Jose Gervasio Artigas Arnal Popular Books

Jose Gervasio Artigas Arnal Biography & Facts

José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse xeɾˈβa.sjo aɾˈti.ɣas aɾˈnal]; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a soldier and statesman who is regarded as a national hero in Uruguay and the father of Uruguayan nationhood. Born in Montevideo, Artigas enlisted in the Spanish military in 1797 and fought the British in the Anglo-Spanish War. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American wars of independence, Artigas supported the Primera Junta in Buenos Aires against Spain. He defeated the Spanish royalists at Las Piedras and laid siege to Montevideo, but was forced to withdraw in the face of Portuguese intervention. Artigas subsequently broke with the centralist government of Buenos Aires and took over Montevideo in 1815. He then oversaw the creation of the Federal League, an alliance of six provinces under a federal style of government. In 1816, the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves invaded the Banda Oriental, eventually annexing it as a province. Artigas was driven into Paraguay, where he lived in exile until his death in 1850. His remains were re-interred at the Central Cemetery of Montevideo in 1855, and in 1977 they were transferred to the Artigas Mausoleum. Biography Early life Artigas was born in Montevideo on June 19, 1764. His grandparents were from Zaragoza, Buenos Aires and Tenerife (Canary Islands). His grandparents fought in the War of the Spanish Succession and moved to the Americas to escape from poverty, settling in Buenos Aires in 1716. Artigas was the son of Martín José Artigas and Francisca Antonia Arnal, who came from a wealthy family. His parents enrolled him in the Colegio de San Bernardino, to pursue religious studies, but Artigas refused to submit to the school's strict discipline. Before he left the school, he developed a strong friendship with Fernando Otorgues, who would work with him in later years. At the age of 12, he moved to the countryside and worked on his family's farms. His contact with the customs and perspectives of gauchos and Indians made a great impression on him. Once he had come of age, he distanced himself from his parents and became involved in cattle smuggling. This made him a wanted man among the owners of haciendas and with the government in Montevideo. A reward was put out for his death. Things changed with the opening of the Anglo-Spanish War, and the threat of a British invasion upon the viceroyalty. The viceroy Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú negotiated a pardon with his family, on the condition that he joined the Corps of Blandengues with a hundred men, to form a battalion. Thus, he began his military career in 1797, at the age of 33, with the rank of lieutenant. The attack finally came in 1806, when William Beresford invaded Buenos Aires, in the first British invasion of the River Plate. Although Artigas's unit was tasked with patrolling the frontier with Brazil, he requested to take part in the military expedition that Santiago de Liniers launched from Montevideo to drive the British out of Buenos Aires. His request was granted, and the British were defeated. After the recapture of Buenos Aires, he was tasked with returning to Montevideo and informing the governor Pascual Ruiz Huidobro of the result of the battle. A second British invasion was launched culminating in the Battle of Montevideo, which ended in the fall of Montevideo. Artigas was taken prisoner, but he managed to escape and took refuge in the countryside. He organized groups of gauchos and began a guerrilla war against the British. The British tried to capture Buenos Aires a second time. They were defeated by the local troops and returned Montevideo to Spanish control as part of the terms of capitulation. Artigas was promoted to captain in 1809. Oriental revolution The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the outbreak of the Peninsular War (from 1807 to 1814) in Spain, along with the capture of King Ferdinand VII, generated political turbulence all across the Spanish Empire. The absence of the king from the throne (replaced by the French Joseph Bonaparte) and the new ideas of the Enlightenment sparked the Spanish-American wars of independence, between patriots (who wanted to establish republics or constitutional monarchies) and royalists (who wanted to keep an absolute monarchy). Artigas, who thought that the gauchos were not treated well, supported the new ideas. Buenos Aires deposed the viceroy in 1810, during the May Revolution, replacing him with the Primera Junta. Spain declared Buenos Aires a rogue city, and appointed Montevideo as the new capital, with Francisco Javier de Elío, who was an experienced hard-line colonialist from Cádiz, as the new viceroy. In February 1811, he declared war on Buenos Aires and this sparked the independence movement of Banda Oriental. Mariano Moreno, the Argentine secretary of war, wrote at the Operations plan that Artigas would be a decisive ally against the royalists in Montevideo, and called him for an interview. However, by the time Artigas arrived in Buenos Aires, Moreno had already left the government. He was still welcomed, but received little help. He was promoted to colonel and received some weapons, money and 150 men, very little to organize a rebellion at the Banda Oriental. This was the last time Artigas saw the city of Buenos Aires. The alliance between Artigas and the Argentines sustained initial successes, particularly in the late 1810 to mid-1811. Montevideo had financial problems, however, and the measures taken by Elío to maintain the royalist armies were highly unpopular in the countryside. This allowed Artigas to channel the popular discontent against the colonial authorities. A hundred men met near the Asencio stream and made the cry of Asencio, a pronunciamiento against the viceroy. They captured many villages in the Banda Oriental, such as Mercedes, Santo Domingo, Colla, Maldonado, Paso del Rey, Santa Teresa and San José. They also captured Gualeguay, Gualeguaychú and Arroyo de la China, the west of the Uruguay River. Elío sent some soldiers to kill Artigas, but they failed to accomplish their mission. Then, he sent Manuel Villagrán, a relative of Artigas, to offer him a pardon and appoint him general and military leader of the Banda Oriental if he gave up the rebellion. Artigas considered the offer an insult, and sent Villagrán prisoner to Buenos Aires. Montevideo was soon surrounded by Artigas's forces. A Montevidean army tried to stop the patriots at the Battle of Las Piedras, but they were defeated, and the city was put under siege. José Rondeau, commanding forces from Buenos Aires, joined the siege. Artigas wanted to attack the city right away, but Rondeau thought that there would be less loss of lives by establishing a blockade and waiting for the city to surrender. However, the besiegers did not consider the naval forces of Montevideo, who kept the city supplied and enabled them to endure the blockade. On the verge of defeat, Elío allied himself with Braz.... Discover the Jose Gervasio Artigas Arnal popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jose Gervasio Artigas Arnal books.