139 Facts About Manuel Belgrano

Manuel Belgrano took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and designed what became the flag of Argentina.

Manuel Belgrano came into contact with the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment while at university in Spain around the time of the 1789 French Revolution.

Manuel Belgrano favoured the May Revolution, which removed the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros from power on 25 May 1810.

Manuel Belgrano was elected as a voting member of the Primera Junta that took power after the ouster.

Manuel Belgrano's troops were beaten by Bernardo de Velasco at the battles of Paraguari and Tacuari.

Manuel Belgrano retreated to the vicinity of Rosario, to fortify it against a possible royalist attack from the Eastern Band of the Uruguay River.

Manuel Belgrano then went on a diplomatic mission to Europe along with Bernardino Rivadavia to seek support for the revolutionary government.

Manuel Belgrano returned in time to take part in the Congress of Tucuman, which declared Argentine independence.

Manuel Belgrano promoted the Inca plan to create a constitutional monarchy with an Inca descendant as head of state.

Manuel Belgrano was baptized at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral the following day.

Manuel Belgrano changed his name "Domenico" to the Spanish "Domingo" as well.

Manuel Belgrano was an Italian merchant authorized by the King of Spain to move to the Americas, and had contacts in Spain, Rio de Janeiro, and Britain.

Manuel Belgrano promoted the establishment of the Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires, which his son Manuel would lead a few years later.

Manuel Belgrano's mother was Maria Josefa Gonzalez Islas y Casero, born in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.

Domingo Manuel Belgrano Perez managed a family business, and arranged for his four daughters to marry merchants who would become his trusted agents in the Banda Oriental, Misiones Province, and Spain.

Manuel Belgrano was meant to follow his father's work, but when he developed other interests, it was his brother Francisco Jose Maria de Indias who continued the family business.

Manuel Belgrano completed his first studies at the San Carlos school, where he learned Latin, philosophy, logic, physics, metaphysics, and literature; he graduated in 1786.

Manuel Belgrano expected them to study commerce, but Manuel decided to study law.

Manuel Belgrano was so successful and attained such prestige that Pope Pius VI allowed him to study forbidden literature, even books deemed as heretical, excepting only the astrological and obscene books.

Manuel Belgrano studied near the intellectual elite of Spain, and by that time there were heated discussions about the ongoing French Revolution.

Manuel Belgrano translated Quesnay's book Maximes generales de gouvernement economique d'un royaume agricole to Spanish.

Manuel Belgrano developed the idea that the principles of physiocracy and those stated by Adam Smith could be applied together in the viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata.

Manuel Belgrano was driven by his vision of imperial partnership and drafted a well-known representacion to the Crown of 1793.

Manuel Belgrano would remain in this office until 1810, and would deal with commercial disputes and promote agriculture, industry, and commerce.

Manuel Belgrano maintained frequent discussions with the committee members of the consulate, who were all merchants with strong interests involved in the monopolic commerce with Cadiz.

Manuel Belgrano made many proposals, influenced by free trade ideas.

However, Manuel Belgrano had some successes, such as creating the Nautical School, the Commerce School, and the Geometry and Drawing Academy.

Manuel Belgrano created the Commerce School to influence future merchants to work towards the best interests of the nation, and the nautical and drawing ones to provide the youth with prestigious and lucrative careers.

Manuel Belgrano tried to promote the diversification of agriculture via the production of linen and hemp, following experiences with his friend Martin de Altolaguirre.

Manuel Belgrano proposed to keep reserves of wheat to help have control over its price.

Manuel Belgrano tried to make leather recognised as a product of the country, in order to promote its commercial potential.

Manuel Belgrano designed a system to give prizes to achievements that would boost the local economy, diversify the agriculture, or deforest the pampas.

Manuel Belgrano helped to create the first newspaper of the city, the Telegrafo Mercantil, directed by Francisco Cabello y Mesa.

Manuel Belgrano worked with Manuel Jose de Lavarden, and edited nearly two hundred issues.

Manuel Belgrano worked at the Semanario de Agricultura, Comercio e Industria, directed by Hipolito Vieytes.

Manuel Belgrano used this newspaper to explain his economic ideas: manufacturing and exporting finished goods, importing raw materials to manufacture, avoiding importing luxury goods or raw materials that could be produced or extracted locally, importing only vital products, and owning a merchant navy.

Manuel Belgrano had symptoms of syphilis, which he had caught during his time in Europe.

Manuel Belgrano was appointed as captain of the urban militias in 1797 by viceroy Pedro Melo de Portugal, who was instructed by Spain to prepare defences against a possible British or Portuguese attack.

Manuel Belgrano moved to the fortress as soon as he heard the warning, and gathered as many men as possible to join him in the fighting.

Manuel Belgrano would write later in his autobiography that he regretted not having by then even the most basic knowledge of militia work.

Manuel Belgrano thought that the members of the consulate should leave the city and join the viceroy, but the others did not agree.

Manuel Belgrano said that he wanted "either our old master, or no master at all".

Manuel Belgrano returned to Buenos Aires after the reconquest, and put himself under the command of Liniers.

Manuel Belgrano was appointed sergeant of the Patricians Regiment, under the command of Cornelio Saavedra, and started to study military strategy.

Manuel Belgrano resumed his work in the consulate and discontinued his military studies.

Manuel Belgrano turned down the offer, suspecting that Britain might withdraw their support if their attentions were distracted by events which could occur in Europe, and in such case the revolutionaries would be helpless against a Spanish counterattack.

Manuel Belgrano was the main proponent of the Carlotist political movement in the Rio de la Plata, a response to recent developments in Europe, where Spain was at war with France.

Manuel Belgrano kept a fluent mail communication with Carlota, and convinced many independentists to join him in the project, such as Castelli, Vieytes, Nicolas Rodriguez Pena, and Juan Jose Paso.

Manuel Belgrano had failed to convince Liniers of the benefits of the Carlotist plan, so he aimed instead to convince him of refusing to give up the viceroyalty, as Liniers had been confirmed as viceroy by a Spanish king.

Manuel Belgrano later convinced the new viceroy to allow him to edit a new newspaper, the "Correo de Comercio".

Manuel Belgrano supported Cisneros when he allowed foreign trade at the port, but this ruling was strongly rejected by Spanish merchants.

Manuel Belgrano resigned from his work in the Consulate in April 1810 and moved to the countryside.

Manuel Belgrano supported the stance of his cousin Castelli, who made a speech explaining the concept of the retroversion of the sovereignty of the people, and that Spanish America was subject to the King of Spain but not to Spain itself.

Manuel Belgrano was included in this junta, among many other local politicians.

Manuel Belgrano was part of the political line of Mariano Moreno; they were expecting to use the government to make big changes in the social order.

Manuel Belgrano supported the banishment of Cisneros and the members of the Real Audience, and the execution of Liniers and other counter-revolutionaries defeated in Cordoba.

Three months after the creation of the Primera Junta, Manuel Belgrano was appointed Chief Commander of an army sent to gather support at Corrientes, Santa Fe, Paraguay, and the Banda Oriental.

Manuel Belgrano headed north with nearly two hundred men, expecting to gather more people by the end of the Parana River.

Manuel Belgrano set which territories would belong to Curuzu Cuatia and Mandisovi, and organised their urban layout around the chapel and school.

The terrain gave a clear advantage to the Paraguayan governor Velazco against Manuel Belgrano: the Parana River, nearly 1,000 metres wide, was an effective natural barrier, and once it was crossed the patriotic army would have to move a long distance across a land without supplies.

Manuel Belgrano saw Velazco's army from the Mbae hill, and despite being greatly outnumbered, he ordered an attack, trusting in the moral strength of his soldiers.

Those two armies had nearly three thousand soldiers, while Manuel Belgrano had barely four hundred.

Greatly outnumbered and losing an unequal fight, Manuel Belgrano refused to surrender.

Manuel Belgrano reorganised the remaining 235 men and ordered his secretary to burn all his documents and personal papers to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.

Manuel Belgrano arranged for the troops and artillery to fire for many minutes, which made the Paraguayan soldiers disperse.

Manuel Belgrano was appointed as the head of the Regiment of Patricians, replacing the banished Cornelio Saavedra, but the troops did not accept him and started the Braids Mutiny.

Manuel Belgrano created a flag with the same colours, which was hoisted at Rosario near the Parana River on 27 February 1812.

Manuel Belgrano found demoralised officials, nearly 1,500 soldiers, minimal artillery, and no money.

The cities were much more hostile to the Army than those that Manuel Belgrano encountered on his way into Paraguay.

Manuel Belgrano prepared a base at Campo Santo, in Salta, where he improved the hospital and created a military tribunal.

Manuel Belgrano later moved to Jujuy, knowing that he did not have the resources to launch an attack on Upper Peru.

The First Triumvirate did not approve the use of the flag created in Rosario, but Manuel Belgrano was initially unaware of that.

Once again outnumbered by larger armies, Manuel Belgrano organised a great exodus of the city of Jujuy: the entire population of the city would have to retreat with the army and not leave behind anything that might be of value to the royalists.

Manuel Belgrano's forces had increased by then to nearly 1,800 soldiers, still much less than the 3,000 at Tristan's command.

Manuel Belgrano administrated the zone and tried to revert the bad impression left by the previous campaign of Juan Jose Castelli.

Manuel Belgrano's plan was to attack the royalists from the front and the sides, with the aid of the armies of Cardenas and Zelaya.

Manuel Belgrano gave San Martin full freedom to implement changes and took command of the First Regiment.

The diplomatic mission failed, but Manuel Belgrano learned of changes in ideology that had taken place in Europe since his previous visit.

Manuel Belgrano noticed that the European powers approved of the South American revolutions, but the approval was compromised when the countries started to fall into anarchy.

Manuel Belgrano was then sent back to take command of the Army of the North, with the strong support of San Martin.

Manuel Belgrano met with the Congress of Tucuman on 6 July 1816 to explain the results of his diplomatic mission in Europe.

Manuel Belgrano thought that enacting a local monarchy would help to prevent anarchy, which would not end simply with independence from Spain.

Manuel Belgrano felt a declaration of independence would be more easily accepted by the European powers if it created a monarchic system.

Manuel Belgrano thought that this would generate support from the indigenous populations as well, and repair the actions taken against the Inca by the Spanish colonisation.

The flag created by Manuel Belgrano, which was being used without a law regulating it, was accepted as the national flag.

Manuel Belgrano was ordered to avoid trying to advance against the royalists in the north and was to stay in a defensive state at Tucuman.

Manuel Belgrano's health was in a very bad state by this point, but he refused to resign, thinking that the morale of the Army would suffer without his presence.

Manuel Belgrano moved to the frontier between Santa Fe and Cordoba, from where he would be able to move to either the litoral or the north if needed.

Manuel Belgrano's health continued to worsen, and he was given an unlimited leave from work by the Supreme Director.

Manuel Belgrano handed command to Fernandez de la Cruz and moved to Tucuman, where he met his daughter Manuela Monica, just one year old.

The governor of Tucuman, Feliciano de la Motta, was deposed during his stay, and Manuel Belgrano was taken prisoner.

When Bernabe Araoz took control of the government of Tucuman, Manuel Belgrano was immediately released.

Manuel Belgrano returned to Buenos Aires, to his parents' house.

On 20 June 1820, at the age of 50, Manuel Belgrano died of dropsy.

In 1902, during the presidency of Julio Argentino Roca, Manuel Belgrano's body was exhumed from the atrium of Santo Domingo, to be moved into a mausoleum.

Manuel Belgrano met Maria Josefa Ezcurra, sister of Encarnacion Ezcurra, at the age of 22.

When Manuel Belgrano was dispatched to Upper Peru, Maria Josefa followed him to Jujuy.

Manuel Belgrano took part in the Jujuy Exodus and saw the battle of Tucuman.

Manuel Belgrano's son, Pedro Pablo, was born on 30 July 1813.

Manuel Belgrano met Maria Dolores Helguero in Tucuman, and briefly considered getting married, but the war forced a postponement.

Nevertheless, he requested that his brother, Joaquin Eulogio Estanislao Manuel Belgrano, who was appointed as his heir, should look after his newborn daughter.

Manuel Belgrano was treated by the most prestigious physicians of the city: Miguel O'Gorman, related to Camila O'Gorman, from the Protomedicato of Buenos Aires, Miguel Garcia de Rojas, and Jose Ignacio de Arocha.

Manuel Belgrano was treated with salts and iodines, and his condition eventually improved.

Manuel Belgrano was offered a one-year leave with paid wages, but he rejected it, giving priority to his work for the nation over his own personal health.

Manuel Belgrano experienced paludism during the second campaign to Upper Peru.

Manuel Belgrano was treated by doctor Joseph Readhead, who employed a local species of the Cinchona medicinal plant.

Manuel Belgrano experienced stomach disease, having a low production of gastric acids.

Manuel Belgrano declared having problems in the chest, a lung, and his right leg.

Manuel Belgrano was embalmed by Joseph Redhead and Juan Sullivan.

Manuel Belgrano had a vast intellectual awareness of most important topics of his age.

Manuel Belgrano studied in Europe during the Atlantic Revolutions, and was a versatile polyglot, capable of understanding Spanish, English, French, Italian, and some indigenous languages.

Manuel Belgrano helped to promote those ideas using the press and with his work in the consulate.

Manuel Belgrano rejected localist perspectives, favouring a Latin Americanist one.

Manuel Belgrano was driven by the concept of the common good, which he regarded as an ethical value.

Manuel Belgrano considered public health, education, and work as part of the common good, as well as religion.

Manuel Belgrano did not share completely the ideas of the French Revolution, but instead the tempered ones of the Spanish Enlightenment: most notably, he remained a monarchist and held strong religious beliefs, being Roman Catholic and a devotee of Marian theology.

Manuel Belgrano's monarchism was not a conservative one, as he agreed that the existing state of things should be modified, but not towards a republic as in France or the United States, but towards a constitutional monarchy, like in Britain.

Manuel Belgrano maintained a fluent contact with the consulates of other cities, developing a view of the viceroyalty as a whole.

Manuel Belgrano introduced new crops and promoted the use of local fauna for livestock production.

Manuel Belgrano protected the weaving industry by increasing the production of cotton in Cochabamba, as he considered the local crop to be of similar quality to the cotton from Europe.

Manuel Belgrano was one of the first politicians to advocate the development of an important educative system.

Manuel Belgrano did so at the first report he made as head of the Consulate of Commerce, suggesting the creating of schools of agriculture and commerce.

Manuel Belgrano was not only concerned with higher education, but with primary education, and promoted the creation of free schools for poor children.

Manuel Belgrano thought that this would help to raise people willing to work and reduce laziness.

Manuel Belgrano promoted the creation of schools for women, where they would learn about weaving, as well as reading.

Manuel Belgrano rejected taking the prize money for himself, considering that a patriot should not seek money or wealth.

Manuel Belgrano gave it back to the XIII year Assembly, with instructions to build primary schools at Tarija, Jujuy, San Miguel de Tucuman, and Santiago del Estero.

Manuel Belgrano laid out a series of instructions about the methods and requirements for the selection of the teachers.

The historian Bartolome Mitre stated that Manuel Belgrano held a deep admiration for George Washington, leader of the American Revolution and first President of the United States.

Manuel Belgrano started working on it during the Paraguay Campaign, but before the battle of Tacuari he destroyed all his papers, including the unfinished translation, to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.

Manuel Belgrano resumed work on it afterwards and finished it before the Battle of Salta.

Manuel Belgrano is considered one of the greatest heroes in Argentina's history.

Manuel Belgrano's face has regularly graced bank notes, postage stamps and memorabilia, his name gracing important city landmarks across the country.

In 1910 a large monument was erected at the site of the Battle of Salta, the work of the Catalan sculptor Torquat Tasso, topped by a bronze allegory of Liberty and life-size statues of Manuel Belgrano holding the flag and his officers Dorrego, Diaz Velez and Zelaya.

The first biography of Manuel Belgrano was his autobiography, which he wrote by the time he was stationed in Lujan.

Historiographical studies of Manuel Belgrano are currently held by the Belgranian National Institute.

Manuel Belgrano appears on a number of currencies in the numismatic history of Argentina.

Manuel Belgrano appeared for the first time on the banknotes of 1,5, and 10 pesos according to the Peso Ley 18.188, in effect from 1970 to 1983.

Manuel Belgrano was later included on the 10,000 pesos banknotes of the pesos argentinos, the highest banknote value in circulation.