José de San Martín Biography

José de San Martín, the ‘’El Libertador’’ of Argentina, Peru, and Chile, was a Spanish-Argentine general. He was instrumental in winning the independence of the southern and central parts of South America from the Spanish Empire. He gave up the Viceroyalty of the ‘Río de la Plata’ at an early age to pursue studies in Malaga, Spain. He is known for his war strategies that led to the victories of ‘the Battle of Chacabuco’ and ‘the Battle of Maipú,’ which liberated Chile from royalist (the Latin American and European supporters of the various governing bodies of the Spanish Monarchy) rule. He eventually crushed the Spanish rule in Lima and was hence hailed as the ''Protector of Peru'' and the national hero of Argentina. Martín met Simon Bolivar at Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 22, 1822, after which Bolivar took the charge of liberating Peru. The minutes of the meeting are not known, as it was a closed-door meeting. San Martin abruptly left the country after resigning from the command of his army, and also excluding himself from the military and politics, and sailed for Europe in 1824.