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Argentina flag 1812

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Flag post 1812

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While many leaders at the time believed in the ideals of the king, a growing group of people believe that a constitution was needed for the country. After many battles Paraguay, representatives from what is now Argentina set out to declare there independence. This would lead to the creation of the federal league as well as Portrigual attack on Uruguay.

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Argentinian Independence | 3 Minute History

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Map of South America 1812

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Impressionism

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Manuel Belgrano started out as the secretary of the merchants guild before starting in the military during 1810. After becoming a member of the ruling junta, Belgrano adopted a new Argentinian flag. Due to a failed attack against Peru, Belgrano set out to Europe to find a leader for Argentina but was unsuccessful.

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Manuel Belgrano, (born June 3, 1770, Buenos Aires, Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata [now in Argentina]-died June 20, 1820, Buenos Aires), military leader in the Argentine war for independence.

After studying law in Spain, Belgrano was appointed secretary of the Buenos Aires official merchants' guild (1794), a position in which he advocated liberal ideas, particularly in education and economic reform. He received his first military experience during the unsuccessful British invasion of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata in 1806-07. When Río de la Plata broke with Spain in 1810, Belgrano became a member of its ruling junta that tried to maintain its territorial integrity. In 1812 he decreed the adoption of what was to become Argentina's national flag. After outlying portions of the country were lost, Belgrano was sent with a small army to bring what is now Paraguay under the authority of the junta but was unsuccessful. He later defeated pro-Spanish forces at Tucumán and Salta in the Argentine northwest, only to be defeated in Upper Peru (now Bolivia) in 1813. He was superseded in 1814 by José de San Martín as commander of the army.

Belgrano, like many other leaders of the South American independence movement, favoured the establishment of a monarchical type of government. To find a ruler, he went to Europe with Bernardino Rivadavia, who later became the first president of the Argentine republic. The European mission was unsuccessful.

Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.

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Manuel Belgrano | Argentine military leader

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Manuel Belgrano, military leader in the Argentine war for independence. After studying law in Spain, Belgrano was appointed secretary of the Buenos Aires official merchants' guild (1794), a position in which he advocated liberal ideas, particularly in education and economic reform. He received his