Argentinian Leader. Born Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano in Buenos Aires to a wealthy family. He traveled to Spain to study at the University of Salamanca in 1786 and at Valladolid, where he took a degree in law in 1793. He was named secretary of the Buenos Aires merchants’ guild, the Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires, in 1794. He urged opening new schools and called for legislation to develop agriculture, commerce, and trade. Most of his proposals, however, were considered an infringement on profit or privilege held by the Spanish ruling class, and were vetoed. When the English invaded the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata in 1806, Belgrano, an honorary captain, was put in command of troops despite the fact that he had no military experience. After 1807, he became increasingly vocal about the shortcomings of the Spanish authorities. He became a proponent of the Carlotist political movement; which intended to make Carlota Joaquina, the deposed Spanish king's sister, monarch in Buenos Aries. Carlotism found strong resistance from many parties, however, and the project came to nothing. Río de la Plata broke with Spain in 1810, and Belgrano was elected a member of its ruling junta, he was named a general, and ordered to raise an army. In September, the under-equipped, poorly trained force made an unsuccessful foray into Paraguay. The campaign was a complete military disaster for which Belgrano was initially blamed. He was subsequently appointed to fortify the city of Rosario against possible attack. As a standard for the troops there, he designed a banner of light blue and white. At the Congress of Tucumán in 1816, he was an outspoken advocate for a declaration of independence. By July, the Congress finally signed their declaration of independence from Spain. The banner created by Belgrano at Rosario, was accepted as the Argentine national flag. In August, he again was assigned command of the Army of the North. By 1819, his health was on the decline, and he was granted leave. Infighting among the contenders for Argentina's government, found him imprisoned briefly, but by early 1820, he had returned to Buenos Aires. There, he succumbed to dropsy at the age of 50, due to chaotic conditions at the time, his death was almost unremarked, a death notice appeared only in one newspaper. According to his wishes, he was dressed in a monk's robes, and buried at the Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Rosario and Convent of Santo Domingo. In 1902, the Argentinian president commissioned a mausoleum by sculptor Ettore Ximenes and had Belgrano's remains exhumed from beneath the floor and installed in the more prominent mausoleum.