Coming to Chile, he met with equal, if not greater, hostility. He retired to the province of Mendoza in Argentina, where for a while he devoted himself to farming, and then made a voyage to Buenos Aires, then torn by contending factions, to meet there, in his own country, with indifference and disregard. San Martín clearly saw that despite his devotion to the cause of independence, despite his mighty accomplishments in behalf of his country, his presence, if anything, would only lead to greater strife. Stoically, therefore, and without a murmur, he betook himself to voluntary exile in France, where he died in poverty, in 1850, forgotten by his countrymen, attended only by his daughter, who faithfully remained by his side throughout the long years of his exile. Once only, in 1829, he returned to Buenos Aires; but the newspapers of the times published this insulting paragraph: “Ambiguities—General San Martín has returned to his country after an absence of five years, but only after knowing that peace has been signed with the Emperor of Brazil.” Even after this crowning insult San Martín uttered no plaint, but quietly returned to France to devote his time to the cultivation of flowers of his native land. His was not the Marian temperament; no messenger was ever sent by him to his fellow-countrymen to tell them that their liberator had been seen in France eating the bitter bread of exile.
“A truly great man...”, Shakespeare has said of Cæsar. Much more aptly could that apply to San Martín in point of pure manhood. Argentina, to-day, has made reparation for the oblivion with which she requited her greatest man during his lifetime, by erecting imposing monuments to his memory; but, above all, by enshrining his name in the heart of every one of her sons.
But to return to Argentina herself: thanks to San Martín, the Revolution was successful, both at home and abroad. Even as early as 1820, however, the discordant elements that were to delay her progress almost half a century were clearly patent, not only in thought, but also in action. Each province had its caudillo, who was fiercely jealous of any limitations upon his power. Thus, Ramírez in Entre Ríos, Güemes in Salta, Facundo Quiroga (known for his cruelty as “El Tigre de los Llanos”) in La Rioja, López in Santa Fé, Ibarra in Santiago, were practically overlords of independent provinces, ready to make common cause against Spain, but just as ready to quarrel with each other. The situation was similar to that of the colonies in North America, which, though willing to unite against England, resented any attempt at interference in their internal affairs by a central government. Buenos Aires, the city, as the center of Argentine wealth, culture, and civilization, was the exponent of a unitarian form of government, that is, a strong, centralized government with Buenos Aires at the head. Naturally, the caudillos resented any interference on the part of Buenos Aires. In 1820, the first important battle between these two antagonistic elements took place at Cepeda, on the borders of Santa Fé and Buenos Aires. Here Rondeau, representing Buenos Aires and the unitarian principle, suffered defeat at the hands of Ramírez, known as “El Supremo Entrerriano.”
Varying fortunes attended the civil strife which went on between these two factions. In 1822, a pact was entered upon by Buenos Aires and the caudillos of Entre Ríos, Santa Fé, and Corrientes, by the terms of which common cause was to be made against an expected Spanish invasion, which never materialized, and the other provinces were to be urged to join the Confederation.
Rivadavia now appears on the scene in Buenos Aires as Minister of Education, and later, as President of the Confederation in 1826. He introduced many noteworthy reforms, founded libraries and universities, and attempted to establish the government on a firm unitarian basis with Buenos Aires as the capital. He resigned in 1827, following the treaty which his envoy signed with Brazil in the same year, after the battle of Ituzaingó. Despite the victory of Argentine arms, Uruguay had been ceded to Brazil.
As far back as 1680, Uruguay had been a bone of contention between Portugal and Spain, but at the outbreak of the Revolution in 1810, the country was Spanish and was an integral part of the Viceroyalty of the Plata. Montevideo became, as we have seen, the center of Spanish resistance to the movement of independence, and following Artigas’ victory at Las Piedras, was besieged by his troops and the Argentine forces under Rondeau. The city would have fallen, but news of the defeat at Huaquí reached Buenos Aires, and the besiegers were recalled to protect the Argentine soil. Civil strife between Buenos Aires and Artigas ensued because the latter stood for a federal republic, while Buenos Aires, of course, was unitarian, and wished to retain her supremacy over the provinces. In 1817, Artigas became embroiled with the Portuguese, who routed him and captured Montevideo. Rivera, Oribe, and Lavalleja, lieutenants of Artigas, and later famous in the history of Uruguay, had to take refuge in the interior. Artigas himself retired to Paraguay and died there of old age in 1850. By 1821 all resistance to Brazil was at an end. Rivera and many of the other caudillos had accepted commissions in the Brazilian army of occupation. Uruguay itself had become the cisplatine province of Brazil, and so matters stood until the 19th of April, 1825, when Lavalleja gathered the famous “Treinta y Tres”, a band of thirty-three Uruguayan patriots, and landed in Uruguay from the Argentine province of Entre Ríos. So great was their success that by May of that year, the whole country was in revolt against the Brazilians, and the forces of the Empire were confined within Montevideo and La Colonia. The patriot victory at Sarandí under Lavalleja and Rivera caused Argentina to declare formally that Uruguay was again a part of the Argentine Confederation. War between Argentina and Brazil was declared and at Ituzaingó, far within the Brazilian territory, the Brazilians suffered a terrible defeat in 1827. This, as we saw above, happened during Rivadavia’s presidency, and led to his resignation because of the peace signed by his envoy. The upshot of the whole matter was that both Brazil and Argentina gave up all claims to Uruguay and guaranteed its independence as a separate republic for five years. Argentina was being torn by federalist and unitarian dissensions, and could not press her claim. In Uruguay itself there were rival factions led by Rivera and Lavalleja, who held the presidency in turn, Rivera becoming the first official head of the nation in 1830.