Rashin amincewa da shawarar mahaifiyarsa ta tura shi zuwa karatu a Spain a Jami'ar Salamanca da Alcalá de Henares, tare da dan uwansa Manuel Belgrano, ya shiga karatun shari'a a Jami'ar Chuquisaca, a Upper Peru (Bolivia ta zamani). A can, ya koyi game da juyin juya halin Faransa da ke gudana, da kuma sababbin ra'ayoyin Zamanin Haske. Ya kuma koyi game da Tawaye na Túpac Amaru II na 1782
da kuma zalunci na 'yan asalin ƙasar, wanda ya rinjayi ayyukansa a cikin kamfen dinsa na Upper Peru na gaba. Kafin ya koma Buenos Aires, ya ziyarci Potosí kuma ya ga yadda ake amfani da bayi a ma'adinai.