Jose de San Martin: The Unknown Hero of Latin America Pt2
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- čas přidán 15. 03. 2021
- La guerra de la independencia: Arriving in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata; San Martin and his companions were faced with a colonial government in disarray. Not quite revolutionary, and not quite loyalist; attempting to form a new United Provinces; factional infighting so preoccupied them that they proved ineffective not only in subjugating outlying provinces, but barely securing their external borders. To be sure, there was much pride in the repulsion of two British invasions a couple of years earlier; which, it could be said was the primary trigger for self-determination; but beyond that, the local government struggled to define its purpose or its capacity to lead the rest of the colony.
Outlying provinces were suspicious of the motives of Buenos Aires, and pursued a federalist agenda, which carried its own risks, as border security was flimsy, and led by heroic leaders who for the most part, were nevertheless not professional soldiers.
San Martin was ideally suited to reorganise the military, but suspicions as to his motives ran deep, so early on he was assigned to mobilise a small cavalry regiment and police the river towns along the Parana River. Several successful engagements quickly proved his loyalty and skill and he was catapulted into senior leadership roles and quickly began re-organising the army.
His primary goal was to secure external borders, particularly against the northern Viceroyalty of Peru, which posed a huge threat of attack from the Highlands. Seeing no way to win in the mountainous terrain, he instead formed a new army, and crossed the Andean Alps into Chile, in a Herculean feat not seen since Hannibal's crossing of the Italian Alps into Rome, taking the enemy by surprise and liberating Santiago, and eventually sweeping up the coast and taking Peru, in battles that had so few casualties, that commentators were shocked at his ability to achieve victory.
From here he met up with the swashbuckling Bolivar, who, not willing to share the glory of Liberating the rest of the continent, insisted on going it alone rather than join forces with his southern ally. Low on funds, and lacking the support of Buenos Aires, who was embroiled in a civil war, San Martin left the war to the politicians and retired. Still unsatisfied, the ruling elites feared his political clout, so he voluntarily exiled himself to Europe, watching from afar, as his homeland continued to be plagued by both civil war as well as Portuguese incursion, entirely of their own making.
At the time, he was seen as a controversial figure by the ruling elite, refusing to raise a sword against his own countrymen in a civil war that to him, seemed like an unnecessary distraction from the wider scope of liberation from Colonial oppression. It took many decades for successive governments to begrudgingly recognise what the ordinary folk knew all along- that he was the enabler not only of liberation of the entire southern half of the continent, but also of the further ability of Simon Bolivar to finish what San Martin himself had started. It is highly probable that without San Martin's actions, Bolivar would have failed to take Peru, or indeed proceed any further south than Guayaquil in modern Ecuador, as he desperately needed San Martin's reinforcements even in that outlying campaign.
Forgotten for decades, San Martin now lies in the cathedral of Buenos Aires, rightly venerated by ordinary Argentines, Chileans and Peruvians alike, as "el libertador", the Liberator.
#josedesanmartin, #sanmartin, #libertador, #argentina
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Thank you for honoring the memory of the greatest man my country has ever known
Incredibly well done! This channel is super underrated, it deserves much more. He truly is the best historic character from Argentina, its a shame that the people of his time turned their back on him, they didn't want to see the bigger picture and for that they started a cycle of useless wars against each other. Greeting from Argentina!
Muchas gracias! I love your beautiful country, and San Martin's integrity and humanity impressed me greatly. This is the newer of my two channels, and with the kindness of viewers like you I hope the word spreads to many more people. My original channel is a personal development channel born out of the despair of being a divorced father- please take a look at Triarius Project and let me know what you think. All my videos can be seen on my website- www.triariusproject.com. Many thanks once again for your generous comments!
San Martin was a great general, and a gentleman. I don't understand why San Martin was never mentioned in any of the history courses I took in grade school or in high school. Thank you so much for this remarkable video.
Couldn't agree more! Thanks for watching, I'm glad you found it interesting!
The only thing San Martín was looking for was to recognize the previous king before the Bourbons as the king of Argentina and Peru, because he did not accept the constitution of 1812, hence the separation from Spain.
Amazing work! Having lived in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia for a bit, I've seen parks and statues of Simon Bolivar in virtually every city. Bolivia still uses Bolivars as its currency. It's an absolute shame that honourable characters such as San Martin don't get the same recognition as the values he espoused and most importantly lived are something that South American governments should strive for. The idea of supporting an Incan chief to become a monarch in 1815 for the right reasons is absolutely mind-blowing. In a sea of power-grabbing militaristic dictatorships that this continent has to suffer to this day, San Martin comes across as well ahead of his time.
Thanks so much for those generous comments. Like you, I was inspired by his story when I travelled across the Andes from Mendoza to Santiago. A great and honourable man.
you know, the distance from Buenos Aires to Lima is pretty much the same there is between Lisbon in Portugal and Sr Petersbourg in Russia, he pretty much liberated the same extension that Napoleon tried to conquer...even before that he fought for the liberation of Spain making him a libertador in both in the old and new world wich is a quite rare distinction..he fought with and against the biggest empires of that time gaining respect from both sides, he was saved two times by common soldiers that embodied the poor humble common man that just wanted to live in peace in a time in which there was no peace without freedom and no freedom without fight. San Martin gave his life to liberate the commons of the world anywhere he could, wasnt a matter of nationalism he was beyond that. Even in the prime of his life when he could have harvest all that glory and turn it into power an wealth he decided to fade out in a place nobody knew the extent of his glory, becoming almost a common man himself, humble, even poor, died almost alone and aparently forgoten like any other common man only to become our most beloved founding father...thanks for this incredible work to all of you, awesome channel!
I'm deeply moved by this two videos about el Libertador.
San Martín was a liberator first and a politician only by necessity. He went as far as he could. He run out of support in Perú so he stepped aside so the autocratic Bolivar would finish the campaign. He made one of the most decorous exits from the World stage in History.
Superb.
Thank you! That means a lot!
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Wow, those 2 parts were truly awesome.
excellent videos and the first i have seen about that great man. I was born and educated during my first 15 years in Argentina where San Martin is obviously mentioned a great deal, however. In the UK where i had the remaining 3 years of my education, no one seems to have ever heard of him, instead Bolivar is accredited as the main liberator of Spanish South America. I wonder if Lord Cochran, via his book, might have been overly influential
No doubt, I mention that in the video. Very sad. I hope my small video can help to spread appreciation of his achievements. Thanks so much for watching and supporting my channel!
@@heroesandlegends I made a point of sharing them via my Facebook account but hardly got a reply, even from my Argentine cousins
certanly Cochrane had a lot to do with the fact tha San Martin was missregarded
My beautiful Mendoza ♥️
Bonum vinum laetificat cor hominis
Jose De San Martin is without doubt Argentina's supreme General who ignited
Argentina's Independence from Spain and who inspired other Argentine commanders
to defeat the Brittish in 1806 ,1807 to have defeated to major super Powers during that decade
was a Colossus victory along with liberating most of the south American continent Argentina Chile and
Peru while demonstrating humility and an amazing military command of his forces.
His Legacy for Liberty lives on despite the current political and economic situation afflicting this prosperous Argentina.
VIVA LA LIBERTAD!
I found him to be such an inspirational figure that I couldn't produce a film in less than two parts! Thanks so much for viewing my work - I appreciate your support of my channel -gracias!
Your welcome its great to see producers such as your self depicting San Martin with
historical facts and showing him in the true light that he was and the future aspirations he had for both Argentina and the southern continent you did a great job! I hope either you or other directors can producee a
movie about him one day. Gracias genio!@@heroesandlegends
Truly honorable man.
Together with Bolivar's biography--which I recently watched these two men sum up almost all the complexities of South America's not so distant past--thank you!
Bolivar was of course a hero in his own way, and yet, for my money, San Martin was the far greater, and nobler individual, whose career ended as you might expect for such a man. Thanks for taking the time to view and share your thoughts!
Thank you
Amazing
Thanks, I appreciate the support!
Comparisons with Hannibal are rather stretched. There had been numerous alpine campaigns since - Suvorov in the Swiss Alps in the 1790s, to cite a recent one. However, San Martin's crossing through the Andes was, indeed, impressive.
Scientists and historians alike, still debate wether Cochrane was a genius or a lucky bastard.
Cochrane, for me is the finest example of a bad person
You should read his Auto biography though it's stunning I think I red it on Kindle Somewhere
"San Martin crossing the Andes was a feat not accomplished since the days of Hannibal"
Napoleon be like "AM I NOTHING TO YOU??"
I enjoyed the fairness of the narrative. I wonder if afterall San Martin was mostly an adventurer that only with maturity would understand the extent of his accomplishment towards the beggining of a new nation.
Good question! They were certainly momentous times, and people were being swept up in the wave of post Enlightenment revolution all throughout the Western world. I would say he was more an idealist than adventurer. My idea of the classic adventurer was definitely Cochrane. He didn't care about the cause, only the action. San Martin struck me as being deeply conscious of his principles- even if it cost him prestige and power- and in the end exile. Something very rare. Thanks so much for viewing my work, and sharing your thoughts!
@@heroesandlegends Soy Argentino y San Martin se exilio xq no quiso participar de las guerras civiles q habian en Argentina aunque el simpatizara x la causa Federal...
How are you? Could you put subtitles in Spanish? I don't like many Argentine documentaries. Greetings
Now if San Martin had actually crossed the Alps (and by extension the Atlantic) with an army, THAT would have been unbelievably impressive.
Alps as used here is a generic term- e.g. Italian/Swiss alps, French alps, Himalayan also, Andean alps. The significance of this crossing is that it was significantly further, significantly higher and significantly longer than any previous military crossing
So if Bolivar was philosophically and militarily Napoleon - striving for absolute power despite claims to the contrary and famous for surprising but bloody assaults, does that make San Martin, Wellington - disciplined, conscientious, loath to sacrifice his men needlessly?
It's interesting that the critisims here of Bolivar's Napoleonic tendencies ("ruthlessness, imperious arrogance, treachery and callous exploitation of his supporters") don't prevent Bonaparte himself qualifying as one of the "Heroes and Legends"!
Indeed! I'm exploring the theme as broadly as I can. I told you I wasn't peddling a narrative didn't I ;)
@@heroesandlegends so will you be doing a Bolivar one? I doubt it
@@RafaAkd there are many types of hero- which is something I am exploring in this series of videos. San Martin resonated with me personally, so I chose to do a video on him, but I recognise that Bolivar was a brilliant, and historically important figure of history, so I'm sure I will do one on him too. One of my interests is in reviewing obscure or misunderstood heroes, and San Martin is much less know than Bolivar, which is another reason I wanted to make a video on him. But the work of making these videos is very long for one person to do alone, so it may take me some time to get to Bolivar. I hope you enjoy my other work while you wait. Thanks so much for engaging in dialogue, I appreciate your interest in my work!
One of the most common mistakes made by historians is to present San Martin as a republican civilian, as a supporter of the French Revolution, if the monarchist ideas of San Martin, Manuel Belgrano and Martin Güemes had triumphed, perhaps Argentina (and the Conosur) would not plunged into a long civil war
Yes, I thought it was fascinating and rather progressive that they planned to install an Inca king on the throne (though I dare say it would have also precipitated yet more civil war). I wonder why Belgrano failed to find a suitable prince to accept the offer of a crown? Do we have any journals or documents available that elaborate on his mission to Europe?
@@heroesandlegends The truth is that the porteños (unitary and centralist) did not like the idea of being ruled by an Inca very much, because according to them it would be the "empire of chocolates and sandals", they would also have to change the capital from Buenos Aires to Cusco. There was also the idea of bringing the Infanta Carlota de Borbon, but the population in general no longer liked the idea of being governed by a European.
Yes, it seems like the "die was cast" and it was going to be a republic or nothing.
I don’t agree on the view of Bolivar, the north as the south were fighting with each other to take power, centralistas and federalistas were more worried on fight each other than the Spanish Crown so Bolivar had to be The strong man and tule with iron hand to United them to fight the Crown
That's the nature of history - there are often multiple ways to interpret the actions of individuals- both popular and unpopular. Thanks so much for viewing my content, and for taking the time to leave your thoughts!
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I have not seen the video, and I don’t think I will, so take this with a grain of salt. But by the comments it seems it puts Bolivar down. I don’t see the need of it. Both were great men with virtues and defects. I admire both. I guess I’ll look at another channel for a Bolivar portrait. Vivan Venezuela y Argentina!
see the video lol
All of them: called proceres, heroes or libertadores, were of the same cast: Landowners who wanted, and profited of the French domination in Spain, to declare themselves independent....The buck stops here. No heroes there.
Limpiate bien la boca antes de hablar mal de San Martin Belgrano o cualquier heroe de la independencia Argentina y del resto de america latina..
El hispanista que mas sabe sobre los procesos de independencia hispanoamericanos:
@@javiermartinmehdi1914 Pobre alienado.
NO , NO , San Martin didn't cross the alps , Cross de Andes
There are a number of Alps- Swiss, Italian, French, Himalyan, Andean etc. Its a generic term for "Alpine region".
@@heroesandlegends You're actually wrong. You're confusing the Alps with the general term "mountain range". Alps is the name of the European mountain range shared precisely by France, Italy and Switzerland, plus Germany, Austria and Slovenia. Alpine only refers to them (New Zealand's mountains are also called the Southern Alps, but in reference to the original European ones). The Himalayas and the Andes aren't Alpine because they're not the Alps; they're Himalayan or Andean, respectively.