with a revolt by former ally Paredes y Arrillaga, Mexico City rioted,and Santa Anna's severed limb was dragged through the streets. Santa Anna was captured in disguise andimprisoned at Perote Castle until he was exiled to Cuba for life in May 1845.

After discussions between President James K. Polk and Alexander J. Atocha in 1846, and Cmdr. AlexanderSlidell Mackenzie and Santa Anna himself in Cuba, Polk allowed Santa Anna to pass through the U.S. navalblockade to Veracruz in August 1846. Polk had been assured that Santa Anna would easily regain thepresidency and then seek a negotiated peace. Santa Anna's return at Veracruz was marked by celebratory

cannon discharges and fireworks. In September, he rode into Mexico City in an elegant carriage bedeckedwith tricolored ribbons with Valentn Gmez Faras by his side. Mexico felt momentarily redeemed and hopefulwith the return of Santa Anna as president. Up to this point, the war with the United States had gone badlyGen. Zachary Taylor had won three straight battles, inflicted terrible losses on the Army of the North, andcontrolled northern Mexico. While Vice President Gmez Faras ran the day-to-day government, Santa Anna,with his usual energies (and wanton waste of funds), reorganized the Army of the North into a 20,000-man armywith which he planned to destroy Taylor.

After leaving cheering crowds in San Luis Potos in late January 1847, Santa Anna returned with hisbroken army two months later, having lost the close Battle of Buena Vista (La Angostura) and over half thestrength of his army. By the time he returned to Mexico City, it was wracked by civil unrest and the PolkosRevolt, and a U.S. army under Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott had landed without the loss of a single man at

Veracruz. To face Scott, Santa Anna rushed to organize the makeshift Army of the East, which he personallyled during the bloody defeats that led to the fall of Mexico City in September 1847.

Santa Anna resigned as president of Mexico on September 16, 1847. After surrendering to U.S. forces atPuebla, he voluntarily exiled himself in 1848 to Venezuela, where he lived in a comfortable hacienda andenjoyed his favorite hobby of cockfighting. Mexico, again adrift and leaderless in 1853, asked the ageddictator to return, which he did. Santa Anna quickly sold the Mesilla Valley to the United States for $10 million(Gadsden Purchase) to generate badly needed revenue. Overthrown by the liberals in 1855, he left forHavana, Cuba. Allowed to return to Mexico City in 1874, he died there in 1876 at the age of 82.

Documents

Stations Simón Bolívar etc.docx