Summary

This image depicts the Andes Mountains, which is where José de San Martín and his army crossed into Chile to further the liberal independence movement. The mountains boarder Argentina, which is where San Martín was coming from, and Chile, which is where his destination of Santiago is located. This image was created in 1824, just years after San Martín liberated Chile from the Spanish crown. There are two men standing on top of the highest point in the mountain, while one man stands slightly below them. They are wearing helmets and holding weapons, possibly a sword. The only one without a weapon is wearing a rural garb and pointing outwards towards men on horses who are traveling up the path.

San Martín traveled from Buenos Aires with his Argentine army, which he began slowly organizing in 1812. He was a man who sought liberal independence from the Spanish empire. During this time period, he and his army were converging on Peru from the south while Simón Bolívar and his army converged from the north. This team effort also included other military commanders like Bernardo O’Higgins and Antonio José de Sucre. As San Martín moves in on Chile through the Andes, he meets O’Higgins and the exiled Chilean army. It is possible that the man standing the tallest is the liberator of Chile (San Martín), and the man just below him is the commander of the Chilean army (O’Higgins). The purpose, as shown in “to raise American man toward heaven”, of San Martín being the tallest in the image is to display his leadership and place him closer to heaven [1]. They join forces to surprise the Spanish and the loyalists in Santiago, Chile. The man in the middle of them is wearing a poncho, most likely a member of a town they were passing to go to Santiago. He is pointing out to the soldiers on horseback who fought for American independence. “Sons, sons are these of men who won the Andes’ heights” [2]. These soldiers would have been comprised of free people of color and former slaves who joined the army for the promise of emancipation.

Both San Martín and Bolívar promised the emancipation of slaves for the joining of the army, and they stayed true to their word. After liberating majority of South America from the Spanish crown, they slowly created reforms that will legally grant freedom to slaves. This was upheld by Bolívar after San Martín returned to Argentina and left him to control the independence forces [2]. This followed the nativist values of the commanders, and the agreement between Bolívar and Haiti for the country’s support. They viewed all Americans as those having a common identity. They wanted to join together against the colonial divisions to find freedom. This is evident in San Martín connecting with the army of O’Higgins in the image. The Argentines and Chileans worked together, with the vast help of the free and enslaved black population, for victory.

This image could also depict a rural community in the Andes Mountains. It was not uncommon to see communities basically untouched by the Spanish crown, which the Spanish called “despoblados” or “uninhabited areas” [3]. The natives and mestizo (depicted by the man in a poncho) communities here were able to maintain their autonomy due to the incompleteness of the Spanish conquest in the vast area. These communities would be self-sufficient, as shown with the river, horses, and river depicted in the image. There is also a small hut in the bottom left corner, showing habitation in the area.

Works Cited:

Bello, Andrés. “Ode to Tropical Agriculture.” In Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations, edited by James A. Wood and Anna Rose Alexander, 7-12. 5th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.

Townsend, Camilla. “17. Angela Batallas: A Fight for Freedom in Guayaquil.”

Restall, Matthew. “The Myth of Completion.” In Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations, edited by James A. Wood and Anna Rose Alexander, 7-12. 5th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.

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[1] Bello, “Ode to Tropical Agriculture,” 42-43

[2] Townsend, ““17. Angela Batallas: A Fight for Freedom in Guayaquil.” 294, 296, 298-299

[3] Restall, “The Myth of Completion,” 23