South America Part 12

The moral as well as the material effect of this disaster was serious in the extreme. Miranda, moreover, although able, had proved himself an unfortunate General. In the end he was captured by the Spaniards, and died in captivity in Cadiz. Even when the tide of battle had definitely turned against the Spaniards, their desperate straits induced them to desperate measures, and the fort.i.tude of the patriots continued to be put severely to the test. One of the most dreaded Spanish moves, for instance, was the freeing of the slaves and the arming of these against their late colonial masters.

So embittered became the struggle that prisoners were put to death on both sides, and many terrible ma.s.sacres ensued in consequence. A number of other prominent patriot leaders now came forward to a.s.sist Bolivar and his comrades, among these being Narino, who proved himself victorious in many fights against the Royalists. At length, in 1821, Bolivar and Paez effected a junction of their forces, and marched to meet the Spanish army. On June 24 the Battle of Carabobo was fought, which resulted in the complete defeat of the Royalist troops.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SIMON BOLIVAR, "EL LIBERADOR" (AS A YOUNG MAN).

Liberator of the Northern States of South America from Spanish Rule.

_From an engraving by M.N. Bate._

_A. Rischgitz._]

This Battle of Carabobo was one which had far-reaching effects in Venezuela. In preparation for this fight Bolivar's army was formed in three divisions. The first, commanded by General Paez, contained the Cazadores Britannicus, or British Light Infantry, numbering 800 men, and 100 of the Irish Legion. This division, with the local troops, was of 3,100 men. The second, commanded by Cadeno, consisted of 1,800; and the third, led by Ambrosio Plaza, was composed of the Rifles, a regiment officered by Englishmen, and other regiments, in all 2,500 men.

The army had suffered terrible privations, and, in crossing the River Aparito some time before the battle, many men, including a number of Englishmen, had actually perished from the attacks of that terrible fish, the perai. Mention has already been made of this fish, which, no bigger than a perch, is provided with teeth which will tear the flesh from the bones in a few seconds. It was from the attacks of flocks of these that the unfortunate men had succ.u.mbed.

Just before the battle Bolivar rode along the front of his army, and it is said that the English gave him three "hurrahs" that were heard a mile off. After this, nevertheless, the attack was postponed until the next day, and during the interval the rain came down in tropical sheets. The Spaniards fought with extreme gallantry, and the battle was waged in the most determined fas.h.i.+on on both sides before victory definitely inclined to the patriot forces. The English took a very prominent share in this battle, losing no less than 600 out of 900 men.

Bolivar had now all but fulfilled the oath he had sworn years before in Rome. The Battle of Carabobo proved one of the most decisive of the campaign. Its conclusion marked the end of the Spanish occupation of the north. Bolivar had now cleared his own country of the Spaniards, and was free to turn his attention to Peru.

In the south-east of the Continent the struggle for liberty was far less prolonged than that in the districts of the centre, west, and north. It may be that the wide, open, agricultural plains had infused into the dwellers of Argentina an inherent sense of independence which had continued to flourish and grow, notwithstanding the dominion of the Spaniards. In any case, it was here that the revolt was, if not more enthusiastic, at all events more rapid.

Since 1776, moreover, the date when the provinces of the River Plate were exalted to the condition of a Viceroyalty, a certain freedom of intercourse had obtained which had been utterly lacking before. The trade of the country had expanded, and imports from Europe were now permitted access to the River Plate without first being subjected to the supervision of Panama or Peru. When the struggle began, it found the Argentine patriots enthusiastic and prepared.

On August 21, 1808, an act of fealty was sworn to Ferdinand VII. This, nevertheless, met with disapproval on the part of many Argentines, who desired the establishment of a _junta_ similar to that of Seville. The party in favour of this increased rapidly in strength, and shortly afterwards the Viceroy, Liniers, resigned. Although he had to a certain extent the support of the patriot party, his position in the face of the complicated situation had become extremely difficult. He was succeeded on July 30, 1809, by Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. The latter lost no time in giving proof of liberal intentions. He opened the ports to English vessels, and the commercial situation of the country, which had been deplorable, improved immediately.

In the meanwhile some revolutionary outbreaks at Chuquisaca and La Paz were suppressed by the Royalist troops with a brutality and wanton slaughtering which roused a storm of indignation in Buenos Aires.

Cornelio de Saavedra, one of the patriot leaders in the capital, succeeded, however, in preventing an open rising, since this would undoubtedly have been premature.

A secret society was now formed in Buenos Aires, counting in its ranks Belgrano, Nicolas Rodriguez Pena, Manuel Alberdi, Viamonte, Guido, and others. From this nucleus the regiment of _patricios_ was formed, and was commanded by Cornelio de Saavedra. The chief object of this society was the foundation of an adequate representative Government. To this end its members worked towards the abolition of the Viceroyalty and the formation of a new species of Const.i.tution. On May 22, 1810, a great meeting was held at which it was resolved that the authority of the Viceroyalty had expired. On this it was proposed that a junta should be created. Confusion, dispute, and intrigue followed; but the mind of the people was made up, and its will was no longer to be denied.

The Viceroy, de Cisneros, reluctant to oppose the now strongly expressed popular will, on May 25, 1810, resigned his office in the presence of an immense mult.i.tude. From this day the independence of Argentina is officially counted, for on the spot a _junta_ was established. Its members were Saavedra, Belgrano, Alberdi, Castelli, Azcuenaga, Matheu, Larrea, Paso, and Moreno.

While all this was occurring in Buenos Aires, strong Royalist sympathies continued to prevail in the provinces. Montevideo, too, showed itself hostile to the new Government. From this base the Royalists were able to strike at the new republican head-quarters at Buenos Aires, and on February 18 a Spanish fleet sailed to the spot and blockaded the capital. The patriots now made their first important move. A force of 1,200 volunteers, commanded by Ocampo and Balcarce, marched against Cordoba, where Liniers and Concha were in command of the Royalist forces. These latter were defeated and their leaders executed. Flushed by its success, the Argentine army then invaded Peru. A little later followed the victory of Suipacha, after which all the country in the neighbourhood declared itself openly for the revolutionists.

Belgrano, in the meanwhile, led an army into Paraguay. He had confidently expected the adherence of the inhabitants of that country.

These, however, remained loyal to the Crown, and Belgrano, defeated, was obliged to retire.

Operations were now begun against the Spanish troops in Uruguay. These were conducted by Belgrano, and in a very short time practically the entirety of the province was in the hands of the revolutionists.

Montevideo alone, held by its strong Spanish garrison, continued to resist. The town was closely invested on its landward side. Very soon after this, unfavourable news from Peru caused the Argentines to abandon their aggressive att.i.tude; an armistice was declared so far as Montevideo was concerned, and the South American forces retired from Uruguay.

The news from the north, indeed, was sufficiently serious. After the victory of Suipacha a truce had been agreed upon by Castelli, who was in command of the patriot forces. This he had observed loyally, but Gueneche, the leader of the Spanish troops, had proved himself less scrupulous. Without warning, he had attacked the Argentine army at Huaqui, and had obtained a decisive and sanguinary victory, at the end of which the 800 Argentines who survived had been obliged to retire in some confusion to Potosi.

Gueneche now in turn took the aggressive, and, advancing, he crushed the revolution at Cochabamba, and now prepared his forces for serious invasion. These reverses of fortune were not sufficient to discourage the ardour of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires. For that the idea of independence had become too strongly engrafted in the young nation; and on February 18, 1812, the blue and white of the Argentine flag was decided upon to the sound of enthusiastic acclamations.

A month later Belgrano took over the command of the army in Peru in order to make a stand against the threatened invasion. In the first place he found caution necessary. The Royalists, flushed with victory, had recaptured the towns of Salta and Jujuy, and Belgrano retired for a while in the face of their advances. The forces under the Spanish General, Tristan, followed him.

This was Belgrano's opportunity. Falling upon the Royalist army, he completely defeated it in a battle at Tuc.u.man, and the Spaniards suffered a heavy loss in men and munitions of war. Belgrano, then in turn advanced and made once again for Salta. In the neighbourhood of this town the Argentine flags were carried into battle for the first time, and their presence was welcomed as a favourable omen, for the victory remained with the patriot forces. Belgrano showed himself generous as a victor by liberating the great majority of his prisoners on parole, which, it is regrettable to state, large numbers of the Spaniards broke.

This victory completely changed the situation in the south-east. The patriots were enabled to resume the aggressive; their armies were sent across once more into Uruguay, and Montevideo was again besieged.

In the meanwhile a certain amount of rivalry had made its appearance among the intellectual patriot leaders in Buenos Aires. The rival parties were headed respectively by Saavedra and Mariano Moreno. Moreno eventually retired from the _junta_, and was offered the post of Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain. This he accepted, but died on his voyage to Europe. The party he had formed, however, continued in being after his death under the name of Morenistas. The period, of course, was one of experiment, and just at this moment numerous forms of government were essayed, and the pattern of the const.i.tution frequently changed.

On March 9, 1812, occurred an important event in the history of Argentina. On that date Jose de San Martin arrived in Buenos Aires in the British frigate _George Canning_. With him came Carlos Alvear and Matias Zapiola, whose names were likewise destined to become famous in the annals of the Republic. On their arrival there was established in Buenos Aires a branch of the now important secret society originally founded in London, the "Gran Reunion Americana." This branch was christened the "Logia de Lautaro," and exercised much influence on the affairs of the revolution.

San Martin was empowered by the Government to raise a force of horse-grenadiers, which subsequently became famous. In this regiment was Alvear in the capacity of Sargento Mayor, and Zapiola as Captain. There was plenty of work for the newly-const.i.tuted forces. San Martin's regiment was employed, in the first place, in the endeavour to restrain the river-raiding expeditions which the Royalist fleet was undertaking from its base at Montevideo. The mischief effected by these incursions to the patriot forces was very great. On February 3, 1813, however, San Martin dealt the Spaniards a severe blow in the neighbourhood of Rosario. Here he surprised a landing-party and defeated it utterly. This was San Martin's first victory, and it very nearly proved his last, for he had his horse shot under him and all but lost his life.

While this was going on in Argentina, the fortunes of war in Peru had again veered from a favourable to a perilous condition. On October 1, 1813, the Argentine army was badly defeated at Vilcapuyo, and in the same year it was again defeated at Ayouma. On this the Spaniards, seeing that their star was again in the ascendant, resumed possession of Chuquisaca and Potosi.

San Martin was now sent to take charge of operations in Peru. On the Argentine side the campaign had in one sense degenerated, since the diminished numbers of the Republican forces now restricted them to guerilla fighting. This species of warfare, as a matter of fact, suited the hardy Argentines admirably, and under such brilliant leaders as Martin Guemes, Ignacio Warnes, and Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales, their feats had kept the Royalist forces fully occupied. San Martin, on his arrival, immediately realized the advantages of this species of resistance, and encouraged it to the utmost. By this means alone was an invasion staved off.

At the beginning of 1814 Montevideo was still in the hands of the Spaniards, who continued to command the estuary of the River Plate and the great river system generally. Ominous news arrived from Europe. An important Royalist expedition, it appeared, was being prepared in Spain.

The outlook for the patriots was serious. A Council of State was called in Buenos Aires, consisting of nine members, of which Alvear was the most prominent. It was agreed that, so long as the Spanish fleet commanded the home waters, there was very little chance of driving their garrisons from the ports. It was resolved to establish a patriot fleet, which should sweep the seas clear of the Royalist vessels.

Three small vessels were in the first instance obtained--the _Hercules_, the _Zefiro_, and the _Nancy_. The command of these was given to an Irishman, William Brown, who lost no time in displaying his fitness for the post, and who, indeed, played the part of a lesser Cochrane. With his insignificant force he vanquished the Royalist fleet and captured the Island of Martin Garcia and blockaded Montevideo. On land General Alvear took charge of the investing patriot forces. Montevideo could now look for no a.s.sistance from the sea, and on June 20, 1814, after having suffered many hards.h.i.+ps, the garrison capitulated, and with the collapse of its gallant defence ended the power of Spain in the River Plate.

San Martin was then appointed Governor of Cuyo, with his head-quarters at Mendoza. The situation in general was serious. Outside Argentina and Uruguay the Royalist cause had held its own, and in many districts had triumphed. It was said that the Spanish expedition of 15,000 men was on the eve of embarkation in Europe, and even in the victorious River Plate Provinces dissensions between Artigas, the Uruguayan leader, and rival Generals had resulted in civil war.

It was undoubtedly necessary to obtain some recognition of the Const.i.tution in Europe. To this end Rivadavia and Belgrano proceeded to the Old World and sought the a.s.sistance of various countries, particularly that of England. On May 7, 1816, they arrived in Europe.

The hara.s.sed statesmen of Argentina had, after consideration, decided that the best means of avoiding anarchy was to establish a monarchy. The emissaries of the New World offered the throne to Don Francisco Paulo, an adopted son of King Carlos IV. These negotiations and others which succeeded them broke down and Belgrano returned to Buenos Aires.

Rivadavia went to Madrid, where he was not permitted to remain. A little later Belgrano became possessed of the somewhat extraordinary idea of crowning a member of the family of the Incas. This naturally enough met with ridicule, and was rejected.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DON FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ.

Third Dictator of the Republic of Paraguay.

_A. Rischgitz._]

But this is to antic.i.p.ate. While all this was occurring, the struggle in Peru had continued to show the fickleness of the fortunes of war.

Rondeau had been appointed General-in-Chief of the Army of Peru; he, however, had proved himself a General of slow movements, and suffered several defeats. He also fell out with Guemes, and a battle ensued between the two sections of the Argentine forces. In this Rondeau once again suffered defeat at the hands of the Gauchos. A belated peace was now made up between the leaders, and Guemes was suffered to continue his brilliant campaign unchecked.

In 1816 Puyrredon was elected dictator of Argentina, which now took its place as an independent State. The new Republic had now time to look beyond its own frontiers. Its eyes turned first of all to the west, where the Chileans were still struggling against the garrisons of Spain.

Events had not favoured the patriots on the western side of the Andes, and a number of the most prominent men had fled eastwards to Argentina, O'Higgins and many others establis.h.i.+ng themselves at the town of Mendoza for the time being. There, unfortunately, a certain amount of jealousy had broken out between the Chilean leaders, for the existence of much of which there is no doubt that the Carrera family was largely responsible.

The three brothers Carrera were very notable personalities in the war of independence in Chile. In 1811 Don Juan Jose Carrera, who had attained to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of Hussars in Europe, returned to his native country to take part in its defence. He appointed himself Colonel of the National Guards, made his eldest brother, Jose Miguel, a Colonel of the Grenadiers, and his younger brother, Don Luis, Colonel and Commander of the Artillery. In 1812 Bernardo O'Higgins joined Carrera, who at first made him Lieutenant-Colonel of the Line, and afterwards promoted him to the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1813 the three Carreras, with a number of other officers, were captured by the Spaniards, and O'Higgins a.s.sumed command of the army. When the three Carreras recovered their liberty a dispute occurred concerning the chief command, and the forces of the opposing parties actually came to blows on the Plain of Maipu, where an action was fought, and where O'Higgins was made prisoner. After this a reconciliation was brought about.

There is no shadow of doubt that a number of these patriot leaders may be ranked among the host of great men, sometimes on account of their qualities as leaders, sometimes for their statesmans.h.i.+p, but in almost every instance for their genuine patriotism. Nevertheless, there have been very few historical characters or temperaments which have been more difficult to estimate from contemporary accounts of their actions and motives. Jealousy entered very freely into the patriot ranks, and the various chroniclers, however honestly they may have written, and however deep their convictions may have been, were inevitably swayed to a very great extent by this.

Thus a partisan of the Carreras would have been a strange being, according to the lights of these times, had he been able to discern a spot of goodness in the personality of San Martin, and the admirer of the heroic Cochrane would have had no higher opinion of the Argentine Liberator. The reverse of the medal was, of course, shown by San Martin's adherents, who might safely have been trusted to miss no defect in Cochrane, or in any other of his party. This condition of affairs prevailed throughout, and extended for the length and breadth of the Continent. Bolivar, Sucre, and everyone of note, was a hero to his own followers, and more or less a villain to the rest of the allied, yet rival, parties. As a rule these prominent leaders suffered rather than gained from the situation, since the calumnies of the period are more abundant than the laudations. It is only now that the history of the early nineteenth century is beginning to be written calmly and dispa.s.sionately, and as a result the partic.i.p.ants in the great deeds of that epoch appear, with justice, greater to the modern world than they did in the eyes of their contemporaries.

CHAPTER XVII

THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE--II

It was at Mendoza that the famous Argentine General, San Martin, recruited the army destined for the campaign of Chile. In 1817 everything was prepared, and with an army of 4,000 men San Martin set out on one of the most extraordinary military marches that history has known. Indeed, his pa.s.sage of the Andes is considered as unique by numerous military experts.