The Retroversion of the sovereignty to the people, which challenged the legitimacy of the colonial authorities,[1] was the principle underlying the self-government temporarily in the absence of the legitimate king.
But, in both Spain and Spanish America, this principle was replaced by the concept of popular sovereignty, currently expressed in most constitutional systems throughout the world, whereby the people delegate governmental functions in their leaders and retaining the sovereignty. This was the principle underlying the Spanish American Independence processes
In 1808, the Spanish King Ferdinand VII had been imprisoned by the Napoleonic Empire and subsequently replaced by Joseph Bonaparte. The Seven-Part Code recognized the right of "good and honest" persons to form Juntas in absence of the king.[2] In Spain, resistant governing juntas were formed, claiming sovereignty in the absence of the legitimate King. Following the 1810 disbanding of the central governing Supreme Central and Governing Junta of the Kingdom, Spanish American peoples assumed, in turn, their right to appoint new local authorities, and recovered the tradition of the open cabildos. But the Seven-Part Code implied that the territory was still under the sovereignty of the King and that the Juntas were only a temporary fix.[2] The principle of retroversion of sovereignty added the twist that, in such a case, sovereignty would return to the peoples, who would have a right to reject the authority of the king and appoint new authorities.[2]
The principle of retroversion of sovereignty was premised on the basis that the Spanish territories in America were a personal possession of the king of Spain, and not a colony of Spain. Only the king could rule over them, either directly or through viceroys appointed by himself. This principle already existed, and justified the fact that Spain and Spanish America had different laws. Scholars of the Laws of the Indies had argued that they were two different realms, united under one same crown.[3]
With the kidnapping, Abdications of Bayonne and imprisonment of Ferdinand VII by Napoleon during the Peninsular war and the absence of a legitimate successor, the criterion was used to justify self-government in Spain. But the Junta of Seville had no authority to send or appoint viceroys in America, and Americans had instead the same rights as Spaniards to govern themselves as the rightful king was absent.[3] The principle was employed by many independentist movements in South America of that time, such as the Chuquisaca Revolution or the May Revolution.
The American new entities also adopted the principle of consentimiento (of consent). This meant that they felt free to reject any decision they had been taken without their consent.[4]
1 2 Luna, Félix (March 2001). «La fórmula de la Revolución», Grandes protagonistas de la historia argentina: Juan José Castelli (in spanish). Buenos Aires: Editorial Planeta, pp. 51. ISBN950-49-0656-7.
↑ Fundamentos intelectuales y políticos de las independencias. José Carlos Chiaramonte 2010 En el caso hispanoamericano, ante la pretensión de lograr el reconocimineto de la metrópolis como autoridad sustituta del monarca, los criollos alegaban que su vínculo político era con la monarquía castellana y no con la nación española, y que, vacante el trono reasumían la soberanía.[...] Las nuevas entidades soberanas que se consideraban herederas de la soberanía de la corona castellana [...] los considerados organismos soberanos representativos de las ciudades y luego provincias o Estados iberoamericanos rechazaron decisiones tomadas sin su consentimiento.
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 "Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was the last to be organized and also the shortest-lived 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 May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and parts of Brazil. The result was the removal of Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros and the establishment of a local government, the Primera Junta, on May 25.
The Primera Junta or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata, is the most common name given to the first government of what would eventually become Argentina. It was formed on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially only had representatives from Buenos Aires. When it was expanded, as expected, with the addition of representatives from the other cities of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, it became popularly known instead as the Junta Grande or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de Buenos Aires. The Junta operated at El Fuerte, which had been used since 1776 as a residence by the viceroys.
Junta Grande, or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de Buenos Aires, is the most common name for the executive government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, that followed the incorporation of provincial representatives into the Primera Junta.
Mateo García Pumacahua simply known as Pumacahua, modern spelling variants Pumakawa or Pumaqawa was a Royalist commander later turned into a Peruvian revolutionary who led the Cuzco Rebellion of 1814 in the War of Independence.
Cornelio Judas Tadeo de Saavedra y Rodríguez was an Argentine military officer and statesman. He was instrumental in the May Revolution, the first step of Argentina's independence from Spain, and became the first head of state of the autonomous country that would become Argentina when he was appointed president of the Primera Junta.
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros y de la Torre was a Spanish naval officer born in Cartagena. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against Napoleon's invasion in 1808. He was later appointed Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, replacing Santiago de Liniers. He disestablished the government Junta of Javier de Elío and quelled the Chuquisaca Revolution and the La Paz revolution. An open cabildo deposed him as viceroy during the May Revolution, but he attempted to be the president of the new government junta, thus retaining power. The popular unrest in Buenos Aires did not allow that, so he resigned. He was banished back to Spain shortly after that, and died in 1829.
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 Primo de Verdad y Ramos was a Novohispanic lawyer and politician and a proponent of Mexican independence from Spain. He was imprisoned by the Spanish authorities for his advocacy, and died in prison. He is considered one of the protomartyrs of Mexican independence.
Juan José Castelli was an Argentine lawyer who was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which led to the Argentine War of Independence. He led an ill-fated military campaign in Upper Peru.
Francisco de Aguirre was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
The Chuquisaca Revolution was a popular uprising on 25 May 1809 against Ramón García de León y Pizarro, Governor-intendant of the Intendancy of Chuquisaca. The Real Audiencia of Charcas, with support from the faculty of University of Saint Francis Xavier, deposed the governor and formed a junta. The revolution is known in Bolivia as the "First Cry of Freedom", meaning the first phase in the Spanish American Wars of Independence. The level of hostility against the Spanish Crown and news from both the American Revolution and the French Revolution has made historians dispute on whether such a description is accurate. However, accounts depict it as being the first step towards liberty in Latin America against the Spanish Crown.
The open cabildo is a traditional Hispanic American political action for convening citizens to deliberate policy. Originating in Spanish America as an iteration of the cabildo, it also spread to Spain.
The May Revolution was a series of revolutionary political and social events that took place during the early nineteenth century in the city of Buenos Aires, capital of the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a colony of the Spanish Crown which at the time contained the present-day nations of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. The consequence of the revolution was that the Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, was force out from office, and role of government was assumed by the Primera Junta. There are many reasons, both local and international, that promoted such developments.
Historiographical studies of the May Revolution started in the second half of the 19th century in Argentina and have extended to modern day. All historiographical perspectives agree in considering the May Revolution as the turning point that gave birth to the modern nation of Argentina, and that the Revolution was unavoidable in 1810. The main topics of disagreement between Argentine historians are the specific weight of the diverse causes of the May Revolution, who were the leaders of it among the different involved parties, whenever there was popular support for it or not, and whenever the loyalty to the captive Spanish king Ferdinand VII was real or an elaborate masquerade to conceal pro-independence purposes.
Religion in the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata saw great changes from the religious uses at the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, in the wake of the great social upheavals that took place during the Argentine War of Independence. Although the war was not a religious war, and both patriots and royalists were equally Christian, it was influenced by the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment. The relation with the Holy See through Spain was cut, until being restored by Juan Manuel de Rosas.
The Cry of Asencio or Admirable alarm was an 1811 pronunciamiento that took place at the Banda Oriental against the Spanish rule in Montevideo. Made in support of Buenos Aires, which had already ousted the viceroy and established a local government during the May Revolution, it is considered the beginning of the Oriental revolution.
The Quito Revolution (1810-1812) was a series of events that took place between 1809 and 1812 in the Real Audiencia de Quito, which led to the establishment of a short-lived State of Quito, and which can be considered as the seed of the independence movements that ended up forming the current Republic of Ecuador.
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