A new era in the revolt began, however, in 1817, when General San
Martin surprised the Spaniards by his march, from a frontier
province of La Plata, over a pass thirteen thousand feet above the
sea across the Andes to Chili. In the course of four years, with the
co-operation of Lord Cochrane (who relinquished the British service
in order to command the fleet of the insurgents on the Pacific), he
effected the liberation of Chili and of Peru. Meanwhile, in the
northern provinces the other great South American revolutionist,
Bolivar, aided by a legion of Irish and English veterans, won the
independence of Venezuela and Colombia. In July, 1822, these two
successful generals met in Ecuador; and San Martin, yielding the
leadership to the more ambitious Bolivar, withdrew from the New
World. By this date, America was clearly lost to the Latin states of
Europe, for Mexico became an independent empire in 1821, and the
next year Brazil, while it chose for its ruler a prince of the
younger line of the royal house of Portugal, proclaimed its
independence.
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