José de San Martín

José Francisco de San Martín Matorras, also known as José de San Martín (25 February 1778 ? 17 August 1850), was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.

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Born on 25 February 1778 in Yapeyú, Corrientes in Argentina, he left his mother country at the early age of seven and studied in an aristocratic school in Madrid, Spain, where he met and befriended Chilean Bernardo O'Higgins.

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In 1808, after joining Spanish forces in the Peninsular War against the French, and after participating in several battles such as the Battle of Bailén, José started making contact with South American supporters of independence from Spain.

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In 1812, he set sail for Buenos Aires from England, and offered his services to the United Provinces of South America (present-day Argentina). After the Battle of San Lorenzo of 1813, and some time on command of the Army of the North during 1814, he started to put into action his plan to defeat the Spanish forces that menaced the United Provinces from Upper Perú, making use of an alternative path to the Viceroyalty of Perú. This objective first involved the creation of a new army, the Army of the Andes, in the Province of Cuyo, Argentina. From there, he led the Crossing of the Andes to Chile, and prevailed over the Spanish forces at the Battle of Chacabuco and the Battle of Maipú (1818), thus liberating Chile from Royalist rule. Then he set sail to attack the Spanish stronghold of Lima, Perú, by sea.

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On 12 July 1821, after seizing partial control of Lima, San Martín was appointed Protector of Perú, and Peruvian independence was officially declared on 28 July 1821. A year later, after a closed-door meeting with fellow libertador Simón Bolívar at Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 22 July 1822, Bolívar took over the task of fully liberating Peru. San Martín unexpectedly left the country and resigned the command of his army, excluding himself from politics and the military, and moved to France in 1824. The details of the 22 July meeting would be a subject of debate by later historians.

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Together with Simón Bolívar, San Martín is regarded as one of the Liberators of Spanish South America. He is the national hero of Argentina. The Order of the Liberator General San Martin () in his honor is the highest decoration in Argentina.

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Yapeyú: REDIRECT Yapeyú...

Corrientes: Corrientes is the capital city of the Argentine province of Corrientes, located at coordinates on the shore of the Paran? River. With an area of 500 km, it has a population of 328,689 (2001), and the current mayor is Nora Nazar de Romero Feris....

Madrid: :This article is about the Spanish capital. For other entries, see Madrid (disambiguation)....

José de San Martín related Images and Photos (experimental)

Fallas de San Jose Valencia	Plaza De San Juan De Dios in 1596	La Feria De San Marcos	Plaza de San-Carlos de Chiloe 1835
Sevilla Feria de San Miguel	Pradera de San Isidro and Palacio Real Beyond Madrid	Embarkation of the Liberating Expedition of Peru 1820 under Captain General Jose de San Martin	Mission San Luis Rey de Francia - Oceanside CA
Neuva Plaza de Toros San Sebastian	Tango Dancers' Feet San Miguel De Allende Mexico	Nadja Tiller José Luis de Villalonga and Pierre Brasseur: L'Affaire Nina B. 1961	Park Fountain Plaza De Cesar Chavez Downtown San Jose San Jose Santa Clara County California