Autobiography of Manuel Belgrano

In the early 1800s, Argentina was still part of the River Plate Viceroyalty (El Virreinato de Río de La Plata) until it declared a war against the Spanish monarchy on May 25th, 1810. The independence war lasted for 6 years until its victory on July 9th, 1816. Manuel Belgrano was a revolutionist who founded Argentina along with other Creole revolutionists. A primary source to learn more about why Belgrano participated in the Revolution is his autobiography written in 1814. Manuel Belgrano was born in Buenos Aires on June 3, 1770 under an elite Italian-Creole family. He went to University of Valladolid and University Salamanca in Spain for his law career. While he was in Europe, he was influenced by the French Revolution and the Renaissance, and learned about liberty, equality, property and human rights.

Upon his return to Buenos Aires, he became the secretary and attorney of the River Plate Viceroyalty Consulate in 1793. His daily job in the Consulate was to write annual commercial, agricultural and industrial reports for the Spanish crown. Belgrano provided an example of Spanish merchants purchasing goods at a price of $4 but selling for $8 to maximize their own profit under the monopoly. He realized the monopoly was going to develop the colony because “nothing would be done for… all provinces… by those men… [and] their particular interests postponed the common interest”. Spain was trying any means to take out the most resources they could out from the colonies through African slavery. He witnessed that Spain gave privileges to those conquerors who had embarked on the journey to the Americas.

On the other hand, Belgrano identified himself strongly as a man from the Americas because he was born and raised in Buenos Aires. He felt painful “to see his homeland [was] under other domination.” His autobiography expressed his philosophy and motives to break ties with the Spanish crown and establish an independent government. Along with other Creole revolutionists, they negated the viceroyalty and founded the first Government Junta in 1810  as an end to monarchy. At the same time, Belgrano proposed a redistribution of wealth, properties and labor was important to develop the River Plate Viceroyalty. Education would be the tool for social and political reforms, which led him to found primary, secondary and professional school systems to formalize education. He wanted to integrate indigenous people to the new nation sharing the same rights as Creoles and Spanish.

This autobiography presents Belgrano’s personal opinions by narrating his experiences in the Consulate and the independence war. Argentinians are his audience so that they could learn about his motives to fight for independence. This autobiography is received positively, and some historians have used this autobiography to write the history of the Revolution and Belgrano’s legacy to the country. Manuel Belgrano played a key role in the early foundation of Argentina as a politician, military leader and educator. His legacy lasts until this day as one of the founding fathers. The Argentine $10 pesos bill is printed with his portrait and the national flag monument in Rosario, Province of Santa Fe, where Belgrano chose the national flag there in 1812. To remember Belgrano, the Day of the Flag is a national holiday that takes place on June 20th annually to commemorate him. Even though Manuel Belgrano was a revolutionists and inspirational figure in Argentine history, some people argue that the Revolution never solved the colonial problems completely because there was inequality during the postcolonial era. Moreover, the indigenous people are still left out in contemporary Argentine society. We could see that liberators like Belgrano did not solve the problems completely. Colonialism is a problem despite the Revolution. This could lead us to rethink the history of revolutions in Argentina and question if it was successful.

References

Primary Source:

Belgrano, Manuel. Autobiografía de Manuel Belgrano. Buenos Aires: El Historiador, 1844. https://www.elhistoriador.com.ar/manuel-belgrano-autobiografia-1770-1820/. Accessed April 9, 2020.

Secondary Sources:

Ideas en la educación argentina, “Manuel Belgrano”. Directed by Laboratorio de Medios Audiovisuales, Universidad Pedagógica. Nacional. Originally released in 2011; Buenos Aires: UNIPE, 2012. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I65ERX59SEc&t=584s.

Angel Maggi, Luis. “Belgrano y La Revolución de Mayo.” La Capital, May 5, 2019. Accessed April 8, 2020. https://www.lacapital.com.ar/cartas-lectores/belgrano-y-la-revolucion-mayo-n1761074.html.

Bustos Thames, Juan Pablo. “Belgrano, eslabón que une las tradiciones coloniales con los principios revolucionarios.” Infobae, June 11, 2016. Accessed April 10, 2020. https://www.infobae.com/noticias/2016/06/11/belgrano-eslabon-que-une-las-tradiciones-coloniales-con-los-principios-revolucionarios/

Gamboa, Gustavo. “Manuel Belgrano, ese revolucionario.” La Capital, June 20, 2016. Accessed April 8, 2020. https://www.lacapital.com.ar/agroclave/manuel-belgrano-ese-revolucionario-n967224.html

Parra, Cecilia & Wolman, Susana. Ciencias Sociales: Belgrano y los tiempos de la independencia. Buenos Aires: Ministry of Education, City Government of Buenos Aires, 2007.