The Spanish colonies of La Plata were, from the conquest up to the
year 1776, annexed to the Viceroyalty of Peru, but in that year, the
same in which the revolted colonies of Great Britain declared themselves
an independent republic, King Charles III. of Spain created
by royal edict the Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires.
"Its limits extended from ten and a half degrees south latitude to
Tierra del Fuego, and from the Cordillera of the Andes to the hills
from whence flow the upper affluents of the Paraguay, Paranà, and
Uruguay; this immense line terminating at the opening where the
Rio Grande de San Pedro falls into the sea. This territory, equal to
a quarter part of the whole of South America, comprehended the
most beautiful fluvial system of the world, and might compete in
fertility, riches, and natural beauties with the finest empire of the
universe. It contained within its limits six out of the seven climates
into which Humboldt has divided the globe—from the region where
bloom the cinnamon and the spice-trees to far beyond the agricultural
countries; thus it produced all that man requires for his sustenance,
comfort, and delight."[14]
The first Viceroy, Don Pedro de Ceballos, landed at Buenos Aires
on the 15th October, 1777; the last actual Viceroy was deposed by
the people of Buenos Aires on the 25th May, 1810.
The Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires was divided into several provinces
and "intendencias," which later on became provinces. Of the Viceroyalty
Buenos Aires was the capital city, being the seat of the Viceregal
government, and the general residence of the Viceroy. The
province of Buenos Aires was thus under the immediate rule of the
Viceroy. The other provinces were ruled by governors appointed
by him, but were in their internal administration, completely independent
of Buenos Aires.
The Spanish colonial system, not only prohibited direct commercial
intercourse with foreign nations, but also imposed great restrictions
upon the intercourse of the several provinces with each other, the aim
of Spanish rule, being to secure the dependence of each separate
colony upon herself.
The whole of these provinces were independent colonies, bound
together only by their common allegiance to Spain, under the rule of
one Viceroy. The conquest of Spain by Napoleon destroyed the
only bond which held these provinces together.
The several events which followed the capture of Buenos Aires by
Beresford in the year 1806, and which it is the object of this book to
elucidate, gradually raised the citizens of Buenos Aires from a state
of blind subservience to Spanish rule, taught them their strength, and
accustomed them to criticise the acts of their rulers. Thus the revolution
of the 25th May, 1810, was nothing more to them than the
spontaneous outburst of popular will, a will which they had already
exercised on previous occasions with most glorious results. But the
provinces had undergone no such training. Thus, when the conquest
of Spain was apparently complete, and the whole Viceroyalty was left
without any legal authority, the citizens of Buenos Aires did not hesitate
as to what they should do. They saw at once that the appointment
of a new government rested with themselves, and, taking such
means of expressing their will as they had already in other cases found
efficient, they named the Junta Gubernativa. But upon the provinces
the news of the conquest of Spain fell as a thunderbolt. The fall of
Spain left them at the mercy of any ruler who should call upon them
to obey.
Such was the condition of the masses of the Argentine people on
the 25th May, 1810, but both in Buenos Aires and in the provincial
cities, there was a small minority of educated men who had learned
and had accepted with eagerness, the principles inculcated by the
revolutionary leaders of France. "Le Contrat Social" and "Les
Droits de l'Homme" were for these men the gospel.[15] It was they
who directed the popular enthusiasm of Buenos Aires to one definite
object, the establishment of a Junta composed for the most part of
men of Argentine birth; it was they who throughout the provinces
echoed the cry of "Liberty" raised by the patriots of the capital.
"The new government lost no time in propagating the revolution
throughout the Viceroyalty, inviting the towns to follow the example
of Buenos Aires, to appoint popular assemblies, and to name deputies
to form a congress, which should decide their future fate. Where the
people were free to express their opinions the vote was unanimous.
Maldonado and Colonia, in the Banda Oriental; Las Misiones and
Corrientes, La Bajada and Santa Fè, along the rivers; San Luis, in
the interior of the Pampas; Mendoza and San Juan, at the foot of
the Andes; Salta and Tucuman, on the confines of Upper Peru,
answered the call of the capital; Chili soon afterwards following the
same example."[16]
The revolution of the 25th May, 1810, was the work exclusively of
the citizens of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires took upon herself the
responsibility of the step, and spared neither blood nor treasure to
secure to herself and to the Argentine people, that liberty which she
was the first to proclaim in South America as the birthright of man.
Throughout the provinces there were many friendly to the cause, but
there were also many who were not so, and more still who looked on
with perfect apathy, and were ready to accept as their rulers any who
might claim the sceptre which had fallen from the hands of Spain.
To secure the triumph of her friends, Buenos Aires fitted out an
army composed of volunteers, equipped by private subscription, and
despatched it into the provinces. From Cordova this army marched
to the borders of Upper Peru, under the command of Don Antonio
Balcarce, defeated Goyeneche and other Spanish generals in several
actions, shot General Nieto and other chiefs, and completely freed
the Arribeño provinces from Spanish rule. The revolution advanced
in every direction, Chili entered into strict alliance with the Junta of
Buenos Aires, and sent a contingent of troops, and the auxiliary army,
again victorious at Suipacha, menaced with destruction the last remnants
of the Spanish army of Upper Peru.
A second expedition was also despatched to Paraguay under the
command of Don Manuel Belgrano, who received the grade of
general. Belgrano crossed the Paranà on the 19th December, putting
to flight a small force under Colonel Thompson, which opposed
his passage, and occupied the town of Itapùa.
But there was one exception to this general success which attended
the first measures of the Revolutionary Junta. General Don Francisco
Elio, Governor of Monte Video under the late Viceroy Cisneros, was
appointed in his place Viceroy of Buenos Aires by the new Regency
of Cadiz. Until the receipt of this appointment Elio had given a
favourable hearing to the emissaries of the Junta Gubernativa, but he
now insisted upon their recognition of his authority, and, finding his
friendly overtures rejected, declared war against Buenos Aires, and
despatched the Spanish squadron to blockade that port. The
authority of Spain was for a time re-established throughout the Banda
Oriental, but the blockade of Buenos Aires, after lasting three months,
was raised in November, through the intervention of Lord Strangford,
who considered the Junta Gubernativa, who ruled in the name of
King Ferdinand, as the allies of Great Britain.
So ended the year 1810. During the seven months which had
elapsed since the revolution of the 25th May, many reforms had been
introduced into the administration, chiefly through the influence of
Dr Don Mariano Moreno, secretary to the Junta Gubernativa, but
even his far-seeing intellect did not fully comprehend the magnitude
of the task Buenos Aires had taken upon herself.
The first aim of the patriots was to procure the concurrence of all
the different provinces of the Viceroyalty. The next necessity was
to organise some entirely new form of government, which should
amalgamate these different provinces into one people. The history
of the Argentine Republic for the next six years, is the record of
struggles for these two objects, and of resistance against the attempts
of Spain to re-establish her authority.
The cry of "Liberty" raised in Buenos Aires on the 25th May,
1810, had resounded throughout the Western Hemisphere, awakening
responsive echoes in the hearts of the down-trodden colonists of Spain.
Venezuela and Mexico had arisen against their oppressors, Chili
had declared for the revolution, Peru alone remained faithful to
Spain, and Peruvian troops marched under the Spanish flag against
the patriot armies of Buenos Aires. But in Buenos Aires only had
the champions of liberty any secure footing, to Buenos Aires alone
could the enslaved peoples of America look for the full achievement
of their freedom.
Paraguay had suffered more than any other province of the Viceroyalty
from the tyrannical exactions of Spanish rulers, but the rule of
Velazco, the then governor, was extremely popular, and General
Belgrano with his small army, instead of meeting with a friendly
reception, found the whole country in arms against the Porteños; the
country people fled before him, driving off their horses and cattle,
leaving nothing behind them that could in any way assist his progress,
but without venturing to molest him.
Through forests and swamps Belgrano forced his way with infinite
labour to within eighteen leagues of Asuncion, where, at Paraguay, on
the 19th January, 1811, he with 800 men attacked the Paraguayan
army under Velazco, which numbered 9000. The impetuous valour
of the volunteers at first carried all before them, but, disordered by
success, one part of them was surrounded by overwhelming numbers
and cut to pieces, and the rest under the immediate command of
Belgrano were forced to retire. On the banks of the Tacuari, Belgrano
halted with the remnant of his small army, was there attacked by a
pursuing column of 3000 men, repulsed them, and then offered to
retire across the Paranà if allowed to march unmolested, saying it was
not his object to conquer Paraguay.
In a lengthened conference Belgrano fully explained his views to
the Paraguayan generals and officers, his proposition was accepted, he
recrossed the Paranà, but the object of his expedition was achieved.
Soon after his retreat the Paraguayans rose against their Spanish
rulers, deposed them, and placed the government in the hands of a
triumvirate of natives. Of this triumvirate Dr Francia, a lawyer of
Asuncion, was the leader, a man of considerable mental attainments
and of great suavity of address, but withal of an iron will and of a
most ruthless disposition. Before long he had made himself the sole
ruler of Paraguay, and presently, seeing that anarchy was gradually
spreading over the other provinces of the late Viceroyalty, he cut off
all intercourse between Paraguay and the rest of the world.
Early in 1811 the campaña of the Banda Oriental rose in rebellion
against the Spanish Viceroy; the Junta of Buenos Aires sent an army
to aid the movement. To Belgrano, recalled from the frontiers
of Paraguay, was entrusted at first the command of this army, but
he was soon superseded by General Rondeau, who was by birth an
Oriental.
Josè Artigas had commenced life as an estanciero, and had obtained
great fame and influence among the paisanos of the Banda Oriental,
till the Government of Monte Video, finding themselves unable otherwise
to put a stop to depredations upon the revenue, entrusted him
with the task of suppressing contraband trade; his influence with the
paisanage became greater than ever. In February, 1811, he put
himself at the head of the popular outbreak, marched with his
"gauchos" upon Monte Video, won the first victory of the war at
Las Piedras, and then, joining the army of Rondeau, assisted him in
laying siege to Monte Video.
The Princess Carlota of Brazil sent an army of 4000 Portuguese in
aid of the Viceroy. Then peace was made in November, 1811, but
was of no long duration. Josè Artigas took umbrage at the slow
retreat of the Portuguese, and made war upon them with his light
cavalry on his own account. Again the Government of Buenos Aires
sent an army to aid him, and secured the retreat of the Portuguese by
concluding a separate peace with them, after which, in October, 1812,
Rondeau again laid siege to Monte Video.
On the 31st December the garrison sallied out, under the command
of Vigodet, who had succeeded Elio in command, and attacked the
principal position of the besiegers at the Cerrito. The sortie was at
first successful, but the day was retrieved by the gallantry of Colonel
Soler, who with the 6th regiment recaptured the Cerrito at the point
of the bayonet, and drove the garrison back with heavy loss into the
city.
After this, Artigas left the whole work of the siege to the Porteños,
named himself the military Governor of the Banda Oriental, and sent
deputies chosen by himself to the "Constituent Assembly" of Buenos
Aires. The assembly refused to admit his deputies, on the ground
that they were not legally elected; whereupon Artigas declared war
against Buenos Aires, and sent emissaries into Entre Rios, Corrientes,
and Santa Fè, seeking to stir up the people of those provinces against
the "Government of the Porteños."
At this time, the Government of Spain sent out to Monte Video a
reinforcement of 2200 men. Thus, when in January, 1814, Don Gervacio
Posadas was appointed Supreme Director of the united provinces,
he found himself with two wars upon his hands in the Banda Oriental.
The Argentine army, aided by Artigas, had been unable to capture
Monte Video, the garrison of that city was now much stronger than
before, and Artigas was actively engaged in cutting off the supplies of
the besieging army. Don Juan de Larrea, a Spaniard by birth, and
one of the members of the Junta Gubernativa appointed on the 25th
May, 1810, was the man to whom belongs the credit of overcoming
these difficulties. Up to this time the Spanish fleet had held the
command of the estuary of La Plata; the Government of Buenos Aires,
inspired by Larrea, now fitted out some small merchant vessels as
men-of-war, and, placing them under the command of an Irishman
named William Brown, determined to dispute this supremacy.
The Spanish fleet was at that time divided into two squadrons, one
stationed at Martin Garcia, an island which commands the entrance
to the rivers Uruguay and Paranà, the other stationed at Monte Video.
Brown sailed in the first place against Martin Garcia, but was beaten
off by the Spanish squadron with heavy loss. He returned to Buenos
Aires for the purpose of refitting and procuring reinforcements, after
which he again approached the island, and, landing his crews, captured
it on the 16th March, 1814. The Spanish squadron fled up the Uruguay,
and placed themselves under the protection of Josè Artigas.
Brown then sailed for Monte Video, attacked the Spanish squadron
there on the 14th May, and after a desperate conflict against very
superior numbers, gained a complete victory, and blockaded the city.
On the 8th May General Alvear crossed the river from Buenos
Aires with 3000 men, and with this reinforcement took command of
the besieging army. On the 20th June Monte Video, closely invested
by land and sea, surrendered. The trophies of this victory were 3500
prisoners, eight standards, 545 guns, and 8200 muskets.
Artigas, on hearing of the surrender, immediately advanced upon
Monte Video, but his lieutenant, Otorguez, a caudillo of infamous
repute, was twice defeated by a small force detached against him
under the command of Colonel Dorrego, but Dorrego was in his turn
completely defeated at Guayabo by Don Fructuoso Rivera, in consequence
of which, the Government of the united provinces entered into
an arrangement with Artigas. On the 24th February, 1815, Artigas
took peaceable possession of Monte Video, the Argentine army returned
to Buenos Aires, and the Banda Oriental became an independent state.
The auxiliary army of the north after its first successes, took the name
of "the army of Upper Peru," and, under the command of Colonel
Diaz Velez, penetrated victoriously to the confines of the province of
Cuzco, but was on the 20th June, 1811, surprised by Goyeneche at the
Desaguadero and totally routed. The remains of the army, under the
command of Don Juan Martin Puyrredon, made good their retreat, in
defiance of all the efforts of the Spaniards to stop them, to the city of
Salta. Here Puyrredon and Diaz Velez again attempted to make
head against the enemy, but their vanguard was defeated at Nazareno
and they were compelled to retreat upon Tucuman. On the march
they were joined by General Belgrano, who had been recalled by
Government from the Banda Oriental and appointed to the command
of this army, at the request of General Puyrredon, whose health was
much shattered by the hardships through which he had passed.
On the 26th March, 1812, Belgrano took the command of the army
of Upper Peru, which was no longer an army but a disorganised, half
armed mob, with a very small supply of ammunition, consisting of
barely 1500 men, one fourth of whom were sick. The retreat of
Goyeneche gave him time to form an army on the basis of this remnant;
again he advanced into the neighbourhood of Salta. Government,
too much occupied by the war in the Banda Oriental to send him
any effective reinforcement, sent him positive orders to retreat to
Cordova. To these orders he paid no attention, till Goyeneche, after
quelling an insurrection in Cochabamba, despatched General Tristan
with an army of 3000 men to attack him.
In August Belgrano commenced his retreat from Jujui, closely pursued
by the Spanish vanguard, till on the 3rd September they drove
in his rearguard under Diaz Velez at Las Piedras, upon which he
turned on them with his whole army and totally routed them. The
success of this skirmish so greatly encouraged his men, that Belgrano,
disregarding renewed orders to retreat to Cordova, determined to
halt at Tucuman. The inhabitants of this city received him with
acclamations, and some of the principal citizens raised a contingent of
"gaucho" cavalry among the paisanos for his assistance.
On the 24th September Tristan marched past the city of Tucuman
with the idea of cutting off the retreat of Belgrano and compelling him
to surrender. Belgrano sallied out and attacked him; he himself at
the head of his gaucho allies broke through the Spanish line and
assailed them in the rear, while his infantry completely routed their
centre, capturing five guns and three standards. The left wing of the
Spanish army stood firm, but the next day Tristan beat a precipitate
retreat, having lost 450 killed and 700 prisoners; the loss of the
patriots was 80 killed and 200 wounded.
The news of this victory excited the greatest enthusiasm in Buenos
Aires; then in January, 1813, came the news of the victory of the
Cerrito, and in February the victory of San Lorenzo. Fortune seemed
again to smile upon the patriot cause.
Colonel San Martin, since his arrival in Buenos Aires in 1812, had
been actively engaged in organising a regiment of cuirassiers, known
to history as the mounted grenadiers famous in the campaigns of
Chili and Peru. Their first exploit was the affair of San Lorenzo,
where they cut to pieces a detachment of Spaniards who had landed
from the squadron.
After the victory of Tucuman, Belgrano received reinforcements
until he had 3000 troops under his command, exclusive of the gaucho
cavalry of Tucuman, who scoured the whole country round, and
greatly harassed the Spanish general, Tristan, in his endeavours to
reorganize his routed army.
Up to this time the patriot armies had fought under the Spanish
flag. Previous to taking command of the army of Peru, Belgrano had
been for a short time stationed at Rosario, where he had adopted a
new flag for his troops, two horizontal stripes of blue and one of white,
with the national arms embroidered in the centre of the white stripe.
For this proceeding he had incurred the censure of the Government,
and had withdrawn his flag, saying that he should keep it concealed
until he could adorn it with the laurels of victory.
In February, 1813, Belgrano marched from Tucuman; on the
banks of the Rio Pasages, in the province of Salta, he halted his
army on the 13th February, and hoisting the blue-and-white flag upon
a flag-staff, administered to the whole army an oath of obedience to
the "Sovereign Assembly," from which imposing ceremony that river
bore afterwards the name of the "Rio del Juramento." Belgrano
stood beside the new standard, and drawing his sword held it across
the staff, while every officer and soldier of the army came up and kissed
this military cross as he took the oath. This standard was afterwards
adopted by the nation, and is to-day the national flag of the Argentine
Republic.
From the Rio del Juramento the patriot army marched upon Salta,
where Tristan was then stationed with 3500 men. In the neighbourhood
of this city the two armies met on the 20th February; the battle
was hotly contested, but at length the Spaniards were driven in disorder
back into the city, where the whole army surrendered that afternoon,
but after laying down their arms were permitted by Belgrano with
misplaced generosity, to retire to Peru.
The losses in this battle were about equal, 600 killed and wounded
in each army. The trophies of the victory were three standards, ten
guns, and the whole of the arms and baggage of the royal army.
Goyeneche, who was at Potosi with 4000 men, retired precipitately
on the news of this disaster, and throwing up his command was succeeded
by Pezuela.
Belgrano made but slight use of his victory, and spent months at
Potosi organising schools, while the royalists recovered from their
panic and organised an army. Of his supineness Pezuela took every
advantage, and, having assembled about 4000 men, advanced in the
spring upon Potosi. Belgrano awaited him on the table-land of Vilcapugio,
where he was attacked by Pezuela on the 1st October. The
patriots, advancing with their usual impetuosity, at first carried all
before them, but through an ill-understood order were seized with a
sudden panic and suffered a total defeat. Belgrano lost the whole of
his guns and baggage, but saved his standard, and four days afterwards
established his headquarters at Macha with a remnant of his army.
In a month's time Belgrano had succeeded in again assembling
about 3000 men, while the victorious royalists were held in check by
the gaucho cavalry which swarmed all around their position. In
November Pezuela again advanced and again defeated the patriots at
Ayouma, Belgrano retiring from the hard-fought field with only 400
infantry and eighty cavalry.
Belgrano retreated to Jujui, where he succeeded in collecting 1800
men, but on the approach of Pezuela he evacuated that city, and
continued his retreat to Tucuman, where he was met by considerable
reinforcements, including the mounted grenadiers of San Martin, who
was named second in command.
Worn out with sickness and reverses, Belgrano applied to be relieved
of his command, and in January, 1814, resigned it into the
hands of General San Martin, who, establishing his headquarters at
Tucuman, applied himself diligently to reorganising the army, and
constructed an entrenched camp to the north of the city. Pezuela
reoccupied Jujui and Salta, but the two victories gained by Belgrano
had so roused the spirit of the people, that the paisanos rose in mass
against the invaders, and under Arenales and Güemes prevented any
further advance of the royalists.
In this year 1814, the revolution in Chili was completely crushed
by the defeat of the patriots at Rancagua. San Martin gave up the
command of the army of Peru to General Rondeau, and, marching
with his mounted grenadiers and a small force of infantry to Mendoza,
set to work to collect and organise the immortal "army of the
Andes."
Rondeau, advancing from Tucuman, retook Salta and Jujui, but was
afterwards totally defeated at Sipe-Sipe by Pezuela, on the 29th
November, 1815, and retreated to Jujui.
Such is a slight sketch of the military achievements and reverses of
the Argentine patriots, during the first six years of the era of liberty.
But not against external foes alone had they to contend, even yet a
more formidable foe, was the ignorance of the most enlightened among
them of the first principles of popular sovereignty. The principles of
representative government, then but partially understood even in England,
were by the Argentine people understood not at all. Further,
the Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires comprised a host of discordant elements,
which only the most consummate skill could weld at once into
one homogeneous people.
The Junta Gubernativa had not been long in power before it became
divided into two parties, Conservatives and Democrats. The
latter, under the leadership of Dr Moreno, represented the revolution;
they were for completely changing the whole system of government,
and to themselves made no secret that their ultimate aim was the
establishment of an independent republic on the democratic basis
of the sovereignty of the people. The Conservatives, of whom Don
Cornelio Saavedra was the head, aimed at nothing more than continuing
the government under the old forms, but independent of
Spain, until such time as Ferdinand VII. might again exercise his
royal authority. Such reforms as were forced upon them they accepted,
but they made no attempt to direct public opinion to any
definite end, they had no fixed policy whatever, and thus the measures
of the Junta were directed exclusively by the more active Democrats,
until in the month of March, 1811, twelve deputies named by the
Cabildos of as many provincial towns arrived in Buenos Aires.
These provincial deputies, in spite of the opposition of Dr Moreno,
were incorporated with the Junta itself, and gave an overwhelming
majority to the Conservatives, who, not content with this triumph,
stirred up a popular commotion for the purpose of crushing the
Democrats. The result was the expulsion of four of the leading
Democrats from the Junta, after which the provinces were directed
to form Juntas of their own.
In September the form of government was again changed by the
authority of the Cabildo. The Junta was resolved into a deliberative
assembly, whose functions were very obscure, and the executive was
entrusted to a triumvirate, Chiclana, Passo, and Sarratea. To this
triumvirate Don Bernardina Rivadavia acted as secretary, and his
clear intellect infused itself into every measure adopted.
The provincial Juntas and the Junta of the capital were abolished,
and the triumvirate, under the name of "The Superior Provisional
Government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata," commenced
a vigorous policy of centralisation, with a view to putting an
end to the disorder which had crept into every branch of the
administration. Among other decrees was one establishing liberty of
the press.
The only check upon the power of the triumvirate was an assembly
of "Notables" chosen by the Cabildo. This assembly had the right
of appointing a successor to an outgoing triumvir every six months.
On the occasion of the first election their choice fell upon Don Juan
Martin Puyrredon, who was at that time absent in the interior. The
triumvirate denied their right to appoint a deputy to represent him
until his return to the capital, they insisted, the assembly was dissolved,
and the whole powers of government were assumed by the triumvirate.
But the Argentine people, in accepting the revolution of the 25th
May, had delegated their power to an executive, only until the meeting
of a sovereign congress. The triumvirate convened a new
assembly elected by the Cabildos of the capital and of the provincial
towns, which was far from representing the people, and was in no
sense a congress.
At this time there existed in London a secret society, composed
entirely of men born in Spanish America, organised by General Don
Francisco Miranda of Venezuela, with the object of working out the
independence of the Spanish colonies of America. Three members
of this society, Josè de San Martin, Carlos Maria de Alvear, and Josè
Matias Zapiola, all Argentines by birth, arrived in Buenos Aires on
the 13th March, 1812, in the British ship George Canning. They at
once proceeded to form a branch of this society under the name of
"Los Caballeros Racionales," and found many eager adherents
among the more advanced Democrats of the capital.
Taking advantage of the popular discontent with the measures of
the triumvirate the "Caballeros Racionales" stirred up a commotion,
and a fresh revolution in September placed the executive in the hands
of a new triumvirate, consisting of:
Dr Don Juan Jose Passo,
Don Nicolas Rodriguez Peña,
Antonio Alvarez Jonte,
all of whom belonged to the Democratic party.
"The eternal captivity of Ferdinand VII., has destroyed the last
rights of Spain."
Such were the words with which the new Government commenced
their first address to the Argentine people. They cast aside at once
the fiction of loyalty to a foreign king, and claimed to govern only by
the will of the people.
In accordance with this programme they devised a new plan of
electing the deputies to the assembly. Each town or city was divided
into eight electoral districts; in each district the citizens voted "viva
voce" for an "elector"; the eight "electors" so chosen by each city
named the deputy or deputies who should represent that city. Buenos
Aires, as the capital, had the right of sending four deputies to the
assembly, the capital of each province two, and all other towns one each.
This was an immense advance upon the old system of leaving the
right of naming deputies to the Cabildos, and produced a very fair
representation of the urban population of the united provinces, but
the rights of the rural population were entirely overlooked.
"The General Constituent Assembly" was inaugurated on the 31st
January, 1813. Without proclaiming the independence of the united
provinces, they yet took to themselves the supreme power, substituting
the national arms for those of Spain; a national flag for the flag of
Spain; suppressing all laws and customs which in any way recognised
Spanish tribunals as courts of appeal; abolished the Inquisition and
judicial torture; gave liberty to all children born of slave parents
after that date; and in the service of the Litany substituted a prayer
for the "Sovereign Assembly of the United Provinces" in place of
the one previously offered on behalf of the King. Further, they
decreed that all Europeans, whether ecclesiastics, civilians, or soldiers,
who should not within fifteen days become citizens should forfeit
any employment they held under Government.
In January, 1814, the assembly determined upon another great step,
they abolished the triumvirate and placed Don Gervacio Posadas at
the head of the state, with the title of "Supreme Director of the United
Provinces," but after holding office for one year Posadas resigned, and
Don Carlos Maria de Alvear was named Supreme Director.
Alvear owed his election to the influence of the "Caballeros
Racionales," of which secret society he was President, but he was disliked
both by the mass of the people and by the army.
The position of the united provinces was at this time very critical;
the fall of Napoleon had set Ferdinand at liberty, he was again King
of Spain, and was preparing at Cadiz an expedition of 15,000 men
for the purpose of reconquering the revolted colonies of La Plata.
Alvear despaired of securing the independence of the united provinces,
but five years of revolutionary rule had inspired the entire Argentine
people with a hatred of Spain; he determined to place them under the
protectorate of Great Britain. With this object he chose two ambassadors,
Don Manuel Belgrano and Don Bernardino Rivadavia, whom
he despatched to London with credentials to the Court of Saint James,
and with a despatch addressed to the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, in which, after describing the disorder into which everything had
fallen from the inaptitude of the people for self-government, he said:
"These provinces wish to belong to Great Britain, to adopt her
laws, to obey her Government, and to live under her powerful influence.
They deliver themselves unconditionally to the generosity and good
faith of the English people."
The two ambassadors reached London in March, 1815, only to find
Europe in a fresh commotion produced by the return of Napoleon
from Elba. This unforeseen event, put an end to the expedition in
preparation at Cadiz; greatly improved the position of Charles IV.,
ex-King of Spain, who still asserted his right to the crown of Spain,
and was then living in retirement at Rome; and utterly precluded
any hope that the British Government would adopt any policy in
opposition to the interests of Ferdinand.
The two ambassadors never presented their credentials to the Court
of Saint James, and, in conjunction with Sarratea, who was at that time
agent in Europe for the Government of the united provinces, addressed
themselves, instead, to the ex-King Charles, offering to bestow the crown
of Buenos Aires upon his adopted son the Infante Don Francisco de
Paula. Waterloo put an end to this negotiation, Rivadavia went to
Spain to endeavour to treat with Ferdinand, and Belgrano returned to
Buenos Aires.
Belgrano was no great genius, either as a military man or as a politician,
but he was a hard-working, honest patriot; loving his country,
and ready to make any personal sacrifice in her service, he aspired to
no dignities and was careless of all emolument; he devoted his life and
his energies to securing the independence of the Argentine people.
But he was also a deep thinker, and foresaw that the anarchy which
was spreading over the united provinces threatened evils even worse
than the tyranny of Spain. During his residence in England, he had
seen that the liberty of the people was perfectly compatible with
monarchial institutions; he returned to Buenos Aires, convinced that
the establishment of a monarchy was the only means by which order
and liberty could be at once secured to the Argentine people.
During the campaign of Tucuman he had entered into friendly
relations with various Indian chieftains of the interior, among them
he now proposed to search for a lineal descendant of Atahualpa, for
the purpose of re-establishing the Empire of the Incas. In this purpose
he found many willing to join him, but the Argentine people,
jealous of their new-born liberty, looked upon the project as a dream.
The necessities of Government had compelled them to many
extreme and arbitrary measures for the replenishing of the exhausted
treasury. Of these measures the Spanish residents of Buenos Aires
were the especial victims. Early in the year 1812 the capital was
almost drained of troops by the large reinforcements despatched to
the army in the Banda Oriental, and the Spanish residents, headed by
Don Martin Alzaga, entered into a conspiracy together, their object
being to seize the city, put to death all the principal Argentine leaders,
and to set up a new government in connection with the Spanish Cortes
then assembled at Cadiz. To further their scheme they entered into
a correspondence with the Princess Carlota of Brazil, and the Portuguese
army, which had received orders to retire from the Banda
Oriental, delayed its retreat in pursuance of secret instructions, and
was held in readiness to support the conspirators if they should succeed
in gaining possession of the capital.
Until the eve of the outbreak, the Government was in complete
ignorance of the danger, but immediately on the discovery of the conspiracy
adopted the most vigorous measures of suppression. Thirty
of the principal conspirators, including Don Martin Alzaga, were shot,
and their bodies hung upon gibbets, seventy-eight of less note were
condemned to minor punishments, and the danger was thus averted.
The authors of the revolution of the 25th May, 1810, had sought to
establish a new government upon the democratic basis of the sovereignty
of the people. Many of them were men of great intellectual
attainments, but they had adopted the ideas of the revolutionary
leaders of France, in the full persuasion that that form of government,
which is in theory the best, must necessarily be the best in practice.
The failure of democracy in France had not opened their eyes to the
fact that a government, to be securely based upon the will of the
people, must be constructed in conformity with the traditions, circumstances,
and instincts of the people.
The first five years of revolutionary government were thus a series
of political experiments, a series of abortive attempts to govern a
number of distinct provinces by schemes of administration, which
might have been fully adequate for the government of the small
republics of ancient Greece, or of the Italian cities of the middle ages,
when each city was a separate state, but were totally inadequate for
the government of an immense territory, peopled chiefly by herdsmen
and shepherds. They totally failed to give the people any adequate
means of expressing their will, and the result was that during these
years the people, who had responded eagerly to the cry of liberty,
interpreted in their own way the theory of popular sovereignty.
The nature of the country and the traditions and instincts of the
people all inclined them to an aristocratic form of government; the
attempt to form an administration on a democratic basis was consequently
a complete failure.
The mass of the Argentine people were herdsmen and shepherds,
who lived scattered over immense plains, who were yet in a state of
semi-barbarism; the theory of the sovereignty of the people was
interpreted to mean that each man had a right to choose his own
ruler. The qualities which they could most fully appreciate were
dauntless courage, a strong seat on horseback, and a ruthless will.
Men possessed of such qualifications were those to whom they would
naturally look as their leaders, and to whom they were ready to yield
the most unquestioning obedience; but men like these were not the
men to work cordially with the authors of the revolution in the regeneration
of their country. Thus the leading Democrats, almost ignoring
the existence of the mass of the people, except when they looked
to them for aid against the Spaniards, sought only the co-operation of
the towns and cities in their attempts to form a national government.
The revolution of the 25th May, 1810, was exclusively the work of
the citizens of Buenos Aires. The nucleus of all the armies which
fought in the subsequent campaigns was formed of the militia of
Buenos Aires; the Patricios, and other regiments levied in Buenos
Aires, bore the brunt in every conflict. It was the militia of Buenos
Aires who marched with Belgrano through the dense woods and endless
swamps of Paraguay, and held their own against the overwhelming
odds of fourteen to one. It was the militia of Buenos Aires who
kept the Portuguese armies in check in the Banda Oriental, laid siege
to Monte Video, where the garrison outnumbered them three to one,
gained the victory of the Cerrito, and eventually compelled the surrender
of the city. It was the militia of Buenos Aires who penetrated
with Balcarce, Diaz Velez, Puyrredon, and Belgrano to the confines
of Upper Peru. It was the militia of Buenos Aires who decided with
their bayonets the fields of Suipacha, Tucuman, and Salta; they stood
round Belgrano and the blue-and-white standard among the rocks
on that dismal night which followed the rout of Vilcapugio; they
retreated with him from the still more disastrous field of Ayouma.
Argentines from other provinces, Paz, Arenales, Martin Güemes, and
many others, vied with their comrades from Buenos Aires in gallantry
and endurance on many a hard-fought field; on two occasions Belgrano
saved the remnant of his army solely through the devoted
bravery of his "gaucho" allies of the interior, but in every conflict
the brunt fell upon the infantry of Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires not only furnished the nucleus to every army, but
her citizens impoverished themselves to provide by voluntary contributions
for the support and equipment of these armies, while her
trade was harassed, and at times destroyed, by the hostility of the
Spanish cruisers. Of all the cities of the interior, Tucuman alone
displayed equal patriotism, equal zeal for the cause of all.
But Buenos Aires in return for the great sacrifices she made,
claimed for herself the chief place in the direction of affairs. The
Cabildo of Buenos Aires took upon itself on more than one occasion
the right of nominating the Government which ruled in the name of
the Argentine people. The "Constituent Assembly" of the year
1813 was the first legislative body which in any degree represented
the united provinces. This assembly soon fell under the influence of
the secret society, then known as "Los Caballeros Racionales," and
later on as "La Sociedad de Lautaro."
The provincial jealousy of Buenos Aires, which almost disappeared
in the first burst of enthusiasm that welcomed the cry of "Liberty"
raised by Buenos Aires on the 25th May, 1810, soon revived; the
provincial cities began to ask themselves whether the domination of
Buenos Aires, the domination of a secret and irresponsible society,
was not worse than the domination of Spain. The disastrous issue of
some of the campaigns, and the continued demands upon them for
supplies, exhausted their patience. Then rose up a new power in the
state, to which both the provincial cities and Buenos Aires, had hitherto
given but slight attention—the people.
The army of Peru under Rondeau, the army of the Andes under
San Martin, refused to obey the orders of a Government which was
merely the mouth-piece of a clique. In their dilemma the citizens of
Buenos Aires looked about for a deliverer who should free them from
a despotism which threatened them with the loss of all for which they
had fought. Their gaze fell upon the new power which had risen up
amongst them, they appealed to the people.
In the year 1815 Josè Artigas stood forth prominently as "the man
of the people." The people were in a state of semi-barbarism. He
himself was little better, but he understood them, knew how to attract
their sympathies to himself, and how to rule over them. The Banda
Oriental, Entre Rios, and Corrientes obeyed him. In answer to the
appeal of the citizens of Buenos Aires, he crossed the Parana into Santa
Fè with the pompous title of "Chief of the Orientales and Protector of
the Free Peoples." The men of Santa Fè received him as their
deliverer. Cordova declared herself independent of Buenos Aires.
The people, knowing nothing of representative Government, chose
for themselves their leaders, and prepared to yield them unlimited
obedience. In every province there rose up petty chieftains, ruling
with absolute sway over their followers, ready for any sacrifice to
defend their country against Spain, equally ready to defend their provincial
rights against the domination of Buenos Aires. These popular
chieftains throughout the provinces hailed Artigas as their champion.
Alvear bestirred himself against this new enemy, and despatched an
army to drive him from the province of Santa Fè. But on the frontier
of Buenos Aires this army joined the popular movement, and fraternised
with the barbaric hordes of Artigas. Then the citizens of Buenos
Aires arose and decreed the downfall of the Government, the assembly
was dissolved, and Alvear took refuge on board a foreign vessel anchored
in the roadstead.
The Argentine people were left without a government, and, in presence
of the anarchy which prevailed, without any legal means of
appointing one. Again Buenos Aires put herself forward as the arbiter
of the destinies of the nation. The Cabildo of Buenos Aires resumed
to itself the powers of government, and decreed the election by the
citizens of Buenos Aires of a "Junta de Observacion," which should
form a provisional government until the convention of a sovereign
congress. This Junta named General Rondeau, then in command of
the army of Upper Peru, Supreme Director.
The new Government found itself face to face with three distinct
enemies, Spain, the provinces, the people. Two provinces of the
old Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires, Paraguay and the Banda Oriental,
were now completely independent of Buenos Aires; every other
province had an equal right to such independence; Cordova and
Santa Fè utterly refused to recognise the new government; Entre
Rios and Corrientes had chosen a ruler for themselves, and obeyed
the orders of Josè Artigas. The people everywhere, weary of the
exactions of the nominees of the capital, looked to Josè Artigas as
their champion.
Artigas, obeying the universal law which impels "the man of the
people" to become a despot, sought only to consolidate and extend
his own power.
The Government, after a vain attempt to come to some definite
arrangement with Artigas, concluded a truce with him. He retired
across the Parana, and they despatched an army to occupy Santa Fè.
But this Army was compelled to capitulate to the "Montonera," or
"gaucho" cavalry of Santa Fè. A second army, stationed at Rosario,
revolted, and demanded the resignation of the Supreme Director. The
Government yielded, the "Junta de Observacion" named General
Antonio Gonsalez Balcarce, Supreme Director, and the army of Buenos
Aires was withdrawn from Santa Fè.
The only hope now of putting an end to this anarchy lay in the
assembling of a sovereign congress, in which all the provinces should
be duly represented.
On the 24th March, 1816, this congress was convened at Tucuman,
the mass of the Argentine people looking on with supreme indifference.
At the same time Artigas amused himself by convening a Federal
congress of his own at Paysandu in the Banda Oriental.
Each province sent deputies to the Congress of Tucuman in proportion
to its estimated population, and some attempt was made to
procure the representation of the campaña. Buenos Aires sent seven
deputies; Cordova, five; Chuquisaca, four; Tucuman, three; Catamarca,
Santiago del Estero, Mendoza, and Salta, two each; La Rioja,
San Luis, San Juan, Misque, Cochabamba, and Jujui, one each. The
Banda Oriental, Entre-Rios Corrientes, and Santa Fè sent no deputies,
Paraguay was by this time completely isolated from Argentine affairs.
The congress of Tucuman did not fully represent the Argentine
people, nevertheless it was a more exact representation of the popular
will than any assembly which had yet been convened. Upon one
point only had the Argentine people as yet made up their minds, they
looked upon themselves as an independent nation, and were ready to
assert that independence before the world. To this resolve of the
people, the Congress of Tucuman gave full expression.
The first measures of Congress were marked by great timidity, as
though they feared to measure the extent of their power, but on the
3rd May they appointed Don Juan Martin Puyrredon Supreme
Director, thus annulling the appointment of General Balcarce by the
Junta of Buenos Aires.
In June Belgrano and San Martin arrived in Tucuman; neither of
them were members of Congress, but their personal influence had great
weight in the decisions of that body. In pursuance of their counsels,
on the 9th July, 1816, a day ever memorable in the annals of the
Argentine people, the secretary of Congress proposed this question to
the deputies:
"Do you desire that the provinces of the union form a nation free
and independent of the kings of Spain?"
"Yes," answered every deputy, springing to his feet.
That answer was the true, outspoken will of the Argentine people,
and has been maintained by them with unshaken heroism ever since.
By that answer the Argentine people took their place in the world as
an independent nation. Nothing less than that answer would have
justified the revolution of the 25th May, 1810. That answer was the
seal to the liberties of the New World, it carried with it the independence
of all the infant peoples then groaning under the tyranny of Spain.
The Act of Independence was then drawn out as follows:
"We, the representatives of the united provinces of South America,
invoking that eternal Power which presides over the universe, in the
name and by the authority of the people we represent, protesting before
Heaven and before all nations and men of the globe, the justice
of our vote, solemnly declare before all the world, that it is the unanimous
and undoubted will of these provinces to break the chains
which bind them to the kings of Spain, to reassert the rights of which
they have been despoiled, and to take upon themselves the high
character of a free nation. In consequence of which they remain with
ample and full power to adopt such form of government as justice
and their circumstances may require. All and each one of us so
publish, declare, and notify, binding ourselves to the fulfilment and
support of this their will, under the security and guarantee of our
lives, fortunes, and good name."
Twenty-nine deputies signed their names to this Declaration of Independence.
To maintain this independence the Argentine people,
by their deputies and their authorities of every class, devoted themselves,
their lives, and their properties, and amid all the convulsions
through which they have since passed they have never faltered for
one moment in their adhesion to this solemn declaration which was
made for them by the Sovereign Congress of Tucuman on the 9th
July, 1816.
Since then the anniversary of that great day has been yearly welcomed
with rejoicings throughout the length and breadth of the land.
Amid the vineyards of Mendoza, on the sunny plains of Santa Fè, in
the peaceful seats of learning at Cordova, and amid the busy hum of
commerce at Buenos Aires, the yearly recurrence of that day has been
welcomed ever since. Arribeños, Rivereños, and Porteños, whatever
their passing differences, alike look back in boastful pride to the day
when their forefathers boldly asserted their right to a place among the
nations of the world.
Through much turmoil and sorrow, through anarchy, tyranny, and
bloodshed the Argentine people have struggled since the day when
Buenos Aires first raised the standard of freedom. For six years they
laboured before they could unite to declare themselves a nation, even
to the present day their efforts to form themselves into one homogeneous
people have not met with full accomplishment. But the
Argentine Republic now exists, she holds her acknowledged place
among the nations. The dream of those gallant men who, on the
25th May, 1810, shook themselves free from the traditions of centuries,
is fulfilled.
In many of the events which we have so shortly chronicled in this
epilogue, Don Marcelino Ponce de Leon and Don Carlos Evaña took
their share, playing their parts, each according to his several character.
Both of them sprang to their feet and responded with an enthusiastic
"Yes" to the question proposed to the deputies by the secretary of
the Sovereign Congress of Tucuman, on the 9th July, 1816, both of
them signed the Declaration of Independence. Yet if you read that
document you will not find either of those names there written. They
represent two great sections of the Argentine people, differing widely
in their principles, more widely yet in their modes of thought, who
joined cordially together, to overthrow the domination of Spain, to
establish the Argentine Republic.
The original spelling and grammar have been retained.
Footnotes have been moved to the end of the chapters
in which they are referenced.
Minor changes in hyphenation and other punctuation
have been made without annotation.
The cover image for this book was created for use with this
electronic format and is released to the public domain.
Pg 6 in the aame[name] of the King of Great Britain.
Pg 31 Doña Constanica[Constancia] and Dolores
Pg 41 earned for themelves [themselves] immortal fame
Pg 75 forming perpendicular chiffs,[cliffs]
Pg 78 taking his hand let[led] him up to his mother
Pg 82 the things[thing] is to commence a
Pg 83 one of the twenty had make[made] off from the
Pg 83 he ordered them to drive to[delete to] four stout stakes
Pg 87 when the golloping[galloping] of horse
Pg 87 said Donñ[Doña] Constancia
Pg 88 Then you were made prisioner[prisoner]
Pg 99 his two brothers, Lietuenant[Lieutenant] Gordon
Pg 103 and a few sconds[seconds] afterwards
Pg 107 near to the Ensenada do[de] Barragan
Pg 107 has already reported to to[delete to] himself
Pg 126 But he shrank form[from] her
Pg 131 the losses seemed marvellously[marvelously] small
Pg 140 the distant hum with[which] told him
Pg 140 We[He] had crossed the ocean
Pg 143 on the Plaza Miserere[Miserere]
Pg 145 The right wing of this columnn[column]
Pg 146 closed by a black mound of eath[earth]
Pg 173 Very few prisoners find such kind goalers[gaolers]
Pg 177 He[We] thought him our friend
Pg 188 like one of the old partiarchs[patriarchs]
Pg 191 by any proceedure[procedure] short of an absolute rupture
Pg 196 to meddle any more in this affiar[affair]
Pg 215 who thought in[it] one of the
Pg 220 I know don't [don't know] any woman
Pg 220 her enthusiam[enthusiasm] beamed
Pg 224 Buenos[Buenas] noches y pasa adelante,
Pg 224 Upon which one of then[them] led him
Pg 229 and could bribe my goalers[gaolers].
Pg 230 Princess Carloto[Carlota] will not find
Pg 232 The idea is perfectly inadmissable[inadmissible]
Pg 236 Buenos Aires hailed the even[event] with joy
Pg 237 in which Don Carlos had esconced[ensconced] himself.
Pg 238 the interest of the is Patria[Patria is] above every other
Pg 240 But do not afflict pourself[yourself],
Pg 245 Until the new Viceroy arrive [arrives]
Pg 250 in the most critical noment[moment]
Pg 262 their follow[fellow]-countrymen.
Pg 289 said Don Ciricao[Ciriaco]
Pg 291 For this Doña[Don] Manuel Belgrano
Pg 296 he forget[forgot] that he
Pg 303 But Marcelino heardly[hardly] heard the remark
Pg 318 With heard [head] erect
Pg 322 for his bad success as a sportsmen.[sportsman]
Pg 332 Enclosed in this letter come[came] another
Pg 338 Look you, Don Alfonso," said Asnerios[Asneiros]
Pg 376 hunging[hanging] low over the city
Pg 377 clothing the whole earch[earth] with
Pg 378 than she had heart[heard] him speak
Pg 381 looked back in indignation upon his coleagues[collegues],
Pg 382 King Fedinand[Ferdinand] VII
Pg 386 Marcelino has peruasded[persuaded] him
Pg 386 He declined it," said Esneiros[Asneiros]
Pg 391 were in the enighbourhood[neighbourhood] caused
Pg 401 in the hearts of the citzens[citizens]
