José de San Martín

1. The Revolutionary Genius of José de San Martín By Jacki, Joanna, Brittany, Ashley, Sam and Brett

2. Early Life • Born the Son of Spanish Juan de San Martín and Gregoria Matorras on February 25, 1778 in Yapeyú, a small village in Corrientes, Argentina. • In 1781, the family moved • to Buenos Aires. • In 1784, the family moved • to Spain, and San Martín • was enrolled I n Madrid's • Real Seminario de Nobles • where he studied until • 1785. While at the Real • Seminario de Nobles he • met and became friends • with Bernardo O'Higgins. • In 1789, at age 11, San Martín left the Real Seminario de Nobles and enrolled in the Regiment of Murcia, starting his military career.

3. Early Military Career On May 16, 1811, he participated on the Battle of Albuera under the command of General William Carr Beresford. During the battle he met Scottish Lord MacDuff (James Duff, the Fourth Earl of Fife) who introduced him to the lodges that were plotting the South American independence efforts. San Martín requested resignation from the Spanish army, which was granted. Places Fought • Africa • Spain • Peninsula War

4. South America • In 1812, San Martín set sail to Buenos Aires aboard the British frigate George Canning. • He created the Regiment of Mounted Granadiers (Regimiento de Granaderos a Caballo), which would become the best-trained military arm of the revolution. • He also entablished the Logia Lautaro, an offspring in Buenos Aires of the independence lodges in London and Cádiz.

5. South America In October, when news of the victory of the Army of the North (Spanish, Ejército del Norte) commanded by Manuel Belgrano reached Buenos Aires, the Lautaro Lodge initiated political pressure, backed by San Martín armed forces and popular demand, to impose its candidates into government, thus forcing the First Triumvirate to an end and initiating the Second Triumvirate with members Juan José Paso, Nicolás Rodríguez Peña, and Antonio Álvarez Jonte (Rodríguez Peña and Álvarez Jonte were members of the lodge). This new government strengthened the position held by the Army, and decided to lay siege to Montevideo, which was controlled by loyalist to the Spanish Crown. On December 7, 1812, San Martín was promoted to Colonel.

6. South America First military action in South America: On January 28, 1813, San Martín with his Mounted Granadiers (comprising around 150 soldiers) was sent to protect the Paraná River shore from the Spanish Fleet of 11 ships under command of General José Zavala. On the morning of February 3, the Spanish forces of around 250 men disembarked and fought against San Martín in the Battle of San Lorenzo.

7. South America In Córdoba, San Martín continued preparing his plan of attacking Lima –the Capital city of the Viceroyalty of Peru– through Chile. To this end, he requested to be appointed governor of Cuyo. During his term, he made tax collection stricter, farm workers were reglamented, ordered a massive vaccination against small pox, and founded a library. He also reorganized the mail service to strengthen its security. Meanwhile, he tried to exhort other provinces to declare independence.

8. South America • Created the Army of the Andes. • He crossed the Andes in January of 1817. • By the end of crossing, around 300 men — 5.5% of the total at the beginning — had lost their lives, mostly due to the harsh conditions of the trip.

9. South America On February 12, 1817, the Battle of Chacabuco was fought. Jose de San Martin (General) was victorious. Since the Battle of Chacabuco, San Martín had urged both governments of Santiago and Buenos Aires to build a fleet on the Pacific. Convoys had been sent to the United States and England in order to buy and hire several ships, however, lack of political cohesion in Argentina, a Spanish blockade in Valparaiso, and the Battles of Cancha Rayada and Maipú heavily delayed the project.

10. South America • San Martín occupied Lima, the capital of Peru, on 12 July 1821. This was a huge loss for the Spanish forces. Independence from Spain for Peru was finally declared on 28 July 1821 and he was voted the "Protector" of the newly independent nation. • On 26 July 1822, he met with Simón Bolívar at Guayaquil to plan the future of Latin America. San Martín withdraw from Peru and resettle as a farmer in Mendoza, Argentina.

11. Personal Life • On August 1812, he married María de los Remedios de Escalada, a young woman from one of the local wealthy families. • In 1824, after his wife Remedios de Escalada died, he moved to Europe with his daughter Mercedes, first in England, then in Brussels, then to Paris, then back to london, finally stopped in Boulogne-sur-Mer where he would die.