"Let's be free, the rest doesn't matter."
ARGENTINA · BELGIUM · CHILE · ECUADOR · LUXEMBOURG · NETHERLANDS · PERU
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE
A bridge between South America
and the Benelux region.
The Institut San Martín du Benelux (ISMBen) is a transdisciplinary non‑profit initiative that builds connections between South America and the Benelux region, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, through historical memory, academic cooperation, cultural exchange, and civic dialogue.
The institute draws profound symbolic strength from General José de San Martín's residence in Brussels between 1824 and 1830, where he lived in dignified exile alongside his daughter Mercedes (1816–1875) and his brother Justo Rufino de San Martín (1776–1832). His stay, under the patronage of King William I of the Netherlands, and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, (1772–1843), unfolded in a city that, though not yet the capital of an independent Belgium, was already emerging as a crossroads of international thought and diplomacy.
In 2025, the foundation of the Institut San Martín du Benelux coincided with three significant anniversaries:
200 years
Bicentenary of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Provinces of the Río de la Plata (1825).
200 years
Bicentenary of the Máximas para mi hija Mercedes, authored in Brussels in 1825.
50 years
Fiftieth anniversary of the equestrian monument to General San Martín in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (1975).
Highlights & moments
General José de San Martín
SOUTH AMERICAN HERO · STATESMAN · LIBERATOR
General José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 1778 – 17 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín, was a South American Hero, Statesman, and Liberator. He lived in Brussels between 1824 and 1830.
Together with Simón Bolívar (1783 – 1830) and Bernardo O'Higgins (1778 – 1842), San Martín was one of the main leaders of the successful struggle for independence in southern and central South America against the Spanish Empire.
OUR LOCATIONS
Find us in Brussels
and in The Hague
INSTITUT SAN MARTÍN DU BENELUX
C/O The Argentine Embassy to Belgium, Luxembourg and The European Union (EU)
Avenue Louise 283, 3º1050 Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium
SAN MARTÍN INSTITUUT VAN DE BENELUX
C/O The Argentine Embassy to the Kingdom of The Netherlands
Javastraat 20 2585 AN, The Hague, Kingdom of The Netherlands
