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Primary sourceDocument1825

Máximas para mi Hija

José de San Martín · 1825

A set of moral maxims San Martín wrote in 1825 for his daughter Mercedes, revealing his private values and views on upbringing.

San Martín personally wrote these maxims for his daughter, showing his private values beyond his public military career.

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Open booklet with a printed facsimile page on the left titled 'Maximas para mi hija, 1825' listing numbered maxims in Spanish, and a handwritten manuscript page on the right with the same maxims in cursive. Caption notes it is a facsimile of a document in the Museo Mitre.
José de San Martín, Máximas para mi hija, 1825. Facsimile, Museo Mitre.

About this source

What it is

This is a short manuscript of numbered moral maxims written by José de San Martín in 1825 for his daughter Mercedes ('Merceditas'). A facsimile of the handwritten original, held in the Museo Mitre, survives alongside printed copies of the text.

Why it matters

Away from the battlefield, this document shows San Martín as a father concerned with character, kindness, honesty, and love of country and liberty. The maxims touch on treating servants and the poor gently, respecting others' property, and speaking little but truthfully, offering a rare glimpse of his personal and domestic side rather than his military role.

Look closer

  • What do these maxims suggest San Martín valued most in raising a daughter?
  • How does this private writing differ in tone from his public military letters?
  • What might be missing from this list that we might expect a father to mention today?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of José de San Martín on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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