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History of Argentina |
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Argentinaportal |
What today is commonly referred as the Independence of Argentina was declared on July 9, 1816, by the Congress of Tucumán. In reality, the congressmen who were assembled in Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America, which is one of the official names of the Argentine Republic. The Federal League Provinces, [1] at war with the United Provinces, were not allowed into the Congress. At the same time, several provinces from the Upper Peru that would later become part of present-day Bolivia, were represented at the Congress.
The 1810 May Revolution followed the deposition of the Spanish king Ferdinand VII by the Napoleonic French. The revolution ended the authority of the Viceroy Cisneros and replaced it with the Primera Junta.
When the Spanish monarchy resumed its functions in 1814, Spain was determined to recover control over its colonies in the Americas. Moreover, the royalists from Peru had been victorious at the battles of Sipe-Sipe, Huaqui, Vilcapugio and Ayohuma, in Upper Peru, and seriously threatened the United Provinces from the north.
On April 15, 1815, a revolution ended the mandate of Carlos María de Alvear as Supreme Director and demanded that a General Congress be summoned. Delegate deputies, each representing 14,000 inhabitants, were sent from all the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata to the sessions, which started on March 24, 1816. However, the Federal League Provinces did not send delegates: the Argentine littoral Provinces (Santa Fé, Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Misiones), and the Eastern Province (modern-day Uruguay).
The Congress was inaugurated in the city of Tucumán, with 33 deputies. The presidency of the Congress would be rotated monthly. Because the Congress had the freedom to choose topics to debate, endless discussions ensued.
The voting finally ended on July 9 with a declaration of independence. The Declaration pointed to the circumstances in Europe of the past six years—the removal of the King of Spain by Napoleon and the subsequent refusal of Ferdinand VII to accept constitutional rule both in the Peninsula and overseas. The Document claimed that Spanish America recovered its sovereignty from the Crown of Castile in 1808, when Ferdinand VII had been deposed, and therefore, any union between the overseas dominions of Spain and the Peninsula had been dissolved. This was a legal concept that was also invoked by the other Spanish American declarations of independence, such as Venezuela's (1811) and Mexico's (1810), which were responding to the same events. The president of the Congress at the time was Francisco Narciso de Laprida, delegate from San Juan Province. Subsequent discussions centered on what form of government the emerging state should adopt.
The congress continued its work in Buenos Aires in 1817, but it got stopped in 1820 after the Battle of Cepeda, which deepened the differences between the Unitarian Party, who favored a strong central government, and the Federales, who favored a weak central government.
The house where the declaration was adopted has been rebuilt and is now a museum and monument: the House of Tucumán.
The Declaration of Independence of the United Provinces of South America was written in Spanish and then translated into Quechua and Aymara. The version in Aymara is attributed to Vicente Pazos Kanki (1779-1852). [2]
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano, usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and designed what became the flag of Argentina. Argentines regard him as one of the main Founding Fathers of the country.
Juan Bautista Alberdi was an Argentine political theorist and diplomat. Although he lived most of his life in exile in Montevideo, Uruguay and in Chile, he influenced the content of the Constitution of Argentina of 1853.
The Bolivian War of Independence began with the establishment of government juntas in Sucre and La Paz, after the Chuquisaca Revolution and La Paz revolution. These Juntas were defeated shortly after, and the cities fell again under Spanish control. The May Revolution of 1810 ousted the viceroy in Buenos Aires, which established its own junta. Buenos Aires sent three large military expeditions to Upper Peru, headed by Juan José Castelli, Manuel Belgrano and José Rondeau, but the royalists ultimately prevailed over each one. However, the conflict grew into a guerrilla war, the War of the Republiquetas, preventing the royalists from strengthening their presence. After Simón Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre defeated the royalists in northern South America, Sucre led a campaign that was to defeat the royalists in Charcas for good when the last royalist general, Pedro Antonio Olañeta, suffered death and defeat at the hands of his own defected forces at the Battle of Tumusla. Bolivian independence was proclaimed on 6 August 1825.
The Argentine War of Independence was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown. On July 9, 1816, an assembly met in San Miguel de Tucumán, declaring independence with provisions for a national constitution.
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was the last to be organized and also the shortest-lived of one of the viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. The name "Provincias del Río de la Plata" was formally adopted in 1810 during the Cortes of Cádiz to designate the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
The Historical House of Tucumán is a historic building and museum located in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, built during the colonial times. The Congress of Tucumán worked in this house during the Argentine War of Independence, and issued the Argentine Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1816. It was nationalized decades later, and partially demolished for its poor condition. It was declared a National Historic Monument of Argentina in 1941, and reconstructed, with simplified details, in its original layout.
The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, earlier known as the United Provinces of South America, was a name adopted in 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán for the region of South America that declared independence in 1816, with the Sovereign Congress taking place in 1813, during the Argentine War of Independence (1810–1818) that began with the May Revolution in 1810. It originally comprised rebellious territories of the former Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata dependencies and had Buenos Aires as its capital.
Francisco Narciso de Laprida was an Argentine lawyer and politician. He was a representative for San Juan at the Congress of Tucumán, and its president on July 9, 1816, when the Declaration of Independence of Argentina was declared.
Juan José Esteban Paso, was an Argentine politician who participated in the events that started the Argentine War of Independence known as May Revolution of 1810.
Pedro de Medrano y Cabrera was a Uruguayan-born Argentine statesman, poet and lawyer. He was a provisional president and a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina.
The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America on July 9, 1816, from the Spanish Empire.
Tomás Manuel de Anchorena was an Argentine statesman and lawyer. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina.
Esteban Agustín Gazcón was an Upper Peru-born Argentine statesman and lawyer. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina.
José Severo Malabia was born in nowadays Bolivia. He was a statesman and lawyer based in Argentina. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina.
Mariano Sánchez de Loria was a Bolivian-born statesman and lawyer. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina.
General José Ignacio de Gorriti was an Argentine statesman, soldier and lawyer. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina.
Teodoro Sánchez de Bustamante was an Argentine statesman, lawyer and soldier. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina.
The Argentine Constitution of 1819 was a Constitution drafted by the Congress of Tucumán in 1819, shortly after the Argentine War of Independence. It was promoted by Buenos Aires but rejected by the other provinces and did not come into force.
The rise of the Argentine Republic was a process that took place in the first half of the 19th century in Argentina. The Republic has its origins on the territory of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a colony of the Spanish Empire. The King of Spain appointed a viceroy to oversee the governance of the colony. The 1810 May Revolution staged a coup d'état and deposed the viceroy and, along with the Argentine war of independence, started a process of rupture with the Spanish monarchy with the creation of an independent republican state. All proposals to organize a local monarchy failed, and no local monarch was ever crowned.
The Argentine Constitution of 1826 was a short-lived Constitution of Argentina drafted during the Argentine Civil Wars. Bernardino Rivadavia was appointed President of Argentina under this constitution. It was rejected by most Argentine provinces, and then abolished.