José Gervasio Artigas (June 19, 1764 - September 23, 1850) was a national hero of Uruguay and is sometimes called "the father of Uruguayan independence". José Gervasio Artigas This image was placed in the public domain by the Library of Congress Country Studies Program of the Government of the United States. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

His life

Artigas was born in Montevideo in the Spanish colony of Banda Oriental which later become the republic of Uruguay. Independence Plaza Montevideo from space, March 1997 Independence Plaza, c. ...

He was a smuggler in his youth, and then became a soldier within the Spanish army. Later he became the leader of the resistance against Spain and participated in a popular war against the empire which began around 1811. In 1815 he defeated the Spaniards but a year later the Portuguese empire, supported by the centralist BuenosAires government, invaded from Brazil. 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

He continued fighting against Portugal but was utterly defeated in 1820. He was then exiled to Paraguay, were he died in 1850. 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Quotes

• I will not sell the rich heritage of Uruguayans at the low price of necessity ("No venderé el rico patrimonio de los orientales al bajo precio de la necesidad")
• My authority comes from you, and it ceases before your sovereign presence ("Mi autoridad emana de vosotros, y ella cesa ante vuestra presencia soberana")
• Mercy for the defeated ("Clemencia para los vencidos")

Ideals

He admired the United States of America and was said to always carry a copy of the United States Constitution with him. He wanted the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata government to be based on the same federalist ideas as the United States of America. This ideals went against what the BuenosAires government of the time wanted (a centralised state, some of them even supported the idea of putting an European monarch in charge of the newly independent lands), but he managed to gain the support of some other provinces. Because of this, the BuenosAires government supported the Portuguese invasion of the BandaOriental. Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme...

A statue of him stands in Washington, DC. Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

Links

Biblioteca Artiguista (http://www.artigas.org.uy/) (in Spanish)