THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE--I
The analogy between the first invasions of South America by the
_conquistadores_ and the campaign of liberation undertaken by the South
Americans of a later age is curious to remark. The _conquistadores_
undertook three separate invasions: the first in the north; the second
in Peru, and subsequently Chile; the third in the Provinces of the River
Plate. In the struggle of the South Americans against the Spanish
forces, the field of war was divided into precisely the same categories.
Bolivar, Sucre, Miranda, and their colleagues blew up the flames of
strife and kept them alive in the north; Belgrano, San Martin, Guemes,
and their comrades maintained the fight in the River Plate Provinces;
while the Chilean O'Higgins and his companions accompanied the great San
Martin in his march from Argentina westwards over the Andes to Chile.
From there, having freed the province, the liberating army turned
northwards into Peru, eventually to fuse with the stream of patriot
forces which was flowing down from the north with the same purpose in
view.
Since both Miranda and Bolivar had played such important parts before
the outbreak of the revolution, it will be well to deal first of all
with the progress of the wars in the north. It was in Caracas that the
plans and projects of independence were matured. When the outbreak in
the south took place, Caracas girded up its loins for war, and Bolivar
and Miranda took the field beneath the banner of independence. In no
place were the fortunes of war more varied than in the north, and the
campaign was destined to last fourteen years before the Spanish power in
the old kingdom of New Granada was finally broken.
It is impossible here to go into the full details of the campaigns. In
the first place, the patriots, although they fought desperately,
ill-armed and undisciplined as they were, suffered numerous reverses
from the Spanish veterans who garrisoned the northern districts. More
than once the flames of revolution seemed to all practical purposes
extinguished, and Bolivar and his lieutenants, fugitives from the field
of strife, were obliged to continue their plans in other lands, among
these places of refuge being some of the British West Indian Islands.
Even here the patriots were by no means safe from the vengeance of
Spain. Various attempts were made to assassinate Bolivar. On one
occasion a dastardly endeavour of the kind was within an ace of being
successful. Bolivar had sailed to Jamaica in order to obtain supplies
for the patriot forces. His presence in the island was noted, and some
Spaniards bribed a negro to enter the house where he was staying and to
slay him as he lay asleep at night.
The murderous black succeeded in penetrating to the room where the
General usually slept. A figure lay upon the bed, and this the assassin
stabbed to the heart; but it was not that of the Liberator. It was his
secretary, who had died in his stead.
Bolivar, however, was not a man to be deterred from his plans by
attempts such as these. He was possessed of a high courage, and was by
no means averse to distinguish himself on the battle-field from the rest
in the matter of costume. At Boyaca, for instance, he donned a jacket
and pantaloons of the most brilliant scarlet and gold, thus attracting
an amount of attention on the part of the enemy which was sufficiently
perilous in itself.
The British did not long delay in taking an active interest in the
struggle for independence, and very soon volunteers came flocking to the
assistance of these northern districts of South America. Two separate
British legions fought for Bolivar. One had been raised in England, and
was commanded by General English; the other, formed in Ireland, was led
by General Devereux. Some corps of native Indian troops, it may be
remarked, were officered by the British, and there was, moreover, in the
patriot service a battalion of rifles composed entirely of British and
German troops.
At first it appears that a marked spirit of distrust manifested itself
between the native patriots and the British; but very soon a mutual
admiration cemented a friendship between the two races. The English
volunteers found it difficult to display their true mettle in the early
days of the war. They suffered very severely on their first landing,
since they were unaccustomed to the climate, and found themselves unable
to accomplish the long marches made by the patriots. In a short while,
however, they grew used to the country and its ways, and then their
feats, instead of meeting with a certain amount of derision, provoked
the enthusiastic admiration of the Columbians.
It is certain that the campaign was no kid-glove one. Some of the
marches were attended by almost incredible hardships and sufferings. It
was, for instance, necessary in some districts to ford rivers in which
the perai fish abounded. This fierce little creature, as is well known,
is capable of tearing off a formidable mouthful of human flesh at a
single bite, and this it never fails to do when the opportunity offers.
Many severe wounds were caused among the British ranks by these
ferocious fish, and it may be imagined that in the first instance
experiences of the kind were as startling as they were disconcerting.
General Paez was one of the chief heroes of the north. His career was to
the full as adventurous as that of any other revolutionary leader. He
enlisted in the first place as a common soldier in the militia of
Barinos, and was soon after captured by the Spanish forces. His
execution, together with that of all the other prisoners, was ordered,
and would have taken place on the following day but for some
circumstances which enabled him to give his captors the slip.
The manner of his release was afterwards frequently recalled with no
little awe by the superstitious. At eleven o'clock at night the alarm
was given that the Royalist forces were about to be attacked by the
patriots, whose army had been seen advancing. The Spaniards retreated in
a panic, and Paez and his fellow-prisoners effected their escape. The
following morning, when the Royalists had recovered from their alarm,
they could find no enemy within a radius of fifty miles. This incident
was put down by the populace to the intervention in his favour on the
part of the host of departed spirits known as the "ejercito de las
animas."
Paez was extremely popular among his men, the hardy Llaneros of the
northern plains, born horsemen and fighters, corresponding in many
respects with the famous Gauchos of the south. Paez himself was a
magnificent horseman, and wielded the lance, the characteristic weapon
of the Llaneros, to perfection. He was thus doubly beloved of his
troops, since it was these qualities, of course, which appealed to them
more than the military strategy of which he gave such marked evidence.
On one occasion, when accompanied by very few of his own troops, Paez
rode up to a powerful body of Royalist cavalry. When quite close to the
enemy his men turned their horses as though in sudden terror, and
galloped away, hotly pursued by the Royalist horsemen. When Paez
considered that he had drawn these sufficiently far from their camp, he
turned upon them and cut them up in detail.
His most extraordinary feat, however, was the capture of some Spanish
gunboats on the River Apure by means of his Llanero cavalry. This is an
account of the feat as given by an eye-witness who was attached to the
British Legion:
"Bolivar stood on the shore gazing at these [the gunboats] in
despair, and continued disconsolately parading in front of them,
when Paez, who had been on the look out, rode up and inquired the
cause of his disquietude. His Excellency observed: 'I would give
the world to have possession of the Spanish flotilla, for without
it I can never cross the river, and the troops are unable to
march.' 'But it shall be yours in an hour,' replied Paez. 'It is
impossible,' said Bolivar; 'and the men must all perish.' 'Leave
that to me,' rejoined Paez, and galloped off. In a few minutes he
returned, bringing up his guard of honour, consisting of 300
lancers selected from the main body of the Llaneros for their
proved bravery and strength, and, leading them to the bank, thus
addressed them: 'We must have these _flecheres_ or die. Let those
follow Tio who please' ('Tio,' or 'uncle,' was the popular name by
which Paez was known to his men), and at the same time, spurring
his horse, pushed into the river and swam towards the flotilla. The
guard followed him with their lances in hand, now encouraging their
horses to bear up against the current by swimming by their sides
and patting their necks, and then shouting to scare away the
alligators, of which there were hundreds in the river, until they
reached the boats, when, mounting their horses, they sprang from
their backs on board them, headed by their leader, and, to the
astonishment of those who beheld them from the shore, captured
every one of them. To English officers it may appear inconceivable
that a body of cavalry, with no other arms than their lances, and
no other mode of conveyance across a rapid river than their horses,
should attack and take a fleet of gunboats amidst shoals of
alligators; but, strange as it may seem, it was actually
accomplished, and there are many officers now in England who can
testify to the truth of it."
It will be evident from exploits such as these that the Venezuelans were
fortunate in their leaders.
After a while Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, began to see that the
materialization of his lifelong ideal was now no longer a matter of the
dim distant future. The struggle had been severe, and the fortunes of
war had proved fickle at the beginning. At one period it had seemed that
even Nature had fought against the South American cause. At Barquisimeto
an earthquake had shattered the barracks of the soldiers of the
Independence, and many hundreds of troops were crushed beneath the
ruins.
The moral as well as the material effect of this disaster was serious in
the extreme. Miranda, moreover, although able, had proved himself an
unfortunate General. In the end he was captured by the Spaniards, and
died in captivity in Cadiz. Even when the tide of battle had definitely
turned against the Spaniards, their desperate straits induced them to
desperate measures, and the fortitude of the patriots continued to be
put severely to the test. One of the most dreaded Spanish moves, for
instance, was the freeing of the slaves and the arming of these against
their late colonial masters.
So embittered became the struggle that prisoners were put to death on
both sides, and many terrible massacres ensued in consequence. A number
of other prominent patriot leaders now came forward to assist Bolivar
and his comrades, among these being Narino, who proved himself
victorious in many fights against the Royalists. At length, in 1821,
Bolivar and Paez effected a junction of their forces, and marched to
meet the Spanish army. On June 24 the Battle of Carabobo was fought,
which resulted in the complete defeat of the Royalist troops.
[Illustration: SIMON BOLIVAR, "EL LIBERADOR" (AS A YOUNG MAN).
Liberator of the Northern States of South America from Spanish Rule.
_From an engraving by M.N. Bate._
_A. Rischgitz._]
This Battle of Carabobo was one which had far-reaching effects in
Venezuela. In preparation for this fight Bolivar's army was formed in
three divisions. The first, commanded by General Paez, contained the
Cazadores Britannicus, or British Light Infantry, numbering 800 men, and
100 of the Irish Legion. This division, with the local troops, was of
3,100 men. The second, commanded by Cadeno, consisted of 1,800; and the
third, led by Ambrosio Plaza, was composed of the Rifles, a regiment
officered by Englishmen, and other regiments, in all 2,500 men.
The army had suffered terrible privations, and, in crossing the River
Aparito some time before the battle, many men, including a number of
Englishmen, had actually perished from the attacks of that terrible
fish, the perai. Mention has already been made of this fish, which, no
bigger than a perch, is provided with teeth which will tear the flesh
from the bones in a few seconds. It was from the attacks of flocks of
these that the unfortunate men had succumbed.
Just before the battle Bolivar rode along the front of his army, and it
is said that the English gave him three "hurrahs" that were heard a mile
off. After this, nevertheless, the attack was postponed until the next
day, and during the interval the rain came down in tropical sheets. The
Spaniards fought with extreme gallantry, and the battle was waged in the
most determined fashion on both sides before victory definitely
inclined to the patriot forces. The English took a very prominent share
in this battle, losing no less than 600 out of 900 men.
Bolivar had now all but fulfilled the oath he had sworn years before in
Rome. The Battle of Carabobo proved one of the most decisive of the
campaign. Its conclusion marked the end of the Spanish occupation of the
north. Bolivar had now cleared his own country of the Spaniards, and was
free to turn his attention to Peru.
In the south-east of the Continent the struggle for liberty was far less
prolonged than that in the districts of the centre, west, and north. It
may be that the wide, open, agricultural plains had infused into the
dwellers of Argentina an inherent sense of independence which had
continued to flourish and grow, notwithstanding the dominion of the
Spaniards. In any case, it was here that the revolt was, if not more
enthusiastic, at all events more rapid.
Since 1776, moreover, the date when the provinces of the River Plate
were exalted to the condition of a Viceroyalty, a certain freedom of
intercourse had obtained which had been utterly lacking before. The
trade of the country had expanded, and imports from Europe were now
permitted access to the River Plate without first being subjected to the
supervision of Panama or Peru. When the struggle began, it found the
Argentine patriots enthusiastic and prepared.
On August 21, 1808, an act of fealty was sworn to Ferdinand VII. This,
nevertheless, met with disapproval on the part of many Argentines, who
desired the establishment of a _junta_ similar to that of Seville. The
party in favour of this increased rapidly in strength, and shortly
afterwards the Viceroy, Liniers, resigned. Although he had to a certain
extent the support of the patriot party, his position in the face of the
complicated situation had become extremely difficult. He was succeeded
on July 30, 1809, by Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. The latter lost no
time in giving proof of liberal intentions. He opened the ports to
English vessels, and the commercial situation of the country, which had
been deplorable, improved immediately.
In the meanwhile some revolutionary outbreaks at Chuquisaca and La Paz
were suppressed by the Royalist troops with a brutality and wanton
slaughtering which roused a storm of indignation in Buenos Aires.
Cornelio de Saavedra, one of the patriot leaders in the capital,
succeeded, however, in preventing an open rising, since this would
undoubtedly have been premature.
A secret society was now formed in Buenos Aires, counting in its ranks
Belgrano, Nicolas Rodriguez Pena, Manuel Alberdi, Viamonte, Guido, and
others. From this nucleus the regiment of _patricios_ was formed, and
was commanded by Cornelio de Saavedra. The chief object of this society
was the foundation of an adequate representative Government. To this end
its members worked towards the abolition of the Viceroyalty and the
formation of a new species of Constitution. On May 22, 1810, a great
meeting was held at which it was resolved that the authority of the
Viceroyalty had expired. On this it was proposed that a junta should be
created. Confusion, dispute, and intrigue followed; but the mind of the
people was made up, and its will was no longer to be denied.
The Viceroy, de Cisneros, reluctant to oppose the now strongly expressed
popular will, on May 25, 1810, resigned his office in the presence of an
immense multitude. From this day the independence of Argentina is
officially counted, for on the spot a _junta_ was established. Its
members were Saavedra, Belgrano, Alberdi, Castelli, Azcuenaga, Matheu,
Larrea, Paso, and Moreno.
While all this was occurring in Buenos Aires, strong Royalist sympathies
continued to prevail in the provinces. Montevideo, too, showed itself
hostile to the new Government. From this base the Royalists were able to
strike at the new republican head-quarters at Buenos Aires, and on
February 18 a Spanish fleet sailed to the spot and blockaded the
capital. The patriots now made their first important move. A force of
1,200 volunteers, commanded by Ocampo and Balcarce, marched against
Cordoba, where Liniers and Concha were in command of the Royalist
forces. These latter were defeated and their leaders executed. Flushed
by its success, the Argentine army then invaded Peru. A little later
followed the victory of Suipacha, after which all the country in the
neighbourhood declared itself openly for the revolutionists.
Belgrano, in the meanwhile, led an army into Paraguay. He had
confidently expected the adherence of the inhabitants of that country.
These, however, remained loyal to the Crown, and Belgrano, defeated, was
obliged to retire.
Operations were now begun against the Spanish troops in Uruguay. These
were conducted by Belgrano, and in a very short time practically the
entirety of the province was in the hands of the revolutionists.
Montevideo alone, held by its strong Spanish garrison, continued to
resist. The town was closely invested on its landward side. Very soon
after this, unfavourable news from Peru caused the Argentines to abandon
their aggressive attitude; an armistice was declared so far as
Montevideo was concerned, and the South American forces retired from
Uruguay.
The news from the north, indeed, was sufficiently serious. After the
victory of Suipacha a truce had been agreed upon by Castelli, who was in
command of the patriot forces. This he had observed loyally, but
Gueneche, the leader of the Spanish troops, had proved himself less
scrupulous. Without warning, he had attacked the Argentine army at
Huaqui, and had obtained a decisive and sanguinary victory, at the end
of which the 800 Argentines who survived had been obliged to retire in
some confusion to Potosi.
Gueneche now in turn took the aggressive, and, advancing, he crushed the
revolution at Cochabamba, and now prepared his forces for serious
invasion. These reverses of fortune were not sufficient to discourage
the ardour of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires. For that the idea of
independence had become too strongly engrafted in the young nation; and
on February 18, 1812, the blue and white of the Argentine flag was
decided upon to the sound of enthusiastic acclamations.
A month later Belgrano took over the command of the army in Peru in
order to make a stand against the threatened invasion. In the first
place he found caution necessary. The Royalists, flushed with victory,
had recaptured the towns of Salta and Jujuy, and Belgrano retired for a
while in the face of their advances. The forces under the Spanish
General, Tristan, followed him.
This was Belgrano's opportunity. Falling upon the Royalist army, he
completely defeated it in a battle at Tucuman, and the Spaniards
suffered a heavy loss in men and munitions of war. Belgrano, then in
turn advanced and made once again for Salta. In the neighbourhood of
this town the Argentine flags were carried into battle for the first
time, and their presence was welcomed as a favourable omen, for the
victory remained with the patriot forces. Belgrano showed himself
generous as a victor by liberating the great majority of his prisoners
on parole, which, it is regrettable to state, large numbers of the
Spaniards broke.
This victory completely changed the situation in the south-east. The
patriots were enabled to resume the aggressive; their armies were sent
across once more into Uruguay, and Montevideo was again besieged.
In the meanwhile a certain amount of rivalry had made its appearance
among the intellectual patriot leaders in Buenos Aires. The rival
parties were headed respectively by Saavedra and Mariano Moreno. Moreno
eventually retired from the _junta_, and was offered the post of
Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain. This he accepted, but died on
his voyage to Europe. The party he had formed, however, continued in
being after his death under the name of Morenistas. The period, of
course, was one of experiment, and just at this moment numerous forms of
government were essayed, and the pattern of the constitution frequently
changed.
On March 9, 1812, occurred an important event in the history of
Argentina. On that date Jose de San Martin arrived in Buenos Aires in
the British frigate _George Canning_. With him came Carlos Alvear and
Matias Zapiola, whose names were likewise destined to become famous in
the annals of the Republic. On their arrival there was established in
Buenos Aires a branch of the now important secret society originally
founded in London, the "Gran Reunion Americana." This branch was
christened the "Logia de Lautaro," and exercised much influence on the
affairs of the revolution.
San Martin was empowered by the Government to raise a force of
horse-grenadiers, which subsequently became famous. In this regiment was
Alvear in the capacity of Sargento Mayor, and Zapiola as Captain. There
was plenty of work for the newly-constituted forces. San Martin's
regiment was employed, in the first place, in the endeavour to restrain
the river-raiding expeditions which the Royalist fleet was undertaking
from its base at Montevideo. The mischief effected by these incursions
to the patriot forces was very great. On February 3, 1813, however, San
Martin dealt the Spaniards a severe blow in the neighbourhood of
Rosario. Here he surprised a landing-party and defeated it utterly. This
was San Martin's first victory, and it very nearly proved his last, for
he had his horse shot under him and all but lost his life.
While this was going on in Argentina, the fortunes of war in Peru had
again veered from a favourable to a perilous condition. On October 1,
1813, the Argentine army was badly defeated at Vilcapuyo, and in the
same year it was again defeated at Ayouma. On this the Spaniards, seeing
that their star was again in the ascendant, resumed possession of
Chuquisaca and Potosi.
San Martin was now sent to take charge of operations in Peru. On the
Argentine side the campaign had in one sense degenerated, since the
diminished numbers of the Republican forces now restricted them to
guerilla fighting. This species of warfare, as a matter of fact, suited
the hardy Argentines admirably, and under such brilliant leaders as
Martin Guemes, Ignacio Warnes, and Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales,
their feats had kept the Royalist forces fully occupied. San Martin, on
his arrival, immediately realized the advantages of this species of
resistance, and encouraged it to the utmost. By this means alone was an
invasion staved off.
At the beginning of 1814 Montevideo was still in the hands of the
Spaniards, who continued to command the estuary of the River Plate and
the great river system generally. Ominous news arrived from Europe. An
important Royalist expedition, it appeared, was being prepared in Spain.
The outlook for the patriots was serious. A Council of State was called
in Buenos Aires, consisting of nine members, of which Alvear was the
most prominent. It was agreed that, so long as the Spanish fleet
commanded the home waters, there was very little chance of driving their
garrisons from the ports. It was resolved to establish a patriot fleet,
which should sweep the seas clear of the Royalist vessels.
Three small vessels were in the first instance obtained--the _Hercules_,
the _Zefiro_, and the _Nancy_. The command of these was given to an
Irishman, William Brown, who lost no time in displaying his fitness for
the post, and who, indeed, played the part of a lesser Cochrane. With
his insignificant force he vanquished the Royalist fleet and captured
the Island of Martin Garcia and blockaded Montevideo. On land General
Alvear took charge of the investing patriot forces. Montevideo could now
look for no assistance from the sea, and on June 20, 1814, after having
suffered many hardships, the garrison capitulated, and with the collapse
of its gallant defence ended the power of Spain in the River Plate.
San Martin was then appointed Governor of Cuyo, with his head-quarters
at Mendoza. The situation in general was serious. Outside Argentina and
Uruguay the Royalist cause had held its own, and in many districts had
triumphed. It was said that the Spanish expedition of 15,000 men was on
the eve of embarkation in Europe, and even in the victorious River Plate
Provinces dissensions between Artigas, the Uruguayan leader, and rival
Generals had resulted in civil war.
It was undoubtedly necessary to obtain some recognition of the
Constitution in Europe. To this end Rivadavia and Belgrano proceeded to
the Old World and sought the assistance of various countries,
particularly that of England. On May 7, 1816, they arrived in Europe.
The harassed statesmen of Argentina had, after consideration, decided
that the best means of avoiding anarchy was to establish a monarchy. The
emissaries of the New World offered the throne to Don Francisco Paulo,
an adopted son of King Carlos IV. These negotiations and others which
succeeded them broke down and Belgrano returned to Buenos Aires.
Rivadavia went to Madrid, where he was not permitted to remain. A little
later Belgrano became possessed of the somewhat extraordinary idea of
crowning a member of the family of the Incas. This naturally enough met
with ridicule, and was rejected.
[Illustration: DON FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ.
Third Dictator of the Republic of Paraguay.
_A. Rischgitz._]
But this is to anticipate. While all this was occurring, the struggle in
Peru had continued to show the fickleness of the fortunes of war.
Rondeau had been appointed General-in-Chief of the Army of Peru; he,
however, had proved himself a General of slow movements, and suffered
several defeats. He also fell out with Guemes, and a battle ensued
between the two sections of the Argentine forces. In this Rondeau once
again suffered defeat at the hands of the Gauchos. A belated peace was
now made up between the leaders, and Guemes was suffered to continue his
brilliant campaign unchecked.
In 1816 Puyrredon was elected dictator of Argentina, which now took its
place as an independent State. The new Republic had now time to look
beyond its own frontiers. Its eyes turned first of all to the west,
where the Chileans were still struggling against the garrisons of Spain.
Events had not favoured the patriots on the western side of the Andes,
and a number of the most prominent men had fled eastwards to Argentina,
O'Higgins and many others establishing themselves at the town of Mendoza
for the time being. There, unfortunately, a certain amount of jealousy
had broken out between the Chilean leaders, for the existence of much of
which there is no doubt that the Carrera family was largely responsible.
The three brothers Carrera were very notable personalities in the war
of independence in Chile. In 1811 Don Juan Jose Carrera, who had
attained to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of Hussars in Europe,
returned to his native country to take part in its defence. He appointed
himself Colonel of the National Guards, made his eldest brother, Jose
Miguel, a Colonel of the Grenadiers, and his younger brother, Don Luis,
Colonel and Commander of the Artillery. In 1812 Bernardo O'Higgins
joined Carrera, who at first made him Lieutenant-Colonel of the Line,
and afterwards promoted him to the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1813
the three Carreras, with a number of other officers, were captured by
the Spaniards, and O'Higgins assumed command of the army. When the three
Carreras recovered their liberty a dispute occurred concerning the chief
command, and the forces of the opposing parties actually came to blows
on the Plain of Maipu, where an action was fought, and where O'Higgins
was made prisoner. After this a reconciliation was brought about.
There is no shadow of doubt that a number of these patriot leaders may
be ranked among the host of great men, sometimes on account of their
qualities as leaders, sometimes for their statesmanship, but in almost
every instance for their genuine patriotism. Nevertheless, there have
been very few historical characters or temperaments which have been more
difficult to estimate from contemporary accounts of their actions and
motives. Jealousy entered very freely into the patriot ranks, and the
various chroniclers, however honestly they may have written, and however
deep their convictions may have been, were inevitably swayed to a very
great extent by this.
Thus a partisan of the Carreras would have been a strange being,
according to the lights of these times, had he been able to discern a
spot of goodness in the personality of San Martin, and the admirer of
the heroic Cochrane would have had no higher opinion of the Argentine
Liberator. The reverse of the medal was, of course, shown by San
Martin's adherents, who might safely have been trusted to miss no defect
in Cochrane, or in any other of his party. This condition of affairs
prevailed throughout, and extended for the length and breadth of the
Continent. Bolivar, Sucre, and everyone of note, was a hero to his own
followers, and more or less a villain to the rest of the allied, yet
rival, parties. As a rule these prominent leaders suffered rather than
gained from the situation, since the calumnies of the period are more
abundant than the laudations. It is only now that the history of the
early nineteenth century is beginning to be written calmly and
dispassionately, and as a result the participants in the great deeds of
that epoch appear, with justice, greater to the modern world than they
did in the eyes of their contemporaries.