San Martín’s contribution to the cause of independence was his military
skill. The boldness of his plan to attack the viceroyalty of Lima by
crossing the Andes to Chile and going on by sea, as well as the patience
and determination with which he executed it, was undoubtedly the
decisive factor in the defeat of Spanish power in southern South
America. Whether at Guayaquil he consciously made a great renunciation
of personal ambition so that Bolívar, and with him the cause of
independence, might triumph, or whether he went into voluntary exile
because Bolívar made it clear that he was not prepared to help Peru so
long as San Martín remained in control, remains an unresolved historical
problem.
