Manuel Belgrano
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Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano, usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820) was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader, born in Buenos Aires.
During the last years of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate, Belgrano occupied the seat of Secretary of Economy of Buenos Aires consulate, a new born local institution which dealt with commercial and industrial issues in the name of the crown. He founded the Escuela de Naútica (School of Navigation) in 1799. Belgrano also became the pioneer of Argentine journalism, when in 1801 he founded the first newspaper in the country, the Telegráfo Mercantil. The publication followed the pattern of the Peruvian newspaper El Mercurio, and its first editor was Colonel José Antonio Cavello. The short-lived paper was replaced by the Semanario de Agricultura in 1802. By January 1810, a third publication saw its first edition: the Correo de Comercio de Buenos Aires. The newspaper was specialized on "Philosophy of History, Geography and Statistics". Many of the revolutionary principles were concocted by these readings.[1]
After the Spanish rule was overthrown by the May Revolution of 1810, Belgrano was appointed general by the first autonomous government of Argentina. Shortly after his assignment, Belgrano led an ill-fated military campaign to Paraguay, still held by Spanish loyalists. The Argentine expedition, although beaten off, eventually prompted the Paraguayan declaration of independence on May 1811. In 1812, he created the national flag of Argentina; it was raised for the first time on 27 February of that year, on an island in the Paraná River, opposite the city of Rosario. He also led the Jujuy Exodus (Éxodo Jujeño), which prepared the ground for victories of the Argentine War of Independence in the northwest of the country: Battle of Tucumán (24 September 1812) and Battle of Salta (20 February 1813); these victories ensured Argentine authority in the northwest and stopped Royalist advance into central territory. Although there were a number of colonialist 'invasions' from Upper Peru until 1821, Belgrano's campaign is widely considered the decisive one.
Belgrano was one of the leaders of the Argentine Declaration of Independence, promulgated on 9 July 1816. He proposed that Argentina should have a constitutional monarchy led by an Inca descendant, but this idea did'nt gain support.
Belgrano's health suffered greatly during his multiple expeditions and campaigns, held in generally bad conditions. At the age of 50 he died of dropsy, very poor and practically forgotten by the national government that he had served.
[edit] Commemoration
Today, however, Belgrano is considered one of the greatest heroes in Argentina's History. A monument complex (Monumento Nacional a la Bandera, National Flag Memorial) was built in 1957 in honor of the flag, in Rosario. The Flag Memorial and the park that surround it are the seat of national celebrations every Flag Day, on 20 June, the anniversary of Belgrano's death.
The cruiser ARA General Belgrano, which was sunk during the Falklands War, was named after him. A small town in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, Villa General Belgrano, also bears his name, as well as a lot of other small towns, departments and places, like "Avenida Belgrano" in the City of Buenos Aires, and part of the avenue that leads to the Flag Memorial in Rosario (Avenida Belgrano). Additionally, there is a northern neighborhood within Buenos Aires city that carries the name Belgrano.
In the museum Casa de la Libertad at Sucre, Bolivia there is an Argentine flag, protected by a glass case and in a deteriorated condition, which they claim to be the original one, raised by Belgrano for first time in 1812. The ensign was abandoned and hidden inside a small church near Macha, after the battle of Ayohuma, during the ill-fated second campaign to Upper Peru, led by Belgrano. Asked why would they not return the flag to Argentina, the museum curator simply said: 'it's ours as yours. We were part of the Provincias Unidas del Sud; the flag was designed to differ from Fernando VII's red and gold.'
In Genoa, Italy, there is a commemorative statue of Belgrano, at the end of the Corso Buenos Aires.
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[edit] Notes
- ^ Mitre, Bartolomé: Historia de Belgrano. Buenos Aires, 1859, v.1, pp. 202-206.
