Biography: Manuel Belgrano | Lawyer, politician, and Argentine military.

(Buenos Aires, 1770-1820) Lawyer, politician, and Argentine military, one of the key figures of the process that led to the independence of the country. Creole of Italian origin, studied law at the University of Salamanca, devoting special attention to political economy (1786-93); from there it followed the events of the French Revolution of 1789, which influenced him to the point of making you adopt the liberal ideology. He returned to the Río de la Plata to be named Secretary of the Consulate of Buenos Aires (1794-1810).

Manuel Belgrano

In this role he advocated free trade, the development of agriculture and the creation of commercial schools and nautical. In 1806 he participated as a captain of the urban militias during the British invasion, he was appointed sergeant major of the regiment of patricians and served as Assistant to Santiago Liniers. Without neglecting its task at the Consulate he collaborated in the weekly of agriculture, industry and Commerce, founded a patriotic, literary and economic society and the periodic mail trade.

Gained independence ideas, Belgrano began to conspire against the Spanish domination since news of the metropolis have been occupied by the French army arrived in 1809. He was one of the leaders of the insurrection that broke out in 1810, forming part of the Board that was formed in Buenos Aires, an Argentine Government embryo. Although it was not a professional soldier, he was appointed general in command of the army of the Paraguay, but was defeated by the Paraguayans and failed in the attempt to keep Paraguay joined Argentina (1811); Despite the defeat in weapons, left planted between the Paraguayan heads the yearning for freedom

Manuel Belgrano peaked which would be national flag in Rosario canyons of the Paraná and in 1812 took over the leadership of the army of the North. She won the battles of Tucumán (1812) and Salta (1813), which backed the Argentine independence contain realistic counteroffensive launched from the North; but he returned to be defeated when he tried to continue his advance by invading the Alto Peru (1813), decisive failure of the subsequent separation between Argentina and Bolivia.

Dismissed from the military command, Manuel Belgrano continued services to the cause of argentina on the diplomatic front, as in 1814-15 he was sent together with Bernardino Rivadavia to Europe to negotiate the recognition of independence (no result). He returned at the end of the Congress of Tucumán (1816), in whose bosom exposed royalist convictions.

Again in front of the auxiliary army of Peru, it should contain the uprisings of the warlords who ruled by José Gervasio Artigas. It cooperated with the forces of Martín Miguel de Güemes, but in Cruz Alta, he contracted a severe medical condition which withdrew to Tucumán. In November 1819, sick of death, he returned to Buenos Aires. There died of dropsy and poverty on 20 June 1820, after having said the words "Oh, my homeland!": that day, Buenos Aires, prey to anarchy, had three Governors at the same time. His remains are kept in a mausoleum, sculptor Ximenes, in the basilica of the Rosary of the Federal Capital.

Extracted from the website: Biografías y Vidas