Manuel Belgrano

Manuel Belgrano
Portrait of Manuel Belgrano by François-Casimir Carbonnier made during Belgrano's diplomatic mission to London (1815)
Committee member of the Primera Junta
In office 25 May 1810 – 26 September 1810 Serving with Manuel Alberti, Miguel de Azcuénaga, Juan José Castelli, Domingo Matheu and Juan Larrea
Perpetual secretary of the Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires
In office 2 June 1794 – April 1810
Personal details
Born	Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (1770-06-03)3 June 1770 Governorate of the Rio de la Plata, Viceroyalty of Peru (now Argentina)
Died	20 June 1820(1820-06-20) (aged 50) Buenos Aires, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
Political party	Carlotism, Patriot
Domestic partner(s)	María Josefa Ezcurra, María Dolores Helguero
Alma mater	University of Valladolid
Profession	Lawyer
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United Provinces of South America
Years of service	1810–1819
Commands	Paraguay campaign Army of the North Regiment of Patricios
Battles/wars	Campichuelo Paraguarí Tacuarí Tucumán Salta Vilcapugio Ayohuma

Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (Spanish pronunciation:

Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano was born in Buenos Aires on 3 June 1770, at his father's house. It was located near the

His father, Domingo (whose original Italian name was Domenico Belgrano Peri) came from the town of Imperia, Liguria, Italy.^[3] Domingo's maternal last name was Peri, which he translated to the Spanish form Pérez; his paternal last name was Belgrano – literally "Fairwheat", a name that denoted good cereal production. He changed his name "Domenico" to the Spanish "Domingo" as well. He was an Italian merchant authorized by the King of Spain to move to the Americas, and had contacts in Spain, Rio de Janeiro, and Britain. He promoted the establishment of the Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires, which his son Manuel would lead a few years later.^[4]

Manuel Belgrano's mother was María Josefa González Islas y Casero, born in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. The family was the second richest in Buenos Aires, after the Escaladas.^[1]

Domingo Belgrano Pérez managed a family business, and arranged for his four daughters to marry merchants who would become his trusted agents in the Banda Oriental, Misiones Province, and Spain. The eight living male sons followed different paths: Domingo José Estanislao became canon at the local cathedral, while Carlos José and José Gregorio joined the army. Manuel Belgrano was meant to follow his father's work, but when he developed other interests, it was his brother Francisco José María de Indias who continued the family business.^[5]

European studies

Belgrano completed his first studies at the San Carlos school, where he learned

Belgrano studied near the intellectual elite of Spain, and by that time there were heated discussions about the ongoing French Revolution. The principles of equality and freedom, the universal scope of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and criticism of the divine right of kings were constant topics of debate. Among the supporters of these ideas it was thought that Spain should be remade under similar principles, and critics of such thought were rejected as tyrants or proponents of outdated ideas.^[9]

However, the Spanish Enlightenment was slightly different from the French one as it still respected religion and the monarchy. Thus, despite the new influences, Belgrano remained a strong Catholic and monarchist.^[10]

Belgrano also studied

During his time in Europe, Belgrano became president of an Academy within the University of Salamanca devoted to Roman legislation, forensic practice and political economy.[7] In 1794, he translated the Maximas del Gobierno agricultor, which had wide readership in Argentina before the revolution in 1810.^[12]

This publication, along with Belgrano's other works, showed his preference for a combination of the ideas of the physiocrats and the neomercantilist thought by Antonio Genovesi. For him, this was the right economic model that could support Argentina's independence.^[12]

Work in the consulate

He was driven by his vision of imperial partnership and drafted a well-known representacion to the Crown of 1793.

Belgrano maintained frequent discussions with the committee members of the consulate, who were all merchants with strong interests involved in the

Belgrano tried to promote the diversification of agriculture via the production of linen and hemp, following experiences with his friend Martín de Altolaguirre. He proposed to keep reserves of wheat to help have control over its price.[21] He also tried to make leather recognised as a product of the country, in order to promote its commercial potential.^[22] None of these proposals were accepted. He designed a system to give prizes to achievements that would boost the local economy, diversify the agriculture, or deforest the pampas.^[23] The system did not work as expected, and as nobody met the requirements no such prize was ever given.^[24]

He helped to create the first newspaper of the city, the Telégrafo Mercantil, directed by Francisco Cabello y Mesa.^[25] He worked with Manuel José de Lavardén, and edited nearly two hundred issues. The newspaper was closed in 1802 because of conflicts with the authorities of the viceroyalty, who did not like the criticisms made in it or the jokes and parodies. He also worked at the Semanario de Agricultura, Comercio e Industria, directed by Hipólito Vieytes. He used this newspaper to explain his economic ideas: manufacturing and exporting finished goods, importing raw materials to manufacture, avoiding importing luxury goods or raw materials that could be produced or extracted locally, importing only vital products, and owning a merchant navy. The newspaper specialised in the "Philosophy of History, Geography and Statistics". Many revolutionary principles were presented as essays.^[26]

Belgrano had symptoms of syphilis, which he had caught during his time in Europe.^[27] This sickness forced him to take long leaves from his work in the consulate, and to suggest his cousin Juan José Castelli, who had similar ideas, as a possible replacement during his leaves.^[28] Rejection by the committee members delayed the approval of Castelli until 1796.

British invasions

Belgrano was appointed as captain of the urban militias in 1797 by viceroy Pedro Melo de Portugal, who was instructed by Spain to prepare defences against a possible British or Portuguese attack.^[29] Belgrano by then worked in the consulate, and was no longer interested in pursuing a military career.^[30] Viceroy Rafael de Sobremonte requested that he create a militia to counter a possible British attack, but he did not take interest in it. His first participation in a military conflict took place when the British, under William Carr Beresford, arrived with 1,600 men and captured Buenos Aires, as part of the first British invasion of the River Plate. Belgrano moved to the fortress as soon as he heard the warning, and gathered as many men as possible to join him in the fighting. However, as most of them lacked any formal training, his men marched in disorder and Belgrano ordered them to disband after a single British cannon shot scattered his panicked men.^[31] Belgrano would write later in his autobiography that he regretted not having by then even the most basic knowledge of militia work.^[32]

After the British captured the city, all Spanish authorities were requested to pledge allegiance to the British crown. Belgrano thought that the members of the consulate should leave the city and join the viceroy, but the others did not agree. They acceded to the British request; Belgrano refused to do so.^[33] He said that he wanted "either our old master, or no master at all".^[34] To avoid being forced to pledge allegiance, he escaped from Buenos Aires and sought asylum at the chapel of Mercedes, in the Banda Oriental.^[33]

The British Army was defeated by a force under the direction of Santiago de Liniers, and Spanish authority was restored.^[35] It was expected that the British would return, and the whole city started to prepare for that possibility. Belgrano returned to Buenos Aires after the reconquest, and put himself under the command of Liniers. He was appointed sergeant of the Patricians Regiment, under the command of Cornelio Saavedra, and started to study military strategy.^[36] After some conflicts with other officials, he resigned as sergeant and served again under the command of Liniers. A new British attack took place in July 1807. During the battle he served as field assistant to a division commanded by Balbiani.^[37]

Belgrano resumed his work in the consulate and discontinued his military studies. Due to his knowledge of French he had a brief interview with the British officer Robert Craufurd, who proposed British support for an independentist movement. Belgrano turned down the offer, suspecting that Britain might withdraw their support if their attentions were distracted by events which could occur in Europe, and in such case the revolutionaries would be helpless against a Spanish counterattack.^[38]

Carlotism

Manuel Belgrano was the main proponent of the

Belgrano resigned from his work in the Consulate in April 1810 and moved to the countryside. A short time later he received a letter from his friends requesting him to return to Buenos Aires and join the revolutionary movements.[46]

May Revolution

The Peninsular War was not developing favourably for Spain, and by May 1810 a ship arrived with the news of the defeat of Seville and the disbanding of the Junta of Seville.^[47][48] Without either a recognised Spanish king or the Junta that had appointed Cisneros, many people thought that the viceroy no longer had any authority. Cisneros tried to conceal the news by gathering all the newspapers brought by the ship, but Belgrano and Castelli managed to get one.^[47] Cisneros then explained the European developments to the public. Belgrano and the members of the Carlotist party, despite having given up their original idea, plotted to remove the viceroy and replace him with a junta. Under the advice of Cornelio Saavedra, they waited for the news of the defeat in Spain to take action.^[49]

Belgrano and Saavedra, representing the military and the intellectuals, got an interview with Cisneros to request an

In his autobiography Belgrano declared that he did not have any previous knowledge of being included in the junta, and that his appointment took him by surprise.^[51] Nevertheless, he accepted the role. He was part of the political line of Mariano Moreno; they were expecting to use the government to make big changes in the social order. One of his first rulings was the making of a Maths Academy, located in the building of the consulate and with the purpose of instructing the military.^[53][54] Belgrano was appointed its protector. He supported the banishment of Cisneros and the members of the Real Audience, and the execution of Liniers and other counter-revolutionaries defeated in Córdoba. Some historians suggest that he would have promoted the creation of the Operations plan, a secret document written by Moreno that set harsh ways for the junta to achieve its goals, while others consider the whole document a literary forgery done by royalists to discredit the junta. A few others suspect that some paragraphs or the whole document may have been the result of collaborative writing between Moreno, Belgrano, and Hipólito Vieytes.^[55]

Expedition to Paraguay

Three months after the creation of the Primera Junta, Manuel Belgrano was appointed Chief Commander of an army sent to gather support at

Belgrano headed north with nearly two hundred men, expecting to gather more people by the end of the Paraná River. Soldiers from the Blandengues regiments of San Nicolás and Santa Fe joined them en route, and later the Junta sent reinforcements of another two hundred soldiers. The army was welcomed by most of the population along the way, receiving donations and new recruits. Ultimately the army was composed of nearly 950 men, consisting of infantry and cavalry divided in four divisions with one piece of artillery each.^[58][59]

By the end of October the army stopped at Curuzú Cuatiá, where Belgrano solved an old border conflict between Corrientes and Yapeyu. He set which territories would belong to Curuzu Cuatiá and Mandisoví, and organised their urban layout around the chapel and school. By November the army arrived at the coast of Paraná near Apipé island, and there Belgrano took measures to benefit the natives that were living in missions. With his authority as speaker of the Junta he gave them full civil and political rights, granted lands, authorised commerce with the United Provinces, and lifted their restriction on taking public or religious office.^[60] However, the Junta requested later that he should seek authorization for such changes in the future.^[61]

From that point the army moved to Candelaria, which was used as a stronghold for the attack into Paraguay. The terrain gave a clear advantage to the Paraguayan governor Velazco against Belgrano: the Paraná River, nearly 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) wide, was an effective natural barrier, and once it was crossed the patriotic army would have to move a long distance across a land without supplies. Swamps, hills, rivers, and lakes would force the army to march slowly, making a possible retreat very difficult. The Parana was crossed with several boats on 19 December, and a task force of 54 Paraguayan soldiers was forced to flee during the Battle of Campichuelo. Belgrano saw Velazco's army from the Mbaé hill, and despite being greatly outnumbered, he ordered an attack, trusting in the moral strength of his soldiers.^[62] When the Battle of Paraguarí started, the patriots briefly held the upper hand, but eventually Velazco, with superior numbers, prevailed. Even with 10 deaths and 120 soldiers taken prisoner, Belgrano wanted to continue the fight, but his officials convinced him to retreat.^[63]

The army left for Tacuarí, being closely watched by the combined armies of Yegros and Cabañas. Those two armies had nearly three thousand soldiers, while Belgrano had barely four hundred. They were attacked from many sides during the Battle of Tacuarí, on 9 March. Greatly outnumbered and losing an unequal fight, Belgrano refused to surrender. He reorganised the remaining 235 men and ordered his secretary to burn all his documents and personal papers to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Belgrano arranged for the troops and artillery to fire for many minutes, which made the Paraguayan soldiers disperse. When the barrage stopped, Belgrano requested an armistice, telling Cabañas that he had arrived to Paraguay to aid and not to conquer; considering the open hostility with which he was met, he would leave the province. Cabañas accepted, on the grounds that the remaining group must leave the province within a day.^[64][65]

The campaign to Paraguay was a complete military defeat for Belgrano. However, the aftermath of the conflict led the Paraguayans to replace Belazco with a local junta, and declare independence from Spain. Under the rule of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguay broke ties with Buenos Aires as well, and stayed isolated for several years afterwards.^[66][67]

Creation of the flag of Argentina

After the defeat in Tacuarí, the government of Buenos Aires (which by then was the First Triumvirate) issued a series of conflicting orders. First they requested he should fight the royalists in the Banda Oriental, then to return to the city and be judged for the defeats. However, no charges were formulated against him.^[68]

He was appointed as the head of the Regiment of Patricians, replacing the banished

The First Triumvirate did not approve the use of the flag created in Rosario, but Belgrano was initially unaware of that. He had the flag blessed by the priest Juan Ignacio de Gorriti at Salta, on the second anniversary of the May Revolution. When he found out the flag was not approved, he put it away. When asked, he would say that he was keeping it for a great victory.^[73]

Three months later royalist general Pío Tristán advanced in the north with more than three thousand men, prepared to invade the United Provinces. Once again outnumbered by larger armies, Belgrano organised a great

By that time, the First Triumvirate was replaced by the Second Triumvirate, which provided greater support for Belgrano. The Second Triumvirate called the Assembly of Year XIII soon after taking power, which was intended to declare independence and enact a national constitution but failed to do so because of political disputes between the members. It did not take measures regarding the national flag but allowed Belgrano to use the blue and white flag as the flag of the Army of the North.

By September, he provided assistance to the troops commanded by José Miguel Díaz Vélez.^[75] This infantry was fighting a 600-strong royalist cavalry. Through Belgrano's reinforcements, they eventually won the battle and captured the city of Tucumán.^[75] After the defeat in Tucumán, Tristán garrisoned at the city of Salta with 2,500 men. Belgrano, with reinforcements from the government, intended to gather 4,000 men and march to Upper Peru, up to the border of the Viceroyalty of Lima. The Battle of Salta, the first battle with the new approved banner, was a decisive victory, ending with the capitulation of Pío Tristán and all of his army.^[76]

These victories ensured Argentine authority in the northwest and stopped the royalist advance into the central territory. Although there were a number of colonialist 'invasions' from Upper Peru until 1821, Belgrano's campaign is widely considered the decisive one.^[77]

Campaign to Upper Peru

By June 1813 Belgrano set up a base in

Belgrano was taken by surprise at Vilcapugio on 1 October, and initially gained the upper hand against the royalist troops, who started to flee. However, when Pezuela saw that the patriotic armies were not following, he reorganised his forces, returned to the battle, and won. There were barely 400 survivors. Belgrano said: "Soldiers: we have lost the battle after so much fighting. Victory has betrayed us by going to the enemy ranks during our triumph. It does not matter! The flag of the nation still swings in our hands!".^[80] After gathering his army at Macha, where he received reinforcements from Cochabamba, Belgrano was ready for another engagement with Pezuela, whose troops were not in a better situation. On 14 November, Belgrano was again vanquished by the royalists at Ayohuma, and was forced to withdraw the remains of his army towards Potosí and from there to Jujuy.

The Second Triumvirate reacted by sending José de San Martín to take the command of the Army of the North, with Belgrano as his second in command. San Martín would reinforce the battle-weary Army of the North with his own soldiers.^[81] Hastened by Belgrano's illness, San Martín travelled to the rendezvous as quickly as possible; they met at the Yatasto relay, in Salta.^[82] Belgrano gave San Martin full freedom to implement changes and took command of the First Regiment. The Second Triumvirate, and later the Supreme Director Gervasio Posadas, requested Belgrano to return to Buenos Aires and be judged for the defeats at Vilcapugio and Ayohuma, but San Martín refused to send him because of his poor health.^[83] San Martín finally agreed to send Belgrano to Córdoba by March 1814.^[84] He temporarily settled in Luján to await outcome of the trial, and during this time he wrote his autobiography. Soon afterwards, all charges against Belgrano were dismissed, as no definite accusation was formulated against him. The new government, trusting in Belgrano's diplomatic abilities, sent him on a mission to Europe to negotiate support for the independence of the United Provinces.^[85]

Declaration of Independence

By 1814 the Spanish King

When the emissaries returned to Buenos Aires, the government was worried by the defeats of Rondeau at Sipe Sipe and the political stir generated by José Gervasio Artigas and Estanislao López. Alvarez Thomas appointed Belgrano to head the army at Rosario, but shortly afterwards Thomas resigned. Pueyrredón became the new Supreme Director. With the signing of the Santo Tomé pact, the aforementioned army was retired from Rosario. Belgrano was then sent back to take command of the Army of the North, with the strong support of San Martín. "In the case of designating who must replace Rondeau, I am decided for Belgrano; he is the most methodical man of all whom I know in America; he is full of integrity and natural talent. He may not have the military knowledge of a Moreau or a Bonaparte as far as the army is concerned, but I think he is the best we have in South America".^[88]

Belgrano met with the

In August Belgrano again took command of the Army of the North, but with very limited people and resources. He was ordered to avoid trying to advance against the royalists in the north and was to stay in a defensive state at Tucumán. With Güemes in Salta, his task was to prevent the Royalists from moving to the south. The Supreme Director Pueyrredón was supporting an alternative plan designed by José de San Martín: create the Army of the Andes at Cuyo and, after making the Crossing of the Andes, defeat the royalists in Chile, get control of the Chilean navy, and attack the royalist stronghold of Lima with it.^[93]

Last years

He returned to Buenos Aires, to his parents' house. By that time the Battle of Cepeda had ended the authority of the Supreme Directors, starting the period known as Anarchy of the year 20. On 20 June 1820, at the age of 50, Belgrano died of dropsy. Due to his poverty, as the war consumed all his old wealth, he paid his doctor with his clock and his carriage, some of the few possessions he still had. As requested, he was shrouded into the robes of the Dominican Order and buried in the Santo Domingo convent. Before dying, Belgrano said "Ay, Patria mía" (in Spanish, "Oh, my Fatherland").^[95]

Due to the state of anarchy being experienced by the city, Belgrano's death was largely unnoticed. The only newspaper of the time to note his death was El Despertador Teofilantrópico, written by Francisco de Paula Castañeda, and there was no government representation at his funeral. Former students of his educative institutions would arrive in the following days with obsequies, when the news started to be known. The following year the political context was less chaotic and Bernardino Rivadavia, who was minister by then, organised a massive state funeral.^[96]

In 1902, during the presidency of

Manuel Belgrano met María Josefa Ezcurra, sister of Encarnación Ezcurra, at the age of 22. Her father, Juan Ignacio Ezcurra, did not approve of their relationship because of the bankruptcy of Domingo Belgrano, Manuel's father. Juan Ignacio arranged the wedding of his daughter with Juan Esteban Ezcurra, a distant relative from Pamplona that worked selling clothes. Juan Ignacio opposed the May Revolution and returned to Spain, leaving his wife in Buenos Aires, which allowed her to return to her former relationship with Belgrano.^[98]

When Belgrano was dispatched to Upper Peru, María Josefa followed him to Jujuy. She took part in the Jujuy Exodus and saw the battle of Tucumán. It is thought that she was pregnant by this time. Her son, Pedro Pablo, was born on 30 July 1813. Pedro Pablo was adopted by Encarnación Ezcurra and her husband, Juan Manuel de Rosas, who she had married shortly before.^[98]

Belgrano also met María Dolores Helguero in Tucumán, and briefly considered getting married, but the war forced a postponement. María Dolores married another man; the relationship ended but was briefly restarted in 1818. While he was near the frontiers of Córdoba, Santa Fe, and Buenos Aires, and in a delicate state of health, he learned that María Dolores had given birth to his daughter, Manuela Mónica del Sagrado Corazón, who was born on 4 May 1819.^[98]

Neither of these children were recognised by Belgrano in his will, where he said he had no children. However, it is thought that he did not mention them in order to protect their mothers, as both children were the result of relations that the moral standards of the society of the day would not have accepted.^[98] Nevertheless, he requested that his brother, Joaquín Eulogio Estanislao Belgrano, who was appointed as his heir, should look after his newborn daughter.^[98]

Like many other nineteenth century Argentines prominent in public life, Belgrano was a

There are no records of diseases experienced by Belgrano during his youth or adolescence.[100] His first illness dates from the time of his return to Buenos Aires, when he worked in the consulate; he experienced symptoms of syphilis caught during his stay in Spain. He was treated by the most prestigious physicians of the city: Miguel O'Gorman, related to Camila O'Gorman, from the Protomedicato of Buenos Aires, Miguel García de Rojas, and José Ignacio de Arocha.^[100] This disease forced him to take long leaves from his work at the consulate and take repose stays at Maldonado and San Isidro. He was treated with salts and iodines, and his condition eventually improved. It is also suspected that he may have had rheumatism.^[100] By the year 1800 he had a growing lacrimal fistula in one of his eyes and was invited by the King to move to Spain for a cure. He was offered a one-year leave with paid wages, but he rejected it, giving priority to his work for the nation over his own personal health.^[100] The fistula would later stabilise at a safe and unnoticeable size.

During his military career he had blood vomits, such as before the Battle of Salta; he was almost too ill to participate in the battle.^[100] It is thought that those vomits originated in the digestive system and were caused by stress, and not in the respiratory system, because the vomits were sporadic, the condition did not become chronic, and it eventually cured itself.^[100] Nothing was revealed in the autopsy.^[100]

Belgrano also experienced

Family tree

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Father's side

Pompeyo Belgrano (married to Marina Belgrano)

Agustín Belgrano y Belgrano

Carlos Matías Belgrano y Belgrano (married to Juana del Giúdice)

María Virginia Belgrano y Belgrano

Rogelio Belgrano del Giúdice

Francisco Belgrano del Giúdice (married to Ana Bianchi)

Tomás

Carlos Félix Belgrano Bianchi (married to María Josefina Berio)

Juan Bautista Belgrano Berio

Carlos Nicolás Félix Belgrano Berio (married to María Gentile Peri Tiragalo)

Francisco Belgrano Berio

Juan Agustín María Belgrano Peri

Domingo Francisco Cayetano Belgrano Peri

Nicolás Ambrosio Belgrano Peri

Mother's side

José de Islas

José Baltasar de Islas

Lucía de Islas y Alba

Juan de Islas

Juana de Islas

Gregoria González Islas

Juan José Gonzalez Islas (married to María Inés Casero Ramírez)

José González Islas

María Josefa González Islas y Casero

Works

Political thought

Manuel Belgrano had a vast intellectual awareness of most important topics of his age. He studied in Europe during the

In the economic fields, he was influenced by the principles of physiocracy, an economic doctrine that considered that nature was the source of wealth. As a result, much of his works and reform proposals at the consulate were oriented towards improving agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, and free trade. He maintained a fluent contact with the consulates of other cities, developing a view of the viceroyalty as a whole. This led to an increased work in cartography of the largely unpopulated areas of the territory; the maps designed during this period would later prove a great help for José de San Martín during the Crossing of the Andes.^[104] He introduced new crops and promoted the use of local fauna for livestock production. He protected the weaving industry by increasing the production of cotton in Cochabamba, as he considered the local crop to be of similar quality to the cotton from Europe.^[104]

Promotion of education

Manuel Belgrano was one of the first politicians to advocate the development of an important educative system. He did so at the first report he made as head of the Consulate of Commerce, suggesting the creating of schools of agriculture and commerce. A school of agriculture would teach about important topics such as crop rotation, the specific ways to work with each crop, methods of seeding and harvesting, preservation of seeds, and identification of pests. Until that time, the only previous attempts to teach agriculture was done by the Jesuits, who were banished in 1767.^[105]

He was not only concerned with higher education, but also with primary education, and promoted the creation of

He also promoted the creation of schools for women, where they would learn about weaving, as well as reading. However, he did not aim to generate intellectual women, but just to prevent ignorance and laziness, and have them learn things valuable for daily living.^[106] Being a strong Catholic himself, he was aligned with the Catholic perspective that rejected mixed-sex education, in contrast with Protestantism.^[106]

His concern with public education was not interrupted by his military campaigns. In 1813 he was rewarded with 40,000 pesos for his victories at Salta and Tucumán, an amount that would equal almost 80

The historian Bartolomé Mitre stated that Manuel Belgrano held a deep admiration for George Washington, leader of the American Revolution and first President of the United States.^[107] Because of this, he worked on a translation of George Washington's Farewell Address into the Spanish language. He started working on it during the Paraguay Campaign, but before the battle of Tacuarí he destroyed all his papers, including the unfinished translation, to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Belgrano resumed work on it afterwards and finished it before the Battle of Salta. He sent it to Buenos Aires for publication. George Washington's Farewell Address is considered, along with Gettysburg Address, one of the most important texts in the history of the United States.^[107] It talks about the importance of keeping national unity as the key to maintain independence, prosperity, and freedom—ideas that were shared by Belgrano regarding the population of Hispanic America.

Legacy

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 honour 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. Jujuy Province is declared the honorary capital of Argentina each 23 August since 2002, in reference to the Jujuy Exodus.^[108]

The cruiser ARA General Belgrano, which was sunk during the Falklands War, was named after him, as was the earlier 1896

In Genoa, Italy, there is a commemorative statue of Belgrano, at the end of the Corso Buenos Aires.

Historiography

The first biography of Manuel Belgrano was his

Bibliography

• Belgrano, Manuel; Felipe Pigna (2009).
  ISBN 978-950-04-3189-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
  )
• Belgrano, Mario (1944). Hombres representativos de la Historia Argentina: Belgrano (in Spanish). Argentina: National Academy of History of Argentina.
• Chasteen, John Charles (2008). Americanos: Latin America's struggle for independence. United States: Oxford University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-19-517881-4
  .
• Aníbal Jorge Luzuriaga. "Manuel Belgrano" (in Spanish). Argentina: Belgranian National Institute. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
• Galasso, Norberto (2004). Mariano Moreno, "El sabiecito del sur" (in Spanish). Argentina: Colihue.
  ISBN 950-581-799-1
  .
• Lagleyze, Julio Luqui (2010). Grandes biografías de los 200 años: Manuel Belgrano (in Spanish). Argentina: Clarín.
  ISBN 978-987-07-0837-7
  .
• Luna, Félix (2004). Grandes protagonistas de la Historia Argentina: Manuel Belgrano (in Spanish). Argentina: Grupo Editorial Planeta.
  ISBN 950-49-1247-8
  .
• Macintyre, Stuart (2011). The Oxford History of Historical Writing. United States: Oxford University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-19-953309-1
  .
• Saavedra, Cornelio (2009).
  ISBN 978-987-609-171-8
  .
• Saldaña, Juan José (2006). Science in Latin America. United States: University of Texas Press.
  ISBN 978-0-292-71271-3
  .
• Scenna, Miguel Ángel (2009). Mariano Moreno (in Spanish). Argentina: H. Garetto Editor.
  ISBN 978-987-1494-05-4
  .
• Shumway, Nicolas (1991). The Invention of Argentina. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California:
  ISBN 0-520-08284-2
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manuel Belgrano.

• Instituto Nacional Belgraniano (in Spanish)
• Timeline of Manuel Belgrano Archived 15 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
• Biography by the Minister of Education Archived 8 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)