Battle of Yavi

Last updated
Battle of Yavi
Part of Argentine War of Independence
Date15 November 1816
Location 22°07′54″S65°27′48″W / 22.13167°S 65.46333°W / -22.13167; -65.46333
Result Royalist victory
Belligerents
Flag of Argentina (civil).svg United Provinces of South America Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg Spanish Empire
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Argentina (civil).svg Marquis of Yavi Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg Pedro Antonio de Olañeta
Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg Juan de Marquieguy
Strength
600 unknown
Casualties and losses
300 prisoners very light
Argentina location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Argentina
South America laea location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Battle of Yavi (South America)
Americas laea location map with borders.svg
Red pog.svg
Battle of Yavi (America)

The Battle of Yavi (also called "the Surprise at Yavi") took place on 15 November 1816, and was one of the military battles to obtain Argentina's independence from Spain, but ended in defeat.

Contents

The Battle

The war between the Patriots in Argentina and the Royalists in Upper Peru (Bolivia) had been going on for 6 years.
In early November 1816, the Royalists began a new invasion, advancing with 3,000 men under the command of Pedro Antonio de Olañeta, Juan Guillermo de Marquieguy, and Field Marshal José de la Serna.

The independentist troops in the area were commanded by Juan José Fernández Campero, popularly known as Marquis of Yavi, as commander of the eastern flank of General Güemes' army. Fernández Campero was a Spaniard landowner who supported the revolution.

Unaware of the Spanish advance, he arrived at the town of Yavi (north of Humahuaca) on the 14 November in command of 600 men. There he was surprised the next day by Marquiegui, who first seized their horses and then attacked the town where the patriots were located from two directions, obtaining an easy victory. Campero, his second in command and 300 men were taken prisoner. [1]

Consequences

The battle was a defeat for the Army of the North. As a result, the northern border of the Argentine territory collapsed and the provinces of Salta and Jujuy were invaded by the Spaniards.

The government in Buenos Aires decided then to continue the fight for independence through the Pacific flank (present-day Chile), under the command of General San Martín, while Salta's caudillo Martín Miguel de Güemes led a guerrilla war to keep at bay the royalist army in the northern provinces. This campaign is retrospectively known as La Guerra Gaucha ("The Gaucho War") after a 1905 novel by Leopoldo Lugones.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José de San Martín</span> Argentine general and independence leader (1778–1850)

José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras, nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire who served as the Protector of Peru. Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in modern-day Argentina, he left the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata at the early age of seven to study in Málaga, Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Belgrano</span> 18/19th-century Argentine military leader, economist, politician, and journalist (1770–1820)

Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentine War of Independence</span> Secessionist civil war (1810–1818)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of San Lorenzo</span> 1813 battle in the Argentine War of Independence

The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on 3 February 1813 in San Lorenzo, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. The royalist troops were composed of militiamen recruited in Montevideo under the command of militia captain Antonio Zabala, who were defeated by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers under the command of José de San Martín. This battle was the baptism by fire for this military unit, as well as for San Martín in the Spanish American wars of independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Pichincha</span> Battle of the Ecuadorian War of Independence

The Battle of Pichincha took place on 24 May 1822, on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano, 3,500 meters above sea-level, right next to the city of Quito, in modern Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martín Miguel de Güemes</span> Argentinian military leader and politician

Martín Miguel de Güemes was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish royalist army during the Argentine War of Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Viluma</span> 1815 battle in Upper Peru, South America

The Battle of Viluma, also known as Battle of Sipe-Sipe, was a major battle in the South American wars of independence in which the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata were decisively defeated in Upper Peru by the Royal Army of Viceroyalty of Peru. The battle took place on November 29, 1815 on a plain west of Cochabamba, and resulted in the loss of Upper Peru for Buenos Aires. The area was reannexed by the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José María Pérez de Urdininea</span>

José María Pérez de Urdininea was a Bolivian military officer and statesman who served as the third president of Bolivia in 1828. He was the first Bolivian president to be born in Bolivia itself. He fought with the patriots against the Argentines in Peru. Despite being President for only three months, Pérez held a number of important positions in the Bolivian government including Minister of War between 1841 and 1847.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ayohuma</span> 1813 battle in Spanish American Wars of Independence

The Battle of Ayohuma was a military action fought on 14 November 1813 during the Spanish American wars of independence. The forces of the Royal Army of Viceroyalty of Peru, commanded by Spaniard General Joaquín de la Pezuela defeated the Army of the North, led by General Manuel Belgrano in their second Upper Peru Campaign of the Argentine War of Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Upper Peru campaign</span> 1815 military campaign in South America

The Third Upper Peru campaign was an unsuccessful invasion by the rebel United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, in 1815 during the Argentine War of Independence, of Upper Peru, which was still under control of Spanish troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Salta</span> 1813 battle of the Argentine War of Independence

The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813, on the plains of Castañares, north of the present-day Argentine city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general Pío de Tristán, after their victory in the previous September at the Battle of Tucumán. The unconditional surrender of the royalist troops ensured Argentine control over most of the northern territories of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tucumán</span>

The Battle of Tucumán was fought on 24 and 25 September 1812 near the Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucumán, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, commanded by General Manuel Belgrano, defeated the royalist troops commanded by General Pío de Tristán, who had a two-to-one advantage in numbers, halting the royalist advance on Argentina's northwest. Together with the Battle of Salta, on 20 February 1813, the victory at Tucumán allowed the Argentine troops to reaffirm the borders under their control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army of the North</span> One of the armies of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata

The Army of the North, contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest and the Upper Peru from the royalist troops of the Spanish Empire. It was headed by Hipólito Vieytes (1810), Juan José Castelli (1810–1811), Juan Martín de Pueyrredón (1811–1812), Manuel Belgrano (1812–1814), José de San Martín (1814), José Rondeau (1814–1816), Manuel Belgrano (1816–1819) and Francisco Fernández de la Cruz (1819–1820).

The Arequito revolt, was a military revolt by officers of the Army of the North through which they recused themselves from the fight in the civil war against the federales. Their intention was to return to the front of the war against the royalists in Upper Peru, an objective that they could not ultimately meet. It signified the beginning of the disintegration of the Supreme Directorship and was one of the main causes of the centralist defeat at the Battle of Cepeda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Argentine War of Independence</span>

The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli 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, declared full independence with provisions for a national constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernabé Aráoz</span> Governor of Tucumán Province

Bernabé Aráoz was a governor of Tucumán Province in what is now Argentina during the early nineteenth century, and President of the short-lived Republic of Tucumán.

The Cuzco Rebellion of 1814 was an episode of the Peruvian War of Independence led by the Angulo brothers and Mateo Pumacahua that took place in much of the province of Cuzco, including Huamanga, Arequipa and Puno, as well as part of the province of Charcas. The uprising involved the proclamation of the autonomy and self-government of Cuzco from the Viceroyalty of Peru, governed by Viceroy José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa. The junta was modelled and intended to follow the steps of the Junta of Buenos Aires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Antonio Álvarez de Arenales</span>

Juan Antonio Álvarez de Arenales was an Argentine general of Spanish origin that fought in the war for the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Chile and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Burela (mayor)</span>

Luis Burela y Saavedra was an Argentine landowner and soldier, who started the Argentine War of Independence in the northern provinces of Argentina, usually called the Gaucho War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourth Upper Peru campaign</span> 1817 invasion in Upper Peru

The Fourth Upper Peru campaign was an unsuccessful invasion in 1817 by the rebel United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, during the Argentine War of Independence, of Upper Peru, which was still under control of Spanish troops.

References