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Buenos Aires & Argentina history - The road to independence

There are many misconceptions about Argentina's independence from Spain; not least of which is the notion that revolution and independence occurred on 25 May 1810.

Spain faced a number of problems both in Europe and in Spanish America - Great Britain on the seas, expansionist France on its home borders and Portuguese expansionism in South America.

You get the feeling from various accounts of the period, that both the growing power and discontents within the Viceroyalty of Peru threatened Spanish interests.

New Viceroyalties sought to divide the Viceroyalty of Peru and toughen Spain's administration and protection of growing Spanish America. This 'divide and rule' politicking was achieved under the guise of awarding Viceroyalties to two other deserving regions.

One of Spain's key concerns was the growing port economies of the Rio del la Plata, which prospered without Spanish administration and whose wealth came entirely from contraband and even trade with Spain's enemy and rival Great Britain.

Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (Virreinato del Río de la Plata) established in 1776 was comprised of modern day Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, some of Brazil and much of present-day Bolivia.

Buenos Aires became the center of administration, the viceroyalty's Cabildo (an ancient Spanish institution for local government that had existed in all the colonies since the XVI century).

From 1776 onwards, the port of Buenos Aires growth was quite remarkable and wealth soon poured into the port, its many local rivers, and the surrounding regions.

Other regions of modern Argentina were already wealthy and well established, but their power was waning as silver mining died with little to replace it in Upper Peru (Bolivia). As early as during this period, we find agriculture was a main industry feeding the peoples of Spanish South America.

A power shift happened quickly and Buenos Aires soon replaced Tucumán, Córdoba (Argentina) and other regions that would later leave the new Viceroyalty del Rio de la Plata as the regional economic powerhouse. This power shift would sow the seeds of discontent and disagreement for many years and made the creation of the Argentinean nation difficult.

Buenos Aires soon became the main trading partner for other Viceroyalties as Spanish American resources poured out of Buenos Aires and immigration, modern culture and wealth poured in from transatlantic trade with Europe.

Regions now are part of modern Argentina operated with some autonomy under their own local administrations and their own flags. These micro-economies with their own political and academic seats challenged Buenos Aires for many years for regional supremacy.

The British used the might of the Royal Navy to take prized Spanish and French colonies and trade during the defeat of Spain and France at the Battle of Trafalgar, one of the most amazing naval victories ever recorded. The British had always wanted a permanent British settlement on the Rio del la Plata and decided to attack both Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

The invasions of the Rio del la Plata by second rate Lieutenant-General John Whitelocke was an unmitigated disaster and a comedy of military errors that would see him court martialled and cashiered. The failed British invasion of the Río de la Plata and the battles of 1806 (Reconquista) and 1807 (Defensa) gave the porteños a great sense of pride and a growing yearning for greater freedom.

The viceroyalty was short-lived, due to lack of internal cohesion among its regions and Spain's failing support. It all but crashed in 1808 when Napoleon overthrew the Spanish monarch, Ferdinand VII, replacing him with Joseph Bonaparte, his brother, plunging Spain into civil war.