AMONG THE Spaniards under Pinzon, who in 1500 had discovered the mouth of the Amazon River, was Juan Diaz de Solis. Upon his return to Spain from this expedition, Solis was made Chief Pilot of Spain, and directed to prepare charts of the new lands. When news reached Spain from the Isthmus of Panama of Balboa’s discovery in 1513 of the Southern (Pacific) Ocean, Solis was commissioned to find a passage between the Atlantic and the Southern Oceans, and thereby offset the prestige that had accrued in 1500 to Spain’s maritime rival Portugal through the discovery of Brazil by Cabral.
With three ships Solis sailed from Spain on October 8, 1515, and after skirting the coast of Brazil, rounded in January, 1516, a prominent cape which he named Santa Maria. Continuing westward around the cape, he entered a large estuary which he found consisted in places of almost fresh water, and he therefore christened the body of water the Mar Dulce, though the Indians called it Paranáguassú, or Big River.
Deceived by signs of friendship made on shore by the Charrua Indians, Solis in the company of a few of his men landed for exploration at a point between the present- day cities of Maldonado and Montevideo in Uruguay. No sooner was the party on shore than it was set upon and destroyed by great numbers of cannibal Indians, all within sight of the remaining Spaniards aboard ship. Some authorities claim that Solis’ cabin boy survived and was adopted by the Indians; but be that as it may, the expedition after the loss of Solis set sail to return to Spain under the command of the Second Officer, Francisco Torres. During the voyage one of the ships under Alejo Garcia was wrecked on the Brazilian coast at Santa Catharina, and the crew escaping to shore was left behind.
When Torres reached Spain and reported the details of the ill-fated enterprise, the Spanish monarch, Charles I, resolved upon a second expedition under Magellan, who had left the Portuguese service for that of Spain. With a Spaniard named Sebastian del Cano as second in command, Magellan was given instructions not only to find communication between the Atlantic and Southern Oceans, but also to establish a new route to the East Indies.
In 1519, the year that Charles I of Spain became also Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, an expedition of five ships sailed westward from Spain, and after following more or less the same general course that had been taken by Solis, eventually reached the Mar Dulce, which Magellan renamed the Rio de Solis in honor of its discoverer. Cruising in the estuary, he “sighted a high hill,” from which the present city of Montevideo later derived its name.
[MAP-SOUTH AMERICA ca. 1534]
After certain explorations, Magellan became convinced that the Rio de Solis would not solve the problem of a passage to the Southern Ocean, and he sailed south for further investigations. On November 1, 1520, he entered the Strait which today bears his name, but which he christened at the time Todos los Santos, the day being All Saints’ Day. After considerable difficulty and delay he continued through the Strait, and finally emerged into a vast expanse of calm and peaceful water which he named the Pacific Ocean. To complete the story of Magellan, suffice it to say that he crossed the Pacific to the Philippine Islands which he claimed for Spain, but where, unfortunately, he was killed by savages. Sebastian del Cano then took command of the one remaining ship of the expedition, and in 1522 reached Spain via the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope, with only 18 of the original crews of some 260 that had started out.
The Emperor Charles V was much impressed by the reports of Sebastian del Cano, and thereupon directed Sebastian Cabot, who had been made Chief Pilot of Spain upon the death of Solis, to explore and chart the passage discovered by Magellan as far as the East Indies. Cabot was placed in charge of an expedition of several ships, some of which sailed under his immediate command from Seville on the Guadalquiver, and others departed on August 15, 1526, from Corunna under Diego Garcia. Upon reaching Brazil after severe storms, the ships were detained for repairs, and, while in that region, the leaders learned from the Portuguese settlers of stories of a fabulous country of silver riches in the interior. Arriving in the Mar Dulce (or Rio de Solis), Cabot and Garcia conveniently forgot their original instructions, and specialized upon exploring the rivers called by the Indians the Parana, the Uruguay, and the Paraguay; all in search of the mystical land of silver of which they had heard. They were unsuccessful; but as the Indians wore silver bracelets and silver earrings, which was an indication that that metal was to be found somewhere in the region, Cabot changed the name of the Mar Dulce (or Rio de Solis) to that of the Rio de la Plata—the River of Silver. About this time he received information of the activities of the Spaniards in the North striking South from the present Isthmus of Panama, and he conceived the possibility of establishing contact with them through the rivers he had explored. He decided to return to Spain to interest the Spanish King in a plan of shipping riches from the interior down the rivers to the Atlantic. Leaving a small settlement of 170 men at Santo Espiritu at the junction of the Paraná and Carcaraña Rivers, he left in 1530 for the Old World, but by the time he reached Spain, the Spaniards had already organized a northern route from Peru by way of Panama through the Spanish Main and were afraid of interference and difficulties by way of La Plata, so nothing was accomplished.
In 1534, Emperor Charles V supported an expedition under Pedro de Mendoza to conquer and settle the lands surrounding the River Plate. This expedition was one of the largest that ever came to the New World. In 1535, the ships of Mendoza ascended La Plata and upon arriving at a place some 90 miles up the river, the explorers were impressed by the wonderful fragrance of the air coming over the fertile pampas, and Captain Sanchez of the flagship exclaimed: “Que buenos aires son estosl” (What wonderful breezes these are!) Thereupon a temporary landing was made near the site of the future city of Santa Maria de Buenos Aires, or La Virgen de Buenos Aires, as Mendoza called it at the time. Some historians, however, believe that sailors, venturing on long voyages from certain ports of Spain, prayed for buenos aires, and that therefore it was but natural that Mendoza, after an excellent trip overseas, should dedicate his first landing to La Virgen de Buenos Aires.
The Indians were at first friendly, but soon became hostile, and it was not long before the plight of the settlers was such that they were forced to abandon the settlement and retire to their ships. The expedition then proceeded to the settlement up the river that Cabot had reported making at Espiritu Santo. Some of the party under Juan de Ayolas and Salazar Espinosa ascended the Paraguay River seeking a route to New Castille (Peru), and in 1537 founded the city of Asuncion in Paraguay which became the seat of Spanish authority in the River Plate area.
Mendoza was succeeded by Irala. In 1541, Spaniards under Cabeza de Vaca, who had landed at Santa Catharina in Brazil, marched overland to Asuncion. Rivalry and struggle developed between Irala and Cabeza de Vaca, but the former succeeded in maintaining his leadership and governorship of the River Plate district.
Spanish colonists from Peru pushed south, and from Chile east, so that colonization of the new region progressed with the result that by 1580 there were settlements at Mendoza (1561), Tucuman (1565), and Cordova (1573). In 1573 Juan de Garay came down from Asuncion, founded Santa Fe, and on June 10, 1580, re-established the previously attempted settlement of Mendoza at Buenos Aires which he christened Ciudad de la Santissima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa Maria de Buenos Aires, thus combining the feast day of the tenth of June with the former efforts of Mendoza.
Development and conquest continued. Some of the Indian tribes became friendly and others remained hostile. The cattle and horses brought from Europe multiplied and ran wild over the plains. The monks paralleled the conquests of the soldiers by erecting churches, converting the Indians, and developing the power of the Church. The University of Cordova was founded in 1613. In 1617 the government of Buenos Aires was separated from that of Asuncion, each with its own governor, though the Spanish officials remained indirectly under the Viceroyalty of Peru which had been created in 1544. It was not until 1776 that the Viceroyalty of the River Plate was established to counteract the activity, encroachment, and growing importance of the Portuguese settlers in Brazil.
The greatest difficulties of the colonists in La Plata region were not so much trouble with the Indians or internal disorders as the prohibitions and restrictions imposed by the Home Government in Europe. Spain’s policy was to monopolize commerce in the New World and to prohibit trade between the colonies. The result was, of course, to hamper very seriously the colonists that had been encouraged to settle. In order to efficiently bar trade between La Plata region and Peru a customhouse was established at Cordova where a prohibitive duty was levied on all material in transit between Peru and the River Plate. The duties were diminished in 1667, but it was not until 1776 that a relaxation of this policy permitted free trade among the different Spanish possessions in America.
In 1750 the Treaty of Madrid attempted to settle certain questions of boundaries between Portuguese Brazil and the Spanish possessions.
In 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from the area and settlements they had made. Some thirty-odd missions had been established in the general vicinity of the territory included between the Parana and the Uruguay Rivers, but the organization and success of these missions had been interpreted by the regular government as competitive and prejudicial to constituted authority. The motives for expulsion were therefore political rather than religious.
[MAP-SPANISH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS ca. 1600]
However, the activities of the Jesuits, under Spanish personnel, provided Spain, and later the Provinces of the River Plate, with much data upon which to claim Spanish jurisdiction over a considerable portion of the area in dispute.
In 1776 the River Plate region had grown to such importance that the Viceroyalty of the River Plate was created with its capital at Buenos Aires. It was sliced out of the Viceroyalty of Peru and embraced jurisdiction over the territory of the present republics of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and part of Bolivia.
In 1777 the Treaty of San Ildefonso followed up the Treaty of Madrid, but local disputes in the colonies continued.
During a part of the Napoleonic Wars, France and Spain were allies against Great Britain, and at Trafalgar (1805) Spain lost the greater part of her Navy. In 1806 while Sobremonte was Viceroy of the River Plate, the British planned the occupation of that area. An expeditionary force under Lord Beresford, supported by a fleet under Sir Home Popham, landed near Buenos Aires on June 25, 1806, and marched against the city. Sobremonte, much to the disgust of the colonists, evacuated the capital without resistance and retired toward Cordova. A local patriot of French extraction named Liniers began the formation of an army of defense and a Colonel Saavedra organized a Legion de Patricios. Liniers went to Montevideo to secure aid from the Spanish and returning with reinforcements succeeded in landing under cover of fog at Las Conchas just above Buenos Aires. Uniting his forces, Liniers attacked the British and on August 12, “Dia de la Reconquista,” compelled them to surrender.
The success of the colonists under their own leader Liniers, at a time when their Viceroy had failed them, strengthened and encouraged the self-reliance of the settlers and was one of the contributing reasons which later decided them to declare independence. A mass meeting deposed Sobremonte and demanded his return to Spain while Liniers was chosen in his stead. The new Viceroy began immediately to prepare the army for future eventualities.
On February 3, 1807, British forces seized and occupied Montevideo, and on June 28 appeared again off Buenos Aires, where an army under General Whitlock landed at Ensenada, just below the capital. Liniers successfully defended Buenos Aires and on July 7 General Whitlock agreed to embark his forces and withdraw, and likewise to evacuate Montevideo within two months.
In the meantime a crisis was being brought about in Spanish affairs in Europe. In 1807, the aged Charles IV, King of Spain, was forcefully persuaded by Napoleon to abdicate and to renounce all claim of his family to the throne of Spain. Napoleon then named Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. Ferdinand, the son of Charles, was the logical successor to his father, but as French soldiers were in control in Madrid, the Spanish were helpless. A regency for Ferdinand VII was however set up by loyal Spaniards in Seville, while Napoleon dispatched messengers to the Spanish possessions announcing the accession of Joseph. When the messengers arrived in Buenos Aires, the people could appreciate no ties binding them to a Bonaparte dynasty and they promptly declared, with few exceptions, their allegiance to Ferdinand VII. Certain factions considered the desirability of obtaining some member of the Royal Family to come to the River Plate as Regent during the inability of Ferdinand to occupy his throne. Carlota Joaquina, sister of Ferdinand, and wife of the Prince Regent of Portugal, residing at the time in Rio de Janeiro, was very active in attempting to head such a Regency, and though there were in Buenos Aires among both the Spanish and the Creoles a few prominent persons who supported the general idea of a monarchy in the River Plate area, the rapid growth of republican sentiment made it desirable for the time being to concentrate on strict allegiance to Ferdinand VII, and Liniers was continued in control.
In 1809, the selection of Liniers as Viceroy by the people of Buenos Aires was denounced in Spain by the Regency attempting to function in the name of Ferdinand VII, and Cisneros was appointed and sent over from Spain. This undiplomatic rebuke was a shock to the natives of Buenos Aires and served to dampen their enthusiasm for Ferdinand VII at a time when allegiance to him, which had been so spontaneously given, was so needed by him. The rebuff added a link in the chain of events tending toward independence.
Cisneros was dubious as to his reception in Buenos Aires and delayed arrival, spending considerable time in Montevideo. Liniers, against the wishes of the Creoles, welcomed Cisneros at Colonia and assured him of complete safety in the transfer of the office. The new Viceroy entered Buenos Aires on July 30,1809, enthusiastically welcomed by the old line Spanish, but coolly received by the natives. Saavedra let it be known that the new Viceroy could not count upon his aid in maintaining him in office.
The colonists were in a peculiar situation. They were governed by a new Viceroy who was serving a king who did not exist in point of fact. Many cries for independence from Spain began to be heard. Some believed that the action of Charles IV in relinquishing his crown had severed all ties between Spain and her possessions in the New World. The policy which Spain had adopted in governing her colonies had been to create a governing class of aristocrats and clergy distinct from the people in feelings, habits, and interests. When the people began to talk of self-government or independence, the Spaniards who occupied the high positions of state foresaw in a change the downfall of their own power and importance. They endeavored to maintain an acknowledgement of the sovereignty of Spain, for so long as the authority of Spain was recognized the privileged classes and castes would have official support. The people, however, were not quite ready to break with Spain even though Ferdinand VII was in no position to assert himself. They declared that they should be self-governing though a part of the Spanish monarchy. The idea was frequently advanced of establishing a separate monarchy in the New World as the best solution to the problem, but such plans did not bear fruit despite the fact that several important patriots inclined in that direction.
Dissatisfaction among the settlers continued and on May 25, 1810, the colonists of Buenos Aires established a provisional government of the Provinces of the River Plate. The Viceroy was overthrown and Colonel Saavedra was elected president of a Junta in which Belgrano and Moreno were prominent members. This date is now considered as the one for celebration of the political separation of Argentina from Spain, although the complete and formal break did not come until 1816. The provisional government was created at the time more for self-government during a crisis in Spain than for independence from Spain, but the latter idea soon developed and was vigorously opposed by Spanish forces in those provinces still clinging to the old regime.
Expeditions were dispatched by the Junta to overcome Spanish authorities in the interior and thus unite the provinces in a common cause under Buenos Aires. A force under Ocampo and Balcarce was sent into the northwest while another under Belgrano went into the province of Paraguay.
Ocampo and Balcarce won support for the Junta in the province of Cordova, and Balcarce then pressed on to the northward. He gained a victory on November 7, 1810, at Suipacha and penetrated into present-day Bolivia as far as the River Desaguadero. Reverses on June 20, 1811, at the Battle of Huaqui against the Spanish from Peru under Goyeneche, caused him to fall back, but the provinces where he had been active were stirred into adhesion to the Provisional Government. Spanish interior forces were driven generally from present- day Argentina into Chile and Peru, but Upper Peru (Bolivia) was lost to the United Provinces especially after the disastrous Battle of Sipe-Sipe in 1815.
[MAP-SOUTH AMERICAN ca. 1800]
Belgrano in the meanwhile did not meet with military success in Paraguay. The people were satisfied with running their own affairs and were not willing to be brought under the domination of Buenos Aires. Governor Velasco had very few Spanish soldiers and he was therefore more of an administrator than a military dictator and vigorous measures by Spaniards against the people were not possible. Belgrano was defeated by the Paraguayans under Yegros at the Battles of Paraguari and Tacuari. However, the contact with Belgrano’s forces and the arrival of emissaries from Buenos Aires at Asunción began to develop ideas of independence from Spain, and the following year (1811) Paraguay definitely separated from the Mother Country and Buenos Aires became protected from any Spanish activities that might develop from that direction.
Internal dissension soon developed within the Provisional Government over liberalism and conservatism. There were those who believed in the formation of a strong centralized government such as a republic or even a constitutional monarchy, while others, more local and democratic in spirit, favored a federation with practical autonomy of the provinces held loosely together. The opposing leaders in this internal strife were Saavedra and Belgrano, on the one hand, who advocated a strong central government or even a monarchy, while Moreno championed a strictly republican form of government with independent rights for the provinces. These two factions were known at the time, respectively, as Conservatives and Democrats, and they gave rise to the later political parties called Unitarians and Federals.
When news of the victory of Balcarce at Suipacha (November 7, 1810) reached Buenos Aires, a banquet in celebration of the event was held by the Legion de Patricios which had originally been organized by Saavedra. During the course of the rejoicing and hilarity, an over- enthusiastic officer presented to Saavedra a laurel wreath with the words: “We hope that Your Excellency will accept with this wreath the scepter and the crown.” Rumors of the monarchial ambitions of Saavedra spread. Moreno secured the issuance of a decree prohibiting such proceedings as had occurred at the banquet and the guilty officer was punished. However, the reaction was such that the Government passed into the hands of a First Triumvirate (1811) and then a Second Triumvirate (1812). Moreno was sent on a special mission to England but died at sea.
Under the orders of the Triumvirate, Belgrano was sent to take command of the Army of the North, relieving Balcarce. For a time he was successful, defeating the Spaniards under Pio Tristan at the Battle of Tucuman (September 24, 1812), and the Battle of Salta (February 20,1813); but against the Spanish General, Pezuela, he suffered serious reverses at Vilcapujo (October, 1813), and at Ayohuma (November 14, 1813).
Meanwhile the forces around Buenos Aires had been confided to General San Martin who had just returned from Europe after service in the Napoleonic Wars. Buenos Aires was beset by Spaniards from various directions. San Martin organized a regiment of cavalry, and on February 3, 1813, attacked the Spanish, winning the Battle of San Lorenzo near Rosario which saved the Provisional Government. This victory at such a vital time to the patriots has been commemorated in Argentine history. San Lorenzo has become the name of the marching song of the Argentine soldiers, and the cavalry guard of honor to the President of the Republic are known as Grenadiers of San Martin.
When the defeat of Belgrano at Vilcapujo (1813) became known, San Martin was sent to replace Belgrano and it was deemed prudent to place civil power once more in the hands of one man, so in January, 1814, Posadas was named Supreme Director of the United Provinces, and a directory was created. Posadas sent Belgrano and Rivadavia to Europe to negotiate the founding of a constitutional monarchy, the crown to be offered to any suitable Prince. Posadas resigned in January, 1815.
In the Province of Uruguay, called the Banda Oriental, the Spanish Governor Elio suffered reverses at the hands of Alvear, Rondeau, Brown, and a local patriot named Artigas. The last named finally came into control of a provisional organization, but he refused to join the government of Buenos Aires on account of interest in establishing self-government for the provinces.
In early 1816 after Alvear and Rondeau had successively become Supreme Directors, a General Congress of the provinces was called to meet, in March, at Tucuman to formally declare the independence of the provinces and to organize a government. The provinces heeded the call with the exception of Santa Fe, Entre Rios, Corrientes, and the Banda Oriental, still under domination of Artigas. On July 9, 1816, the formal separation of the United Provinces of the River Plate was decreed by the Congress, and Pueyrredon was elected Supreme Director. Artigas still held aloof, but with Uruguay and Paraguay protected by local patriots, General San Martin began plans to drive the Spanish forces out of Chile and Peru as being the best means of insuring and safeguarding independence.
Pueyrredon following the plan of Posadas and others continued the effort to establish a monarchy, as the best solution of a difficult problem, but jealousies in Europe thwarted all attempts in this direction.
Meanwhile General San Martin and his army had crossed the Andes into what is now Chile and with the aid of the Chilean patriots was advancing against the Spanish. On February 12, 1817, he defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Chacabuco which gained entrance of his army into Santiago. On April 5, 1818, he won a brilliant victory at the Battle of Maipo which insured the independence of Chile and safeguarded that of the provinces of the River Plate. San Martin then pushed northward into Peru, embarking at Valparaiso on August 20, 1820, and landing on September 8 at Pisco under Chilean naval protection organized by Lord Cochrane. On July 10, 1821, San Martin led his victorious troops into Lima which for almost three centuries had been the stronghold of Spanish authority in South America. The independence of Peru was declared July 28, 1821, and San Martin established a government with himself as Protector of Peru.
While San Martin was thus active in the liberation of the provinces of the South and of Peru, Bolivar had been struggling in Colombia and Venezuela against the Spanish in behalf of the Federation of Venezuela, Colombia, and Quito. After defeating the Spaniards, August 7, 1819, at the Battle of Boyaca in Colombia and at the Second Battle of Carabobo, June 24, 1821, in Venezuela, Bolivar determined to effect the liberation of Quito (Ecuador) and Peru. On April 7, 1822, he won a victory at Bombona which was followed on May 24, 1822, by the great victory of his subordinate, General Sucre, at the Battle of Pichincha. These achievements freed Quito (Ecuador). Bolivar then learned of the presence of San Martin at Lima and he went to Guayaquil.
San Martin’s forces were not sufficient to complete the subjugation of the Spaniards and he endeavored to secure aid from Bolivar in his activities in Peru. A meeting between the two leaders took place at Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 26, 1822. While the details of what occurred at this meeting are unknown and still a mystery to history, the result was that San Martin returned to Lima without any assistance being promised or given by Bolivar. San Martin then resigned as Protecter of Peru and after establishing a government under a Junta, he returned to Buenos Aires and sailed for Europe. Some of his force under Alvarado continued operations in Peru but while returning home they were defeated by the Spanish under Canterac on January 19, 1823, at Torata and on the 21st at Moquegua.
When Riva Aguero came into power in Peru in February, 1823, Bolivar sent reinforcements, and himself entered Lima in September of that year.
It is probable that Bolivar and San Martin were not in accord as to the form of government to be eventually set up in the liberated area, the former being definitely committed to republican institutions, despite recognition of the difficulties involved, and the latter having leanings toward monarchial regimes as being best suitable under existing conditions. Moreover San Martin was far from his own base, he had had difficulties with Lord Cochrane, and within his own ranks, and he probably did not consider it possible to continue long in Peru without Bolivar’s aid. Also there may have been questions concerning the future of Peru—whether it was to be incorporated into the River Plate-Chilean sphere of influence, or pass to the Federation of Colombia, Venezuela, and Quito, created by Bolivar into the Republic of Colombia.
In the meantime at Buenos Aires after the formal separation of Buenos Aires from Spain on July 9, 1816, civil war raged and various leaders such as Rondeau, Ramirez, Sarratea, and Alvear were successively in power for short periods. The people were divided into two factions: the Unitarians, favoring a union of the various provinces, and the Federals, favoring autonomy of the provinces. The government at Buenos Aires being unable to handle the situation resigned and for a time the provinces governed themselves independently. In 1821 Martin Rodriguez was at the head of affairs in Buenos Aires and he appointed as Minister of the Interior and Foreign Relations Bernardo Rivadavia, an illustrious and renowned statesman. Rivadavia convened a general congress of all the provinces and succeeded in promulgating on December 24, 1824, a federal constitution which created the office of President of the United Provinces of the River Plate. Some of the provinces, however, still held out for autonomy and failed to ratify the Constitution.
In 1825 Rivadavia became President. The United Provinces next became engaged in a war with Brazil over Uruguay, or the Banda Oriental. The province had voted to be incorporated with Brazil, Brazilian forces had occupied it, and Artigas had fled to Paraguay. The province was known to Brazil as Cisplatina and had long been claimed as a part of the original Portuguese territory. The United Provinces claimed that the land was one of their provinces, that it had been settled mainly by Spaniards, and that it had been freed from Spain by patriots of the River Plate.
The war was a difficult one for both sides. The United Provinces were not solidly behind the war, and the far distant operations were difficult for Brazil. After the Battle of Ituzaingo (Passo do Rosario) the Brazilians did not press the war and the United Provinces did not push an advantage gained. The latter were more successful in their naval operations than the former.
In order to relieve civil disturbances, Rivadavia, who had encountered considerable opposition to the Constitution and to his peace negotiations with Brazil after the Battle of Ituzaingo, resigned in June, 1827, so that the factions might unite against a common enemy and relieve the province of Buenos Aires of the burden of carrying on the war almost single- handed. He was succeeded temporarily by Vicente Lopez, and then General Dorrego, a Federal, was installed as President. Dorrego made a treaty of peace with Brazil in 1828 whereby Uruguay was made a separate and independent nation distinct from both the United Provinces and Brazil, much to the disgust of the Unitarians. Civil war broke out in the United Provinces between the Unitarians and the Federals, and General Lavalle, a Unitarian, returning with his troops from the war in Uruguay and initiating a revolution, attacked and defeated the Federals. General Dorrego in attempting to escape to the provinces was pursued and executed by Lavalle. The execution was generally lamented and intensified the Civil War. The Federals rallied around Jose Manuel de Rosas, the Federal leader of the Provinces of Buenos Aires, who until 1820 had been a Unitarian. Rosas defeated Lavalle and assuming control December 8, 1829, was named Governor and Captain General of Buenos Aires. Gradually he increased his powers and became dictator in national affairs, which position he held until 1852. While outwardly representing the cause of the provinces, he conspired to build up a strong tyrannical central government, to increase his power, and to perpetuate himself in office. He became as hostile to some of his own party as to his opponents. He instituted a reign of terror against minor uprisings, and his generals were given orders to exterminate his enemies. His long term at the head of affairs, 1829 to 1852, is known in Argentine history as “The Age of Rosas.”
Rosas interfered with foreign navigation of the rivers to Paraguay, and French and English squadrons blockaded Buenos Aires for about two years. His forces, consisting largely of the then recently emancipated slaves from the country, reacted against culture and industry. Eventually the opposition crystallized and developed under the leadership of General Urquiza, Governor of the Province of Entre Rios, who, with the assistance of Brazil and troops from Paraguay and Uruguay, overthrew Rosas at the Battle of Monte Caseros, February 3, 1852. Rosas fled to England and Buenos Aires became wild with joy at its sudden deliverance from tyranny.
Urquiza convoked a representative assembly at Santa Fe but the province of Buenos Aires refused to attend. Buenos Aires proclaimed its separate independence on September 11, 1852. The assembly on May 25, 1853, adopted a Constitution for an Argentine Confederation with capital at Parana. This was the first time the word “Argentina” (silvery) appeared in the national affairs of the Provinces of the River Plate. In 1854 Urquiza was elected President of the Argentine Confederation. Buenos Aires was at first permitted to be independent but the provinces decided to declare war and to force Buenos Aires into the Confederation. On October 23, 1859, the forces of Buenos Aires under Bartolome Mitre were defeated by those of Urquiza at the Battle of Cepeda, and after peace had been restored the capital of the Confederation was moved to Buenos Aires. Mitre, however, continued to work for the advancement of Buenos Aires and in 1860 was made governor of that province. New difficulties within the confederation developed when, under President Derqui, Congress refused to seat representatives from Buenos Aires. Civil war was renewed and Mitre defeated the forces supporting Derqui at the Battle of Pavon, September 11, 1861, and Mitre assumed a temporary dictatorship. The constitution was revised and in 1862 Mitre became President of the new “Argentine Republic” with capital at Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires became ascendant in Argentine affairs.
[MAP-MAIN POLITICAL CHANGES IN SOUTH AMERICAN SINCE 1830]
Mitre’s term of office was characterized by great national advancement and unification. In 1865 Argentina was forced into a war with the dictator Lopez of Paraguay by reason of an invasion of Argentine territory by Paraguayan troops crossing into Uruguay and Brazil. Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay fought the Paraguayan dictator for five years in a bloody struggle which almost annihilated the male population of Paraguay.
In 1868 Sarmiento succeeded Mitre and national reforms and progress were furthered. After the defeat of Paraguay, boundary disputes were adjusted and peace was made. Argentina gained valuable territory from Paraguay.
Sarmiento was one of the greatest presidents of Argentina. He was particularly interested in the development of public instruction and, in addition, founded the Military and Naval Academies. Railroads, telegraphic communications, immigration, and finance also received his attention.
The pampas held by warlike Indians were conquered under President Avellaneda, thus adding much fertile territory for development.
Despite a few disturbances within the country between 1874 and 1890, Argentina continued to progress under the leadership of various presidents among whom may be noted Roca, Pellegrini, Alcorta, and Saenz Pena. During the Presidency of Roca delineation of the boundary between Chile and Argentina in the region of the Andes threatened to disturb the peace of the two countries. Feeling ran high but the Presidents of the two republics met for a conference in the Strait of Magellan as a result of which amicable relations were restored, the problem being left to the King of England as peaceful arbiter.
During the same presidency the Drago Doctrine emerged in Pan-American affairs, being an assertion by the Minister of Foreign Relations of Argentina, during the blockade of Venezuela by the naval vessels of three European powers, that no European nation had the right to use force against any country of Latin America for the recovery of debts.
The Conservative Party remained in the ascendency until 1916. In that year the Liberal Party succeeded in placing Hipolito Irigoyen in the Presidency. Despite complications with Germany in the World War by the sinking of Argentine ships and publication of the Luxburg dispatches, Irigoyen maintained the neutrality of his country. He was succeeded in 1922 by Alvear, but Irigoyen was again victorious in 1928. He was accused of arbitrary use of power, and on September 6, 1930, a military uprising headed by General Uriburu overthrew the government. This was the first revolution of any consequence in many years. On September 18 Uriburu became Provisional President until an election could be held, after which, on February 20, 1932, General Agustin P. Justo was inaugurated to serve for six years. During his administration, the Inter- American Conference for the Promotion of Peace was held in Buenos Aires, and settlement of the Bolivian-Paraguayan War over jurisdiction of the Chaco was made. President Roosevelt of the United States visited Buenos Aires on an American warship. In 1937 Ortiz was elected President to succeed Justo for a term of six years.
Though Great Britain has occupied the Falkland Islands since 1834, Argentina has never renounced her claim upon them. Argentina considers that the islands originally belonged to Spain by discovery and occupation. They were seized by France and then by England, but Spain regained them when by the Treaty of Paris (1763) which ended the Seven Years’ War, Great Britain in exchange for Florida and rights in British Honduras restored to Spain other possessions she had occupied such as Cuba, the Philippines, and others, presumably including the Falklands though they were not named. Reference is sometimes made to a treaty of January 26, 1761, by which England abandoned claims on the islands. When the Provinces of the River Plate achieved independence from Spain, the new government considered it had acquired title to the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands but they were not occupied. However, an English corvette appeared later at the islands and took possession by assertion of prior rights and occupation.
The question of jurisdiction of the River Plate has never been formally settled between Argentina and Uruguay. Argentina apparently believes that she has the right to complete jurisdiction over the River Plate based upon the assumption that the body of water was an inland sea originally entirely contained within the Viceroyalty of the River Plate of which Uruguay formed a part. Until Uruguay became free, that province had always been considered by Buenos Aires as a part of the United Provinces and generally referred to as the eastern shore. When Uruguay secured independence no boundary treaty with the United Provinces was executed. Argentina therefore apparently considers that she has never relinquished rights to complete jurisdiction of the River Plate defined as an inland sea or bay. This view gives Uruguay jurisdiction only so far as three miles from the low-water mark on her shores. Uruguay claims jurisdiction over her side of the River Plate to the thalweg or mid-channel. No concurrent jurisdiction has been considered by either party. In 1910 a diplomatic agreement between the two countries accepted continuance of the status quo with regard to the River Plate, but the status quo was not defined.
Argentina is the second country in South America in both size and population, exceeded only by Brazil. The capital, Buenos Aires, about 90 miles up the River Plate, has an estimated population of almost 2,500,000, the largest city in South America and containing about one- fifth of the population of the country. It is a beautiful city sometimes called “The Paris of South America.” It is about 5,900 nautical miles distant from New York, and in latitude is about equivalent to that of Cape Hatteras. It is practically directly west of the Cape of Good Hope. It has the largest refrigerating plant in the world. It is connected by the Trans-Andean Railway to Santiago, Chile. At the top of the Andes, near both the boundary and the railway, is the celebrated “Christ of the Andes,” a monument which bears the inscription: “Sooner shall these mountains crumble than the people of Argentina and Chile break the peace that they have sworn to preserve at the feet of Christ the Savior.”
The principal ports are Buenos Aires and its newly developed harbor at La Plata; Rosario, the Paraná River port; and Bahia Blanca, near which a naval station, the Puerto Militar, has been established.
The University of Buenos Aires was created in 1821.
Commercial aviation has progressed, and air lines are operated by Argentine Companies, by Air France, by the German Condor Syndicate, and by the United States Companies of Panair and Panagra. There are thus easy connections with the remainder of South America, with the United States, and with Europe.
Aconcagua, near the Chilean-Argentine border, almost 23,000 feet high, is the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere and is exceeded in the world only by Mount Everest.
Argentina is one of the few countries producing linseed and quebracho. Linseed is indispensable for paints, varnishes, oilcloth, printing, lithograph inks, and as a drying oil. Quebracho is the wood from which a preparation is extracted for the tanning of leather. In the United States effort is made to use extracts from oak and hemlock trees, but the supply cannot meet the demand and much quebracho extract is imported.
In 1937, Argentina’s balance of trade was:
Total Exports.......................... $757,776,000
Total Imports......................... $482,259,000
Exports to U.S........................ $ 96,686,717
Imports from U. S.................. $ 76,829,000
Since 1937, preliminary figures seem to indicate a considerable drop in exports to the United States, possibly due to trade conditions.
The chief exports as a whole in 1937 were corn, wheat, meat, hides and skins, wool, linseed, quebracho, and cotton. The United States was mainly interested in linseed, quebracho, corn, hides, wool, and canned meats. Argentina’s major imports from the United States were machinery and vehicles, fuels and lubricants, wood and manufactures of wood, iron and steel and manufactures thereof, and electrical apparatus, and in addition a long line of finished products and manufactured goods.
In 1937, Argentina’s markets among certain countries were, in percentages of Argentina’s total trade, as follows:
Exports sent to | Country | Imports received from |
29.1% | United Kingdom | 18.9% |
12.8% | United States | 16.4% |
6.8% | Germany | 10.4% |
6.2% | Italy | 5.5% |
1.1% | Japan | 3.3% |
The great names in Argentine history are San Martin, Belgrano, Moreno, Rivadavia, Urquiza, and Sarmiento. San Martin is the national hero. His military successes in Argentina, in Chile, and in Peru followed by his voluntary self- effacement after the meeting with Bolivar at Guayaquil show the depths of his personal devotion to a high cause. From 1824 until his death in 1850, he lived chiefly in France or in Belgium; but during that time he maintained a lively interest in South American affairs, as his published correspondence reveals. His tomb in Buenos Aires is the center around which national spirit revolves. On the anniversary of his death, August 17, memorial services in honor of San Martin are held annually by presidential decree.
[IMAGE]
Courtesy Pan American Union
CHRIST OF THE ANDES
“Sooner shall these mountains crumble than the people of Argentina and Chile break the peace that they have sworn to preserve at the feet of Christ the Savior.”