Viceroyalty of La Plata, 1776-1816 1870-1918






Argentina 1816-1870



A.) Independence from Spain (1810/1816) and the Shaping of a Nation (1816-1862)

On May 25th 1810 Argentinian revolutionaries expelled the viceroy from BUENOS AIRES and established a junta. The succeeding war against the royalists was won in the BATTLE OF TUCUMAN (1812) by General MANUEL BELGRANO. A congress assembled at Tucuman on July 9th 1816 proclaimed the independence of the UNITED PROVINCES OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA.
The revolutionaries were united in their desire to get rid of the Spanish, but disagreed on a concept of how to rule their country. Many political leaders had military experience - JOSE DE SAN MARTIN, heading an army, in 1817 crossed the Andes and established the independence of Chile, then proceeded to liberate Peru.
The United Provinces of La Plata saw the emergence of two political groupings : the UNITARIANS favouring a strong centralist state, and the FEDERALISTS who advocated strong regional autonomy.
As the regional political strongmen (CAUDILLOS) resisted attempts to impose central authority from Buenos Aires, the country found itself in a protracted civil war. Only briefly was President BERNHARDINO RIVADAVIA (1826-1827) able to impose his authority. During his rule, a Brazilian expedition intending to occupy URUGUAY was defeated in the BATTLE OF ITUZAINGO (1827). During the succeeding years, the state disintegrated. Uruguay and Paraguay went their own ways. In 1833 British troops occupied the MALVINAS (Falkland), forcefully evacuating the Spanish speaking settlers.
Between 1835 and 1852 Federalist JUAN MANUEL DE ROSAS ruled as dictator in Buenos Aires. During his rule, several provinces proclaimed independent republics, among them CORRIENTES (1844), BUENOS AIRES (1851), CORDOBA. De Rosas was deposed in 1852; under his successor JUSTO JOSE DE URQUIZA a constitution was adopted (1853).
Meanwhile the country was known as ARGENTINA. While Urquiza ruled as a dictator, the province of Buenos Aires, under BARTOLOME MITRE, seceded (1852-1859). In 1859 it rejoined, and Bartolome Mitre became president of Argentina (1862).
In 1853, Argentina abolished slavery. In 1855 the Diocesis of Buenos Aires was elevated into an Archdiocesis, in recognition of Argentina's political independence.


B.) The 1860es

In 1865 the WAR OF THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay against tiny Paraguay) began, a war that lasted until 1870; the war cost Paraguay 25% of its population, but did not result in any territorial gain for Argentina.
Chile had established it's claim over the Magellan Straits in 1843; Argentina now had to act to establish it's claim over it's share of Patagonia. In 1863, the city of BAHIA BLANCA was founded, in 1865, CHUBUT (Rawson).






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Articles from infoplease : Argentina, Corrientes
Articles from Catholic Encyclopaedia : Buenos Aires
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE David Rock, Argentina 1516-1987, Berkeley : Univ. of California Press, revised edition 1987, 511 pp.



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on November 5th 2004

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