ArgentinaBy: Rony Rodríguez Kevin Lainez

Introduction• Argentina is a federal republic located in southeastern South America. Covering most

of the Southern Cone, it is bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north; Brazil to the northeast; Uruguay and the SouthAtlantic Ocean to the east; Chile to the west and the Drake Passage to the south.

• Area: 2,780,400 km2• 2014 Population: 41,086,927• Capital: Buenos Aires

Situation Before Independence• The population of Buenos Aires was

highly militarized during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata, part of the Anglo-Spanish War. Buenos Aires was captured in 1806, and then liberated by Santiago de Liniers with forces from Montevideo. Fearing a counter-attack, all the population of Buenos Aires capable to bear arms was arranged in military bodies, including slaves. A new British attack in 1807 captured Montevideo, but was defeated in Buenos Aires, and forced to leave the viceroyalty. The transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil generated military concern. It was feared that the British would launch a third attack, this time allied with Portugal. However, no military conflict took place, as when the Peninsular War started Britain and

Portugal became allies of Spain against France.

• 1580 however saw a more successful colonization of Buenos Aires by Juan de Garay, and a settlement was established. However the centre of Argentina at this time was undoubtedly the north, located much closer to the glittering colony of Peru and the silver mines of Potosí; the area flourished while Buenos Aires remained a backwater, banned from trading independently of the Spanish crown.

• The failed British invasions of the Río de la Plata in 1806 and 1807 had also boosted the confidence of the colonists after they had successfully stood up against a stronger invading army without receiving military support from the colonial power.

• In 1810, tensions between creoles and peninsulars for control of the region's trade increased. A series of revolutionary groups found an excuse in the capture of the Spanish king Fernando VII, and the French occupation of Spain during the Peninsular War, to call an open cabildo with the hopes of discussing the political situation.

• May 22, 23 and 24 were days of great agitation: many wanted to depose Viceroy Cisneros from his post, while others proposed the creation of a junta in which the Viceroy, along with Buenos Aires residents, would play an active role, they hoped for the Viceroy's

resignation and the junta's dissolution. This finally happened and the First National Government Independent of Spain was formed. On July 9, 1816, the independence of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata was declared in a meeting of congress in Tucumán.

• Independence was put into effect in 1817, when General San Martín's troops won definitive victory over the Spanish army. Independence movements brought and reflected political structural changes but opened the great debate in this period—who would control Argentina. Before independence, Buenos Aires

could claim political hegemony because it had the legitimate right to do so—the monarchy, to whom all paid at least nominal allegiance, had thus designated it. Once the legitimacy had been removed—first by Napoleon and then by creole rebels—Buenos Aires had to fight for control not only vis-à-vis Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay but also against the interior provinces and within Buenos Aires province itself. For whosoever gained political control gained economic and social control. This was the issue underlying Argentine history to 1870.

The May Revolution• The May Revolution was a week-long

series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. The result was the removal of Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros and the establishment of a local government, the Primera Junta (First Junta), on May 25.

• The May Revolution was a direct reaction to Spain's Peninsular War. In 1808, King Ferdinand VII of Spain abdicated in favor of Napoleon, who granted the throne to his brother, Joseph Bonaparte. A Supreme Central Junta led resistance to Joseph's government and the French occupation of Spain, but eventually suffered a series of reversals that

resulted in the Spanish loss of the northern half of the country. On February 1, 1810, French troops took Seville and gained control of most of Andalusia

• Viceroy Cisneros tried to maintain the political status quo, but a group of criollo lawyers and military officials organized an open cabildo (a special meeting of notables of the city) on May 22 to decide the future of the Viceroyalty. Delegates denied recognition to the Council of Regency in Spain and established a junta to govern in place of Cisneros, since the government that had appointed him Viceroy no longer existed. To maintain a sense of continuity, Cisneros was initially appointed president of the Junta

Main Characters of Independence • Manuel Belrano• José San Martín• Santiago de Liniers • Mariano Moreno• Cornelio Saavedra• Juan Peron• Juan Jose Casteli

Situation After Independence• After the British invasions were

successfully repelled, mixed sentiments dominated the settlers. Pride at having defeated the imperial power was tempered by frustration at the incompetence and impotence of their Spanish colonial masters. This growing nationalist sentiment, combined with the growing independence movement all over South America and the influence of such thinkers as Simon Bolivar, led a group of influential creoles in Buenos Aires to rebel against the Spanish authorities on 25th May 1810, forming the Primera Junta (first government).

• Military campaigns led by General José de San Martín between 1814 and 1817 gave more strength to the actions that supported the independence movements. On 9th

July 1816, a Congress gathered in Tucumán and finally issued a formal declaration of independence from Spain. Bolivia declared itself independent in 1825, and Uruguay was created in 1828 as a result of the Argentina-Brazil War.

• Independence was, however, just the start of the struggle for Argentina. The country was split between Federalists, mostly rich landowners from the interior provinces who wanted a loose confederation of strong, independent provinces, and Unitarists, who favoured making the port of Buenos Aires the focus of the nation and centralising power in the one area.

• Following the defeat of the Spanish, the Unitarists waged a lengthy conflict against Federalists to determine the future of the nation. The dominant figure of this period was the federalist Juan Manuel de Rosas. Rosas was far more concerned with establishing his own dominance in Buenos Aires than with any principled federalism. He developed a paramilitary force of his own, which earned the federalists the derogatory nickname of mazorqueros, while they preferred to be known as The Holy Federation. This feared band was also nicknamed más horca , which is a homophone of La Mazorca in Spanish.

• General Justo José de Urquiza, a defecting federalist supported by Uruguay and Brazil, defeated Rosas

during the battle of Caseros. Argentine national unity was at least nominally established, and a constitution promulgated in 1853.

• The constitution was strongly defended in moving oratory by the patriot and Franciscan Mamerto Esquiú, after whom one of the country’s departments is named. By 1859, the unity of Argentina was largely secured, although it would be two decades more before the centralists completed their victory over the federalists. In 1862, the National Assembly selected the liberal politician Bartolomé Mitre as president; in 1868, he was succeeded by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.

Recognition of independence[edit]

• Kingdom of Hawaii: 1818• Portugal: 1821• Brazil, United States of America: 1822• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland:

December 15, 1823• France: 1830• Denmark: 1841• United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway: 1847• Spain: April 29, 1857