José Gervasio Artigas
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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).[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
Things changed with the opening of the
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.[10] In February 1811, he declared war on Buenos Aires and this sparked the independence movement of Banda Oriental.[11] 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.[12]
The alliance between Artigas and the Argentines sustained initial successes, particularly in the late 1810 to mid-1811.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]
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.[15]
Montevideo was soon surrounded by Artigas's forces. A Montevidean army tried to stop the patriots at the
On the verge of defeat, Elío allied himself with Brazilian forces, requesting
Artigas left the Banda Oriental and moved to Salto Chico, in Entre Ríos. All his supporters moved with him. This massive departure is known as the Oriental exodus.
The Supreme Director Gervasio Antonio de Posadas offered a reward of $6.000 for the capture of Artigas, dead or alive. The only consequence of this action was increased resentment of the Orientals towards Buenos Aires. Several royalist leaders, such as Vigodet or Pezuela, sought an alliance with Artigas against Buenos Aires, but he rejected them: "I may not be sold, nor do I want more reward for my efforts than to see my nation free from the Spanish rule".[18] Despite the deep disputes, Artigas was still eager to return to good terms with Buenos Aires, but only if the city accepted a national organization based on federalist principles.[19]
Posadas sent two more armies to capture and execute Artigas, but they mutinied and joined the Orientals. When the Artiguist influence expanded to Corrientes, Posadas sought to negotiate by accepting the autonomy of the provinces. Artigas accepted the terms, but clarified that such autonomy must not be understood as national independence. He did not want to secede the Banda Oriental from the United provinces, but to organize them as a confederation. Posadas, who supported the authority of Buenos Aires as the head of a centralized state, delayed the approval of the treaty.[20]
Buenos Aires renewed the military actions against Montevideo. This time, the naval skills of Argentinian William Brown helped to overcome the strength of the Montevidean navy, leading to the final defeat of the royalist stronghold. Carlos María de Alvear led the capture of Montevideo, and lured Artigas there by promising that he would turn over the city to the Oriental patriots. Alvear attacked them without warning at Las Piedras, but Artigas managed to escape from the trap.[21]
Liga Federal
In 1814, Artigas organized the
In 1815, Artigas attended the Congress of Oriente, a year before the Congress of Tucuman, held in Arrollo de la China (today known as Concepción del Uruguay). It was at this congress that the provinces of the Oriental Province (today the country of
In this congress, Artigas rectified the use of the flag created by
Luso Brazilian invasion
The continued growth of influence and prestige of the Federal League frightened the governments in Buenos Aires (because of its federalism) and Portugal (because of its republicanism), and in August 1816, Portugal invaded the Eastern Province (with tacit complicity from Buenos Aires), with the intention of destroying Artigas and his revolution.
The Portuguese forces, led by
Without resources and men, Artigas withdrew to Paraguay in September 1820. In Paraguay, Dr. Francia, the dictator, banished him to Candelaria. He then disappeared from the political life of the region. (B. Nahum).
After a long exile, he died in Paraguay on September 23rd in 1850, at age 86. It is said that Artigas, feeling himself to be near death, asked for a horse and died in the saddle, as a gaucho. His remains were buried and then re-interred at the Panteón Nacional in 1855. On 19 June 1977, his remains were transferred to the Artigas Mausoleum in the centre of the Plaza Independencia.
Ideals
Artigas was a staunch democrat and federalist, opposed to monarchism and centralism.
Artiguism has two main sources: the works of American authors such as
The ideology of Artigas is partially taken from U.S. legal texts. The American political liberalism exerted a strong influence on Artigas. Other Hispanic independence leaders, however, were more influenced by the French Revolution and the authors of France. Some historians such as Eugenio Petit Muñoz and Ariosto González, have shown that some paragraphs of the Artiguist documents were taken directly from "The Independence of the Mainland Justified by Thomas Paine, Thirty Years Ago" published by Paine in Philadelphia in 1811 and translated immediately into Spanish, and "Concise History of the United States" by John McCulloch. Artigas had both books.
The first of the works cited contained a large appendix of documents with the
Legacy
Artigas has become a national hero in Uruguay. This is significant as, since independence, many Uruguayan figures have been heroes of either the Colorado or the Blanco party, while being reviled by the other side. As such, Artigas has been the namesake of numerous places, vessels, etc. throughout Uruguayan history, particularly during periods of peace and reunification between the parties.
- Artigas Department, the northernmost region of Uruguay (formed 1 October 1884 from Salto Department).
- Artigas, its capital (established 1852).
- Artigas Airport (SUAG/ATI), its airport.
- General Artigas Bridge, which connects Paysandú, Uruguay and Colón, Argentina (completed 1975).
- Fortress General Artigas, a military museum on Montevideo Hill (completed 1809, renamed 1882, rededicated 1916).
- General Artigas Military Club in Montevideo (established 1925).
- General Artigas Military School in Montevideo (established 1947).
- Artigas Base, Uruguay's Antarctic research station (established 1984).
- The Uruguayan 1st Cavalry Regiment (Reg. "Blandengues de Artigas" de Caballería Nº 1).
- The ROU 04 General Artigas, a converted German Lüneburg (E)-class replenishment oiler (commissioned 2005).
- The former ROU 02 General Artigas, a converted French Commandant Rivière-class frigate (commissioned 1988, decommissioned 2005).
- The former ROU Artigas (DE-2), a converted American Cannon-class destroyer escort (commissioned 1952, decommissioned 1988).
- The former General Artigas, an Uruguayan (Austro-Hungarian built) gunboat (commissioned 1884, decommissioned 1915).
- The former steamship General Artigas, employed by President Flores during his successful rebellion.
- The Armed Forces.
- The Plaza Uruguay in Polanco, in Mexico City has a statue of Artigas.
Artigas's birthday (19 June) is celebrated as a national holiday in Uruguay.
Additionally, an extinct giant rodent genus, whose fossils were first found in San José Department, was named Josephoartigasia after José Artigas.
There is also a monument and square dedicated to Artigas in Rome, in the Villa Borghese park, Italy.
There is a monument in honor of José Artigas in Bucharest, Romania.
There is a monument in honor of José Artigas in
Jose Artigas Marg is a street named in honor of Jose Artigas in New Delhi, India.
There is a bust of Artigas and an abstract sculpture representing his flag in Avenida do Uruguai, Lisbon, Portugal.
There is an order of Merit, the Order of Military Merit of the Companions of Artigas, founded in 1980.
There is one in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States April 19, 2013
See also
- Artiguism
- Flag of Artigas
- Order of Military Merit of the Companions of Artigas#Historical reference
- Statues of the Liberators
Footnotes
- ^ Los abuelos de José Artigas (The grandparents of José Artigas). Accessed October 5, 2010 at 11:35.
- ^ Luna, p. 25
- ^ Luna, p. 26
- ^ Luna, p. 27
- ^ Luna, p. 31
- ^ Luna, pp. 31–32
- ^ Luna, p. 20
- ^ Luna, p. 23
- ^ Luna, p. 33
- ISBN 978-0-19-517881-4.
- ISBN 978-0-340-95873-5.
- ^ Luna, p. 39–40
- ISBN 978-1-85728-782-0.
- ^ Luna, p. 41
- ^ a b Luna, p. 43
- ^ Luna, pp. 44–46
- ^ Luna, pp. 46–47
- ^ Luna, p. 54
- ^ Luna, p. 55
- ^ Luna, pp. 55–59
- ^ Luna, pp. 59–60
Further reading
- Félix Luna, José Artigas: El caudillo revolucionario (José Artigas: The Revolutionary Leader). Buenos Aires: Planeta de Agostini, 2009.
- Tyson Reeder, "'Sovereign Lords' and 'Dependent Administrators': Artigan Privateers, Atlantic Borderwaters, and State Building in the Early Nineteenth Century," Journal of American History, vol. 103, no. 2 (September 2016), pp. 323–346.
External links
- Biblioteca Artiguista (in Spanish)
- Pictures of the Artigas Mausoleum in Montevideo Uruguay
- todobuenosaires.com Archived 2018-10-23 at the Wayback Machine