Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and designed what became the flag of Argentina. Argentines regard him as one of the main Founding Fathers of the country. Belgrano was born in Buenos Aires, the fourth child of Italian businessman Domingo Belgrano y Peri and of María Josefa González Casero. He came into contact with the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment while at university in Spain around the time of the 1789 French Revolution. In 1794 he returned to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, where he became a notable member of the criollo population of Buenos Aires; he tried to promote some of the new political and economic ideals, but found severe resistance from local peninsulares . This rejection led him to work towards a gre...