askhistorians:Today marks the 200th anniversary of the battle of Chacabuco, February 12 1817, one of
askhistorians:Today marks the 200th anniversary of the battle of Chacabuco, February 12 1817, one of the pivotal battles of the Wars of Independence in South America. The battle of Chacabuco was the first step in securing the independence of Chile after the disastrous set-backs in previous years. After crossing the Andes in an impressive feat, the Army of the Andes (Ejército de los Andes) under General José de San Martín won a tremendous victory with an army consisting of soldiers from the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata and exiled soldiers from Chile. What few people know is that the Army of the Andes consisted of almost 40 % freedmen, slaves, and runaway slaves, as well as men of mixed race. Slaves and freedmen all over South America participated in the Wars of Independence but have been overlooked if not downright ignored in the modern historiography of most countries involved, despite them having been heavily praised at the time. It is only in recent time that a revaluation of the participation of slaves and other men of African descent have been done and has resulted in such brilliant pieces of scholarship as Peter Blanchard’s Under the Flags of Freedom: Slave Soldiers and the Wars of Independence in Spanish South America (2008, UoP Press).Top: Litography of the Battle of Chacabuco by Theodore Géricault.Bottom: Actors portraying slave soldiers in the Army of the Andes prepares to shoot a reenactment of the battle of Chacabuco for the 2010 movie Revolución: El cruce de los Andes.(Wikimedia Commons/Urgente24)201 years ago today. -- source link
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