Jose de San Martin (1778 – 1850)
Jose de San Martin (1778 – 1850) is considered the “father” of Argentina. Think of him as the equivalent of our George Washington. He helped come up with the idea of separating from Spain and was instrumental in declaring independence and then coming up with a way to fight for it.
He was also bright enough to recognize that the Spanish Armada would pop over and squish them like a bug if there wasn’t a good plan, so once he got Argentina up and running he popped over to Chile and Peru and did the same thing with them. (Note – Enrique told us that if you get this story from Chile and Peru, you will get a different slant that downplays San Martin’s involvement, much the same way that anyone who has friends going through a divorce realizes that the same facts can elicit very different viewpoints).
Nonetheless, with everyone united to get Spain out of the colonizing business in South America, the fight was on.
One thing that you can’t help but notice when walking around Buenos Aires is that there are very few black people here. Enrique explained it as follows– Argentina enslaved people, kidnapping and transporting them from Africa just like the US did, but (a) they ended slavery in 1813 (a good half century before the US did), and (b) the rich that owned all the land decided that the way to secure independence was to send the slaves off to fight the war. Thus, the population of black people was significantly diminished and is reflected in their society today (about 13.6%, if the internet is to be believed).
One thing that helped end slavery earlier in Argentina was that children born to slaves were free; they did not continue to be enslaved.
He was also bright enough to recognize that the Spanish Armada would pop over and squish them like a bug if there wasn’t a good plan, so once he got Argentina up and running he popped over to Chile and Peru and did the same thing with them. (Note – Enrique told us that if you get this story from Chile and Peru, you will get a different slant that downplays San Martin’s involvement, much the same way that anyone who has friends going through a divorce realizes that the same facts can elicit very different viewpoints).
Nonetheless, with everyone united to get Spain out of the colonizing business in South America, the fight was on.
One thing that you can’t help but notice when walking around Buenos Aires is that there are very few black people here. Enrique explained it as follows– Argentina enslaved people, kidnapping and transporting them from Africa just like the US did, but (a) they ended slavery in 1813 (a good half century before the US did), and (b) the rich that owned all the land decided that the way to secure independence was to send the slaves off to fight the war. Thus, the population of black people was significantly diminished and is reflected in their society today (about 13.6%, if the internet is to be believed).
One thing that helped end slavery earlier in Argentina was that children born to slaves were free; they did not continue to be enslaved.
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