José de San Martín
Later life

After his retirement, San Martín intended to live in Cuyo. Although the war of independence had ended in the region, the Argentine Civil Wars continued. The unitarians wanted to organize the country as a unitary state centered on Buenos Aires, and the federalists preferred a federation of provinces. San Martín had good relations with the federal caudillos and a personal feud with unitarian leader Bernardino Rivadavia, but tried to stay neutral. San Martín's wife, María de los Remedios de Escalada, died in 1823, so he returned to Buenos Aires. He took his daughter Mercedes Tomasa, who was living with her mother's family, and sailed to Europe.

After a failed attempt to settle in France, he moved to Britain and then to the capital of present-day Belgium, Brussels, where he settled. He intended to live there until Mercedes completed her education and then return to Argentina. Rivadavia visited Brussels and San Martín intended to challenge him to a duel, but was dissuaded by Diego Paroissien.

Despite his feud with Rivadavia, who was appointed President of Argentina, San Martín offered his military services in the War with Brazil, but received no response. He sailed to the country when Rivadavia was deposed and replaced by the federal Manuel Dorrego, and the war ended in the interim. He intended to return anyway, as a federal government would spare him the persecution he would otherwise have received from the unitarians. He was unable to do as he planned. When his ship docked in Rio de Janeiro he was informed that the unitarian Juan Lavalle had deposed Dorrego, and when he reached Montevideo he was informed that Lavalle had captured and executed Dorrego and begun a campaign of terror against all federals in the country. The ship arrived in Buenos Aires, but San Martín did not leave it, instead returning to Montevideo. Lavalle was unable to put down the federal rebellion against him, and offered San Martín the government. San Martín declined and returned to Brussels.

By this time the federal Juan Manuel de Rosas had begun to pacify the civil war started by Lavalle and earned San Martín's admiration. They began to exchange friendly letters. The Belgian Revolution and the cholera epidemic of 1831 made San Martín leave Brussels and move to Paris, where both San Martín and his daughter became ill. They were helped by Mariano Balcarce. Mariano married Mercedes, and they had a daughter, María Mercedes.

In 1837 France began a blockade of the Rio de la Plata against Rosas. San Martín offered his military services to Rosas, which was declined because of San Martín's advanced age, and condemned the role of the unitarians in that conflict, as they had allied themselves with France against their own nation. San Martín bequeathed his curved saber to Rosas, because of his successful defense of the country. The conflict between France and Argentina renewed in the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata, which San Martín condemned as well. During this time he met Florencio Varela and Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.

During the French 1848 revolution, San Martin left Paris and moved to Boulogne-sur-Mer, a small city in northern France. He was almost blind and had many health problems because of his advanced age, but continued to write letters and keep in touch with the news from South America. Shortly after receiving the news of the Argentine victory against the Anglo-French blockade, he died, three o'clock on 17 August 1850.
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