Who was the successful military leader in the struggle for independence in south america
|
Show By the end of 1824, Bolívar’s army had invaded the last Royalist stronghold in the Americas in the Viceroyalty of Peru. There were two key battles as part of this final assault. The first one was in Junín and the second one was in Ayacucho. In fact the Ayacucho forces were not commanded by Bolívar but by Sucre. The battle ended quickly when the independence forces captured Viceroy La Serna himself. After the Battle of Ayacucho a few Spanish commanders sought to hold onto Upper Peru, but within a few weeks they left and it was not long before Spanish soldiers would withdraw from América. In the podcast above, Charles Walker, the keynote speaker at one of our events in Peru, discusses the independence of Peru. Walker considers the fact that independence in Peru came later than most of the other regions in Latin America. He speaks about different phases in the independence process, from the early campaigns of Tupac Amaru to the Battle of Ayacucho. In fact, many of the locals in the regions supported the Spaniards and more research is required on the reasons why different factions of people supported the royalist cause. The island of Chiloé in the South of Chile was actually one of the last Royalist bastions to fall into the hands of the revolutionaries (in 1826). Chiloé had given the Spanish administration a lot of support. It not been part of the Patria Vieja, which was the old republic in the central region of Chile, but men from Chiloé were enlisted as soldiers by the Royalists and sent to fight there. Thomas Cochrane and William Miller, British officers who were helping the revolutionaries, tried to take the island, but failed. Later Jorge Beauchef, a French military officer, led an attempt but again this failed.  Ramón Freire Finally on 15 January 1826 an offence led by the Chilean military officer Ramon Freire was successful and he was able to get the Royalist forces to surrender. Freire had been involved with the struggle for independence since 1810. He had been involved with the establishment of the first junta in Chile and had fought in the Army of the Andes in 1816, getting promoted to colonel following his success in the battle of Maipú. Gold medals from the 1818 Battle of Maipu. Unknown providence. Freire took over as Supreme Director, in 1823 when Bernardo O’Higgins was replaced by the Junta. In 1827 Freire became president and used his position to advocate for the abolition of slavery, freedom of the press and educational reform. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.
In the early hours of February 12, 1817, Argentine revolutionary José de San Martín leads his troops down the slopes of the Andes Mountains towards the Spanish forces defending Chile. By nightfall, the Spanish would be routed, the fledgling nation of Chile would have taken a major step toward independence. San Martín was already a celebrated figure across South America, having liberated Argentina from Spanish rule. As his armies moved through the southern part of the continent, Simón Bolívar waged a similar campaign of liberation in the north, and by 1817 much of the continent was either independent or in a state of revolt. Though uprisings
and guerrilla attacks had occurred throughout the narrow region between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, Chile and its ports remained under Spanish control. San Martín led his army, the Army of the Andes, on an arduous march into Chile. It is estimated that as much as one third of his 6,000 men died in the crossing, and over half his horses were lost. Nonetheless, the patriots outnumbered the Spanish in the region when they finally reached the other side. Knowing Spanish reinforcements
were nearby, San Martín pressed the advantage, ordering an early-morning advance down the slopes on February 12th. Two halves of his force were to convene on the Spanish at once, but one of his officers, a Chilean (of partially Irish descent) named Bernardo O'Higgins, could not wait. O'Higgins' contingent raced down the mountains, giving the Spanish a numerical advantage and forcing San Martín into a somewhat haphazard assault. Nonetheless, by afternoon the patriots had forced the
Spanish back into defensive positions around a local ranch, the Rancho Chacabuco. As O'Higgins made another charge, General Miguel Estanislao Soler moved his men to the other side of the ranch, cutting off the Spanish retreat. The result was disaster for the Spanish, who suffered 500 casualties and lost even more prisoners of war. Meanwhile, only a dozen patriot soldiers were reported dead, although roughly 120 would eventually die from wounds suffered in the battle. The quick and total
victory cleared the path to Santiago, the capital of Chile. Though it would take over a year for final victory to be assured, Chacabuco was seen as the pivotal moment in Chilean independence—formal independence was declared on February 12th, 1818, the first anniversary of the battle. The Battle of Chacabuco marked a crucial moment not only in Chilean history but also in the history of the continent and in the lives of San Martín, who added the liberation of Chile to his long list of
achievements, and of O'Higgins, who would soon become Supreme Dictator of his newly independent nation. On February 12, 2005, 7,503 orange curtains unfurl across New York City’s Central Park from thousands of gates. The art
installation, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates,” will be gone by the end of the month, but it will leave a lasting impression and be remembered as one of ...read more On February 12, 1909, the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, a group that included African American leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett announced the formation of a new organization. Called the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored ...read more On February 12, 1938, best-selling author Judy Blume, known for her children’s books and young-adult novels, including “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” and “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” is born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Blume’s books have been
beloved by several ...read more On February 12, 1912, Hsian-T’ung, the last emperor of China, is forced to abdicate following Sun Yat-sen’s republican revolution. A provisional government was established in his place, ending 267 years of Manchu rule in China and 2,000 years of imperial rule. The former
emperor, ...read more On February 12, 1999, the five-week impeachment trial of Bill Clinton comes to an end, with the Senate voting to acquit the president on both articles of impeachment: perjury and obstruction of justice. In November 1995, Clinton began an affair with Monica Lewinsky, a 21-year-old ...read more Congress passes the first fugitive slave law, requiring all states, including those that forbid slavery, to forcibly return enslaved people who have escaped from other states to their original owners. The laws stated that “no person held to service of labor in one state, under ...read more On February 12, 2002, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. Milosevic served as his own attorney for much of the prolonged trial, which ended without a verdict ...read more German General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli, Libya, with the newly formed Afrika Korps, to reinforce the beleaguered Italians’ position. In January 1941, Adolf Hitler established the Afrika Korps for the explicit purpose of helping his Italian Axis partner maintain territorial ...read more The release of U.S. POWs begins in Hanoi as part of the Paris peace settlement. The return of U.S. POWs began when North Vietnam released 142 of 591 U.S. prisoners at Hanoi’s Gia Lam Airport. Part of what was called Operation Homecoming, the first 20 POWs arrived to a hero’s ...read more About 6,000 Cambodian troops launch a major operation to wrestle the religious center of Angkor Wat from 4,000 North Vietnamese troops entrenched around the famous Buddhist temple complex, which had been seized in June 1970. Fighting continued throughout the month. Even with ...read more Future U.S. president Abraham Lincoln is born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. WATCH: The HISTORY Channel documentary event, Abraham Lincoln, premieres Sunday, February 20 at 8/7c. Lincoln, one of America’s most admired presidents, grew up a member of a poor ...read more “The audience packed a house that could have been sold out at twice the size,” wrote New York Times critic Olin Downes on February 13, 1924, of a concert staged the previous afternoon at the Aeolian Hall in New York City. Billed as an educational event, the “Experiment In Modern ...read more Hollywood’s longest work stoppage since 1988 ends on February 12, 2008, when members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) vote by a margin of more than 90 percent to go back to work after a walkout that began the previous November 5. The writers’ strike began during the ...read more Actor Sal Mineo is stabbed to death in Hollywood, California. Mineo was parking his car behind his apartment when neighbors heard his cries for help. Some described a white man with brown hair fleeing the scene. By the time they reached Mineo, he was almost dead from a deep wound ...read more On February 12, 1789, Vermont Patriot Ethan Allen dies of a stroke at age 52 on his Winooski River homestead. Allen is best remembered as the patriotic leader of the Green Mountain Boys, who took the British fort at Ticonderoga with Benedict Arnold in May 1775. He also had a ...read more
The Austrian submarine U-35 bombs and sinks the American schooner Lyman M. Law in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Cagliari, Sardinia. The Lyman M. Law, captained by S.W. McDonough, had embarked on its final journey from Stockton, Maine, ...read more Who were the leaders of South American revolutions and independence?In South America, Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín led the final phase of the independence struggle.
Who was the most successful liberator of South America?On July 24, 1783, Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas, in what is now Venezuela. Bolivar became the most powerful leader in South America, nicknamed “El Libertador” (the liberator) for helping nations become independent from Spain. Today, July 24 is celebrated as Simon Bolivar Day throughout Latin America.
Was José de San Martín successful?Jose de San Martin achieved independence for Argentina, Chile, and Peru primarily through his military might, but he also was a proven and successful negotiator. Most of his military might that led to independence was with his extremely successful Army of the Andes.
Which were two leaders who contributed to independence in South America?Two leaders pushed much of South America to independence. Simon Bolivar was a writer, fighter, and political thinker. He survived defeats and exile to win independence for Venezuela in 1821. Jose de San Martin helped win independence for Argentina in 1816 and Chile in 1818.
|
