Libertadores

The Guayaquil conference (1822) between Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, the greatest libertadores (liberators) of Spanish America.

Libertadores (Spanish: [liβertaˈðoɾes], Portuguese: [libeʁtaˈdoɾis], "Liberators") refers to the principal leaders of the Latin American wars of independence from Spain and Portugal. They are named that way in contrast with the Conquistadors, who were so far the only Spanish/Portuguese peoples recorded in the South American history.^[1]

They were largely bourgeois criollos (local-born people of European, mostly of Spanish or Portuguese, ancestry) influenced by liberalism and in most cases with military training in the metropole (mother country).

List of libertadores

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Contributed to the independence of	Took part in	Refs
	José de San Martín (1778–1850)	Argentina, Chile and Peru	Argentine War of Independence Crossing of the Andes Chilean War of Independence Peruvian War of Independence	[2]
	Manuel Belgrano (1770–1820)	Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay,	British invasions of the River Plate May Revolution Paraguay campaign Argentine War of Independence Bolivian War of Independence	[3]
	Bernardo O'Higgins (1778–1842)	Chile and Peru	Chilean War of Independence Argentine War of Independence Peruvian War of Independence	[4][5]
	Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)	Mexico	Grito de Dolores Mexican War of Independence	[6]
	José María Morelos (1765–1815)	Mexico	Mexican War of Independence wrote the Sentimientos de la Nación	[7]
	Ramón Castilla (1797–1867)	Peru	Peruvian War of Independence	[8]
	Andrés de Santa Cruz (1792–1865)	Bolivia and Peru	Bolivian War of Independence Argentine War of Independence Peruvian War of Independence Ecuadorian War of Independence War of the Confederation	[8]
	José Gervasio Artigas (1764–1850)	Uruguay	British invasions of the River Plate Portuguese invasion of the Banda Oriental Portuguese conquest of the Banda Oriental Argentine Civil Wars	[8]
	Thomas Cochrane (1775–1860)	Brazil, Chile	French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars Chilean War of Independence Peruvian War of Independence Brazilian War of Independence Greek War of Independence	[9]
	Augustin I of Mexico (1783–1824)	Mexico	Mexican War of Independence design of the Plan de Iguala	[9]
	Francisco de Miranda (1750–1816)	Venezuela	American Revolutionary War French Revolution Venezuelan War of Independence	[10]
	Mariano Moreno (1778–1811)	Argentina	May Revolution Argentine War of Independence Paraguay campaign	[11]
	Pedro I of Brazil (1798–1834)	Brazil	Brazilian War of Independence Cisplatine War Liberal Wars	[12]
	Antonio José de Sucre (1795–1830)	Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela	Venezuelan War of Independence Ecuadorian War of Independence Bolivian War of Independence Peruvian War of Independence Gran Colombia–Peru War	[13]
	Simón Bolívar (1783–1830)	Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia	Venezuelan War of Independence Admirable Campaign Patria Boba Ecuadorian War of Independence Peruvian War of Independence Bolivian War of Independence	[14]

Legacy

The flags of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador follow Francisco de Miranda's design of 1806. Also, Bolivia was named after Bolivar, who in turn was president of Colombia, Bolivia and twice of Venezuela. San Martín served as "President Protector" of Peru.

The names of libertadores are used all over South America to name anything from towns and places to institutions and sports clubs. Also, the most prestigious international club football competition in South America is named the Copa Libertadores in their honour.

See also

• List of national founders
• Father of the Nation
• Founding Fathers of the United States
• Statues of the Liberators

Bibliography

• Robert Harvey. Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence. Woodstock, The Overlook Press, 2000. ISBN 1-58567-072-3
• James Higgins (editor). The Emancipation of Peru: British Eyewitness Accounts, 2014. Online at https://sites.google.com/site/jhemanperu
• Marion Lansing. Liberators and Heroes of South America. Boston, L. C. Page & Co., 1940.
• Irene Nicholson. The Liberators: A Study of Independence Movements in Spanish America. New York, Frederick A. Praeger, 1968.
• Pigna, Felipe (2010). Libertadores de América. Buenos Aires: Planeta. ISBN 978-950-49-2420-3. 

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Libertadores.

• (in Spanish) "Sucre, Bolívar y San Martín" Argentine Ministry of Economy
• Copa Libertadores