Tomás Guido (1 November 1788 – 14 September 1866) was a general in the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...

, a diplomat and a politician.

Early life

Tomás Guido was the son of a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

merchant Pedro Guido y Sanz and his wife Juana Aoiz y Martínez. He attended San Carlos College, but was forced to give up his studies by an economic crisis. Guido saw his first military action in 1806 when he helped to defend

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

from the British invaders. He later went on to participate in the

May Revolution The May Revolution () was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, ...

in 1810. In 1811 Guido became the secretary for Dr

Mariano Moreno Mariano Moreno (; September 23, 1778March 4, 1811) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution. Moreno was bor ...

on his journey to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 1812 Guido returned to Argentina to work as a secretary in the Ministry of War, later he moved to Charcas to work as a secretary for Francisco Ortiz de Ocampo. Later he travelled to Tucumán where he joined

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...

, where he worked as the chief Secretary of the Army, working with San Martín to plan the campaign to liberate

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. On 20 May 1816, Guido presented

Antonio González Balcarce Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popul ...

with ''Memoria'', which was based on his memories of conversations with San Martín in Saldán, Córdoba about the military, economic and political details of the Maitland Plan.

Campaign of liberation in Chile and Peru

After the victory at the

Battle of Chacabuco The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, took place on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes, from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and led by Captain (land), Captain–General José de San Martín, ...

(12 February 1817). General San Martín named Guido as Lieutenant Colonel, but he continued doing the job of Chief Secretary of the Army and Navy. During the ceremony to mark the official declaration of Chilean independence on 12 February 1818, Guido played the role of flagbearer. Guido then worked as a diplomat for San Martín during the effort to liberate Peru, he negotiated with the Spanish Viceroy at Miraflores before San Martín declared Peruvian Independence on 28 July 1821. Guido was at the Guayaquil Conference where the two great Liberators of South America (San Martín and

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

) met for the only time. After San Martín left Peru, Guido stayed on, earning the titles of Supreme Military Advisor in 1823 and later Brigadier General.

Return to Argentina

In 1826 Guido returned to Buenos Aires where he was appointed as Inspector of Arms in 1827 by

Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at th ...

. He later served as Minister of War and Foreign Relations on three occasions with Lavalle, Viamonte and Rosas. Between 1840 and 1851 Guido was Argentina's representative to the government of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Death

Guido died on 14 December 1866, in

, leaving his wife and four children.

External links

Tomás Guido
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guido, Tomas 1788 births 1866 deaths People from Buenos Aires Government ministers of Argentina Foreign ministers of Argentina Ambassadors of Argentina to Chile Burials at Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral Provisional presidents of the Argentine Senate People of the Argentine War of Independence Federales (Argentina) Ambassadors of Argentina to Brazil