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South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

author:The ancient road says the historian

Bolívar and San Martín

These are the two leaders of the Latin American national independence and liberation movement.

Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) led the Latin American people to liberate six countries in South America, including Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and was known as the "liberator" of South America.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

Simón Bolívar

Born on July 24, 1783, Bolívar in Caracas, the capital of the Venezuelan Metropolitan District, to a family of native white landowners and industrialists and businessmen, grew up rich and well-off, but in the Spanish colonial system, their native whites could not change their status as "second-class citizens", and they had to endure political and economic manipulation and exploitation by the suzerainty.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

Current location in Caracas

Having traveled throughout Europe and deeply influenced by the ideas of democracy and freedom after the French Revolution, Bolívar expressed his deep disgust at Napoleon's coronation of emperor in 1804, "He became emperor, and from that day on, I have seen him as a hypocritical tyrant, a disgrace to freedom, an obstacle to the progress of civilization."

In 1805, he climbed the "Holy Mountain" near Rome, Italy, remembering the revolt of the common people in Rome for their rights, and he immediately made a vow: "As long as the shackles that the Spanish regime put on us are not broken, I will continue to fight, and my soul will not rest in peace." ”

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

Against Spanish colonial rule

In 1807, Bolívar returned to Caracas and threw himself into the revolutionary torrent against Spanish colonial rule. On July 8, 1811, under the struggle of the Bolivars, the Venezuelan National Assembly adopted the Declaration of Independence, "from this day on, Venezuela has truly and legitimately become and should become an independent state".

After the establishment of the Republic of Venezuela (the First Republic), the colonial army entrenched in the Koro region launched a crazy counterattack against the Republic, and the royalist troops lurking on the east and west flanks of the capital also took the opportunity to rebel. In August of the following year, Spanish colonial forces captured Caracas, and Bolívar was forced into exile in Cartagena (a seaport city in present-day northern Colombia) in New Granada.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

Cartagena

In 1813, Bolívar regrouped and led 300 patriotic troops back to Venezuela after a fierce battle in the fortress of Cucuta on the eastern side of the Andes near the border with Venezuela. In August of the same year, the RPA recaptured Caracas, the Second Republic of Venezuela was established, and Bolívar was awarded the title of "Liberator".

However, in July 1814, the Republic was again suppressed by Spanish troops, and in September Bolívar retreated again to Cartagena, and then crossed the sea to the British colony of Jamaica (Lamaica). Here he published a letter from Jamaica, calling on the people to continue fighting.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

British colony Jamaica

In 1816, with the support of the Haitian government and people, Bolívar landed in Venezuela again, and in order to ensure the victory of the new military operation, Bolívar issued a decree in 1817 announcing the confiscation of the land of the Spanish crown and all reactionaries to the soldiers of the Patriotic Army. Encouraged by this and the recent decree on the abolition of slavery, many blacks, Indians and mestizos took refuge in Bolívar. In October 1818, the Third Republic of Venezuela was born and Bolívar was elected president.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

Bolívar was elected President

In August 1819, Bolívar led an army to conquer Bogota and liberate New Granada, proclaiming the Republic of Gran Colombia uniting Venezuela and New Granada in December of that year. In May 1822, Bolívar eliminated the Spanish colonial army in Ecuador, and Ecuador joined the Republic of Gran Colombia.

In July, Bolívar and San Martin (1778-1850) met in Guayaquil, after which Bolívar led his troops into Spain and Peru, the base of the royalist army, in 1823, at repeated requests from the Peruvian people. In December 1824, the Colombian-Peruvian coalition decisively defeated the Spanish colonial army near Ayacucho, a Peruvian mountainous region, and the Battle of Ayacucho laid a solid foundation for victory in the Latin American War of Independence.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

Battle of Ayacucho

Shortly thereafter, Upper Peru also proclaimed the Republic of Bolivia (named after Bolívar to commemorate his exploits) with the assistance of the Bolivarian army. In January 1826, Spain's last stronghold in South America was uprooted in Callao, Peru, bringing an end to more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule on the continent.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

Bolívar died

Between 1829 and 1830, Venezuela and Ecuador seceded from the Republic of Gran Colombia. In early 1830, Bolívar resigned as President of Gran Colombia, and on December 17 of the same year, Bolívar died in Santa Marta, Colombia.

South American "liberator" José de San Martín

José Francisco de San Martin Matorras (1778-1850) was also known as the "liberator" of South America. San Martín was born in the town of Yapey ú in Corri-entes, Viceroyalty de la Plata (now Argentina), and moved with his parents to Buenos Aires. He studied in Madrid, where he was deeply influenced by Enlightenment ideas, especially Rousseau's Theory of the Social Contract.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

José de San Martín

In July 1789, St. Martin joined the Spanish Murcia Infantry Regiment as a cadet. After 1808, he made many achievements in the national war against the invasion of Napoleon's army in Spain and was promoted to major. Later, under the influence of Latin American progressives studying in Spain, San Martín joined the secret revolutionary organization "Lautaro" for Latin American independence, and swore "absolutely no recognition as legitimate government of any American government not elected by the free will of the peoples of all nationalities, and resolutely fought for the establishment of a republican system."

In 1810, when the War of Independence broke out in La Plata, San Martín considered himself an American and was determined to join the war of independence for national liberation, although still in Spain. In early 1812, he returned to Buenos Aires.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

The War of Independence breaks out in La Plata

On February 3, 1813, San Martin was ordered to lead his cavalry to face the overwhelming Spanish colonial army at San Lorenzo on the Paraná River and finally won, but on the northern front, the Argentine Patriotic Army suffered successive defeats. In order to turn the tide of the war, the Buenos Aires government quickly appointed San Martín commander of the Northern Army. With San Martín's strategy, the Northern Army adopted an active and flexible counterattack strategy and repelled the Spanish colonial invasion of Argentina from Upper Peru.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

In 1814, Saint-Martin resigned as commander of the Northern Army to become governor of Cuyo, and over the next two years trained an "Andean army" of more than 5,000 men. At the beginning of 1817, San Martin led the "Andean Army" across the Andes and marched into Chile, and under the blows of San Martin, the Spanish colonial army was defeated one after another. In February 1818, Chile declared its independence, and the Santiago City Council and civic representatives elected San Martín as Chile's new head of state, but San Martin declined.

Immediately after the liberation of Chile, San Martín prepared for an invasion of Peru by sea. In August 1820, he led a coalition of Argentine-Chilean forces to attack Peru from the sea, and in July 1821, the coalition triumphantly captured the city of Lima, after which Peru declared its independence and was proclaimed "Lord Protector" (supreme ruler). The liberation of Peru further consolidated the independence of Argentina and Chile, but the main Spanish colonial forces in Peru were not completely annihilated.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

Peru declares independence

At this time, Bolívar, who had liberated Ecuador, was leading his army to Peru, and in July 1822, San Martín held secret talks with Bolívar in Guayaquil on how to completely destroy Spanish colonial rule, but no agreement was reached. Under these circumstances, Saint Martin decided to retire immediately and give Bolivar command and command of the patriotic armed forces throughout Latin America in order to achieve complete victory in the war of independence as soon as possible.

South American "liberators" - Bolivar and Saint Martin

San Martín Bolivar secret talks

Reflecting on this past, Saint-Martin said that he retired from political and military issues in South America because he "recognized that I had a duty to make the last self-sacrifice for the national good." In September of the same year, San Martín resigned as Protector of Peru and went to Chile. In 1823, San Martín returned to Argentina. The following year, he settled in France, where he remained until his death in 1850.

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