South American revolutionary. Born 1764 in Montevideo, died 1850 in Paraguay.
In 1811, Artigas headed the rebellion against Spanish rule in the back country of Montevideo. From 1814, he broke with the rebel leaders in Buenos Aires, seeking instead to win the support of gauchos and smallholders with a liberal land reform policy. In 1820, he had to go into exile, but he is considered the "father" of the state of Uruguay, which achieved independence in 1828.
Artigas on the war, and the break of 1814:
"Yo no hice otra cose que responder con la guerra a los manejos tenebrosos del Directorio me hacía por considerarme enemigo del centralismo (...) Pero los Pueyrredones y sus acólitos querían hacer de Buenos Aires una nueva Roma imperial, mandando sus procónsules a gobernar a las provincias militarmente y despojarlas de toda representación política, como lo hicieron rechazando los diputados al Congreso que los pueblos de le Banda Oriental habían nombrado y poniendo precio a mi cabeza."
"I did nothing but react, with the war, to the shadowy dealings of the Directorate (...) But the Pueyrredones and their acolytes wanted to make of Buenos Aires a new imperial Rome, sending their proconsuls to govern the provinces militarily and to divest them of all political representation, rejecting the deputies to the Congress that the towns of the Eastern Fringe had named and putting a price on my head."