Güemes Documentado represents the fruition of more than a century’s effort on the part of the Güemes family to bring together all available manuscripts relating to their famous ancestor, Martín Güemes. The first volume deals with Güemes’s life from his birth to 1813—the period most difficult to document since he was, at most, a figure of secondary importance.
Historians always welcome the appearance of a collection such as this because it makes their task much easier. All of the standard phrases such as “a must for any researcher,” “a welcome addition to any library,” and so forth, certainly pertain to this collection. Yet, to me, the editors deserve more than the standard accolades and for two reasons. The first is that Güemes was not a habitual correspondent; when he did write something it was usually terse and devoid of any discussion of problems. Second, the editors have avoided using this collection as an apology for their distinguished ancestor; their conclusions on points where documentation is lacking are objective.
To solve the problem of a lack of correspondence concerning Güemes’s activities, the editors have included manuscripts of all types in which Güemes is either mentioned or that pertain to activities in which he was known to have been a participant. The result combines data from numerous private collections and archives in Peru, Chile, and Spain, as well as from those in Argentina.
Little is known of Güemes’s education. He was sent by his family to Buenos Aires to be schooled. The editors refuse to credit him with more education than can be proved by available documents; they conclude that he received at most two years of training in Buenos Aires. Another area where the documents leave latitude for interpretation concerns Güemes’s disaffection from Balcarce’s command before the battle of Huaqui. Again the editors refuse to ascribe lofty motivation to Güemes, concluding that he disagreed with the truce and returned to Salta.
Güemes Documentado is a superb and surprisingly objective collection, and one can hope that subsequent volumes will be as welcome as the first.
