José Gervasio Artigas: The founder of Eastern nationality (+birth)

On June 19, 1764, José Gervasio Artigas was born in Montevideo. He was a military, revolutionary and independence leader, who, with his ideals and the strength of his sword, forged the independence of Uruguay.

In addition, he was a founding member of the Blandengues corps, an armed militia that was responsible for the defense of that Uruguayan city and of which he was the second leader.

After the revolution of 1810 in Buenos Aires, he offered his services to the Revolutionary Junta, in a fight against the Spanish governor of Montevideo, who, being threatened by independence troops, asked Portugal for help and forced negotiations to stop fighting for some time, between the Junta and the Spanish governor. An act that was badly received by Artigas, since the treatment returned the nation's sovereignty to Spain, as reflected in the Biographies and Lives portal

In order not to be forced to accept Spanish guardianship, he abandoned, with 1,500 families, and settled in Arroyo Ayu (between Argentina and Uruguay), a town from which he politically organized the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Santa Fe, and after gaining control, he fought against the centralist leaders of Buenos Aires.

In 1815 Artigas defeated the centralist forces, took Montevideo and organized a federalist government in Santa Fe.

He died on September 23, 1850 and in 1856, posthumously, the Uruguayan government declared him “founder of Eastern nationality”.

Mazo News Team