View source for United Provinces of the Río de la Plata

{{Expand Spanish}}{{Short description|Federation of former Spanish Empire provinces in South America (1810–1831)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = ''Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata<br />(Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica)''
| conventional_long_name = United Provinces of the Río de la Plata<br />(United Provinces of South America)
| common_name            = Provincias del Río de la Plata
| era                    = Napoleonic Wars
| status                 = Confederation
| status_text            = <!-- A free text to describe status the top of the infobox. Use sparingly. -->
| empire                 = <!-- The empire or country to which the entity was in a state of dependency -->
| government_type        = {{plainlist|
*[[Federal monarchy|Federal constitutional monarchy (1810–1816)]]
*[[Republic|Republic (1816–1831)]]}}
<!-- Rise and fall, events, years and dates -->
<!-- only fill in the start/end event entry if a specific article exists. Don't just say "abolition" or "declaration"-->| event_start            = [[May Revolution]]
| year_start             = 1810
| date_start             = 25 May
| event1                 = [[Argentine Declaration of Independence|Declaration of<br/>Independence]]
| date_event1            = 9 July 1816
| event2                 = [[Battle of Cepeda (1820)|Battle of Cepeda]]<br/>''End of centralized authority''
| date_event2            = 1 February 1820
| event3                 = [[Rise of the Republic of Argentina#First presidential attempt|First Presidency]]
| date_event3            = 8 February 1826
| event4                 = [[Preliminary Peace Convention (1828)|Treaty of Montevideo]]<br/>''Independence of Uruguay''
| date_event4            = 28 August 1828
| event_end              = [[Pacto Federal]]
| year_end               = 1831
| date_end               = 4 January
| year_exile_start       = <!-- Year of start of exile (if dealing with exiled government - status="Exile") -->
| year_exile_end         = <!-- Year of end of exile (leave blank if still in exile) -->
| event_pre              = [[British invasions of the Río de la Plata]]
| date_pre               = 1806–1807
| event_post             =
| date_post              = <!-- Flag navigation: Preceding and succeeding entities p1 to p5 and s1 to s5 -->
| p1                     = Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
| flag_p1                = Flag of Spain (1785-1873 and 1875-1931).svg
| image_p1               = <!-- Use: [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px|Image missing]] -->
| p4                     =
| flag_p4                =
| p5                     =
| flag_p5                =
| s1                     = Argentine Confederation
| flag_s1                = Flag of the Argentine Confederation.svg
| image_s1               = <!-- Use: [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px|Image missing]] -->
| s2                     = Bolivia
| flag_s2                = Flag_of_Bolivia_(state,_1825-1826).svg
| s3                     = Empire of Brazil
| flag_s3                = Flag of Brazil (1870–1889).svg
| s4                     = Uruguay
| flag_s4                = Flag of Uruguay (1828-1830).svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Argentina (1818).svg
| flag_caption           = [[Flag of Argentina|Flag<br>(1818)]]
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata.svg
| coat_alt               = <!-- Alt text for coat of arms -->
| symbol                 = Asamblea del Año XIII
| symbol_type            = <!-- Displayed text for link under symbol. Default "Coat of arms" -->
| other_symbol           = [[File:Sol de Mayo-Bandera de Argentina.svg|100px|link=Sol de Mayo]]
| other_symbol_type      = {{native name|es|[[Sun of May|Sol de Mayo]]{{sfnm|1a1=Crow|1y=1992|1p=457|1ps=: "In the meantime, while the crowd assembled in the plaza continued to shout its demands at the cabildo, the sun suddenly broke through the overhanging clouds and clothed the scene in brilliant light. The people looked upward with one accord and took it as a favorable omen for their cause. This was the origin of the "sun of May" which has appeared in the center of the Argentine flag and on the Argentine coat of arms ever since."|2a1=Kopka|2y=2011|2p=5|2ps=: "The sun's features are those of [[Inti]], the [[Inca]]n sun god. The sun commemorates the appearance of the sun through cloudy skies on 25 May 1810, during the first mass demonstration in favor of independence."}}|nolink=yes|paren=off}}<br />(Sun of May)
| image_map              = Provincias_Unidas.png
| image_map_caption      = The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1816. Territory under effective control shown in dark green; territories under [[Royalist (Spanish American independence)|royalist]] or indigenous rule shown in light green.
| map_width              =
| image_map_alt          =
| image_map2             = <!-- If second map is needed - does not appear by default -->
| image_map2_alt         =
| image_map2_caption     =
| capital                = [[Buenos Aires]]<br/>
| capital_exile          = <!-- If status="Exile" -->
| latd                   =
| latm                   =
| latNS                  =
| longd                  =
| longm                  =
| longEW                 =
| national_motto         = [[En unión y libertad|"En unión y libertad"]]<br>(Unofficial)
| national_anthem        = ''[[Argentine National Anthem|Patriotic March]]''<br/>{{center|[[File:Himno Nacional Argentino instrumental.ogg]]}}
| common_languages       = [[Spanish Language|Spanish]]
| religion               = [[Religion in the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata|Christianity]]
| currency               = {{plainlist|
*[[Argentine real|Real]] (from 1813)
*[[Argentine sol|Sol]] (from 1815)
*[[Argentine peso#History|Peso fuerte]] (from 1826)}}
<!-- Titles and names of the first and last leaders and their deputies -->
| leader1                = [[Ferdinand VII of Spain]]<br>{{small|(as [[King of Spain]])}}
| leader4                =
| leader5                =
| year_leader1           = 1810–1816
| title_leader           = Recognized Monarch
| representative1        = [[Cornelio Saavedra]]<br>{{small|(as President of [[Primera Junta]] and [[Junta Grande]])}}
| representative2        = [[Domingo Matheu]]<br>{{small|(as President of [[Junta Grande]])}}
| representative3        = [[First Triumvirate (Argentina)|First]] and [[Second Triumvirate (Argentina)|Second Triumvirate]]
| representative4        = [[Gervasio Antonio de Posadas]]<br>{{small|(as [[Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata|Supreme Director]])}}
| representative5        = [[Juan Pedro Aguirre]]<br>{{small|(as [[Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata|Supreme Director]])}}
| representative6        = [[Bernardino Rivadavia]]<br>{{small|(as [[President of Argentina|President]])}}
| representative7        = [[Vicente López y Planes]]<br>{{small|(as [[President of Argentina|President]])}}
| year_representative1   = 1810–1811
| year_representative2   = 1811–1812
| year_representative3   = 1812–1814
| year_representative4   = 1814–1815
| year_representative5   = 1820
| year_representative6   = 1826–1827
| year_representative7   = 1827
| title_representative   = [[List of heads of state of Argentina|Head of State]]
| deputy1                = [[Matías de Irigoyen]]
| deputy2                = [[Juan Gregorio de las Heras]]
| deputy3                = [[Manuel Dorrego]]
| deputy4                = [[Juan Manuel de Rosas]]
| year_deputy1           = 1820
| year_deputy2           = 1824–1826
| year_deputy3           = 1827–1828
| year_deputy4           = 1835–1832
| title_deputy           = [[Governor of Buenos Aires Province]]{{efn|Between 1820 and 1826, the United Provinces functioned as a loose alliance of autonomous provinces put together by pacts and treaties (see Treaty of Pilar, Treaty of Benegas, Quadrilateral Treaty), but lacking any actual central government until the 1825 Constitutional Congress.}}
<!-- Legislature -->| legislature            = <!-- Name of legislature -->
| house1                 = <!-- Name of first chamber -->
| type_house1            = <!-- Default: "Upper house"-->
| house2                 = <!-- Name of second chamber -->
| type_house2            = <!-- Default: "Lower house"-->
<!-- Area and population of a given year -->| stat_year1             = <!-- year of the statistic, specify either area, population or both -->
| stat_area1             = <!-- area in square kilometres (w/o commas or spaces), area in square miles is calculated -->
| stat_pop1              = <!-- population (w/o commas or spaces), population density is calculated if area is also given -->
| stat_year2             =
| stat_area2             =
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| stat_pop5              =
| footnotes              = <!-- Accepts wikilinks -->
}}
The '''United Provinces of the Río de la Plata''' ({{langx|es|link=no|Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata}}), earlier known as the '''United Provinces of South America''' ({{langx|es|link=no|Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica}}), was a name adopted in 1816 by the [[Congress of Tucumán]] for the region of South America that declared independence in 1816, with the [[Assembly of the Year XIII|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.
The name ''"Provincias del Río de la Plata"'' (formally adopted during the [[Cortes of Cádiz]] to designate the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata)<ref>{{Cite book |title=América en el ordenamiento jurídico de las Cortes de Cádiz |last=Roca |first=Eduardo |year=1999 |pages=32 |language=Spanish}}</ref> alludes to the ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' <ref>{{Cite book |title=España y América en el Bicentenario de las Independencias |last=Casajús |year=2012 |pages=35}}</ref> or [[Primera Junta]]. It is best known in Argentinean literature as ''{{lang|es|Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata}}'' ("United Provinces of the [[Río de la Plata|River Plate]]" i.e. ''river of silver''), this being the most common name (since 1811) in use for the country until the enactment of the 1826 Constitution. The [[Argentine National Anthem]] refers to the state as "the United Provinces of the South". The [[Constitution of Argentina]] recognises ''Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata'' as one of the official names of the country, referred to as "Argentine Nation" (''Nación Argentina'') in modern legislation.<ref>
[http://www.senadosalta.gob.ar/index.php/institucional/constitucion-nacional The Constitution]: "{{lang|es|{{abbr|Art.|artículo}} 35. – Las denominaciones adoptadas sucesivamente desde 1810 hasta el presente, a saber: Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata; República Argentina, Confederación Argentina, serán en adelante nombres oficiales indistintamente para la designación del Gobierno y territorio de las provincias, empleándose las palabras 'Nación Argentina' en la formación y sanción de las leyes.}}" <br/> ("Article 35. The denominations successively adopted from 1810 to the present – ''United Provinces of the Río de la Plata'' and ''Argentine Republic'', ''Argentine Confederation'' – shall henceforth be interchangeable official names to describe the Government and territory of the provinces. The phrase 'Argentine Nation' is used for the formulation and the enactment of laws.")
</ref>
==Description==
The United Provinces of South America were bordered on the south by the sparsely populated territories of the [[Pampas]] and [[Patagonia]], home to the [[Mapuche]], [[Ranquel]] and [[Puelche people|Puelche]] peoples. To the north, the [[Gran Chaco]] was populated by the [[Guaycuru]] nations. To the northwest, across the [[Upper Peru]], lay the Spanish [[Viceroyalty of Peru]]. Across the [[Andes]], to the west, was the Spanish-controlled [[Captaincy General of Chile]]. To the northeast was [[Colonial Brazil]], a part of the [[Portuguese Empire]] (in 1815, the [[United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves]]), later the [[Empire of Brazil]] in 1821.
==Government==
[[File:Unitedprovincescirca1820.jpeg|thumb|left|400px|United Provinces in the 1820s as understood by political cartographers at the time. 1821: ''{{lang|fr|Carte physique et politique de l'Amérique méridionale}}''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Brué|first=Adrien-Hubert|title=''Carte physique et politique de l'Amérique méridionale'' : Physical and political map of South America|date=1821|publisher=Goujon|language=fr|oclc=494185362}}</ref> 1822: ''The American Atlas'' by Carey & Lea. 1825: ''South America'' by Fisher]]
The change from the Viceroyalty into the United Provinces was not merely a change of governors, but a revolutionary process that would replace the Spanish [[monarchy]] with an independent [[republic]].
The main influences in this were the [[Enlightenment in Spain]], promoting new ideas, and the [[Peninsular War]] that left Spain without a legitimate king after the [[Abdications of Bayonne]]. The concept of [[separation of powers]] gradually became a tool to prevent despotism.<ref name="ternavasio2007">{{cite book
|title= Gobernar la Revolución
|last= Ternavasio
|first= Marcela
|author2=Luis Alberto Romero
|year= 2007
|publisher= Siglo veintiuno editores
|location= Buenos Aires
|isbn= 978-987-1220-96-0
}}</ref>{{Rp|page=12}}
The new political situation generated great political conflict between the cities for two reasons. First, the vacatio regis of Ferdinand VII and the French King of Spain, [[Joseph Bonaparte]], there was no clear view about who was the king. Some people thought that it passed to other offices of the Spanish monarchy, while others held the notion of the retroversion of the sovereignty to the people: sovereignty returned to the people, who had now the right to self-governance temporally. <ref name="ternavasio2007" />{{Rp|page=14}}
But, in 1810 under the establishment of the new doctrine of popular sovereignty throughout the Spanish empire, the Spanish government summoned all the nations of America and Spain, to establish Spanish courts for the whole empire, but on the contrary, the patriots, under the same right of popular sovereignty, thought that any nation, both in Spain and America, had the right to self-government and to establish their own country.
==History==
{{See also|May Revolution|Argentine war of independence}}
The freedom of the provinces of the Río de la Plata was established through a lengthy process that started in May 1810, when the citizens and militias of [[Buenos Aires]], the capital city of the Spanish [[Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata]], ousted the Viceroy [[Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros]] in the [[May Revolution]]. Although there was not a declaration of independence at the time, and the [[Primera Junta|government that emerged]] from the revolution declared loyalty to the king Ferdinand VII, in fact it attempted to reorganise the social, political and economic structures of the provinces of the Río de la Plata. As it faced immediate resistance in some quarters (namely the [[Banda Oriental]], under the new Spanish Viceroy [[Javier de Elío]], Córdoba and [[Santiago de Liniers]], the local government of Asunción in Paraguay and, notably, the royalist forces from the [[Viceroyalty of Perú]]), the revolution soon turned to be a [[Argentine war of independence|War of Independence]].
[[File:La muerte de Bueras.jpg|thumb|left|190px|[[Battle of Maipú]], 1819]]
In the midst of the war of independence, during the entire 1810–1831 period there were serious conflicts among ever-changing factions regarding the organization of the state and the political aims of the revolutionary governments. These conflicts involved ''coups d'état'', mutinies, politically motivated trials, banishments and imprisonments and finally developed into an outright [[Argentine civil wars|civil war]].
===Initial revolutionary governments===
{{Main|Primera Junta|Junta Grande|Cry of Asencio|First Triumvirate (Argentina)}}
{{See also|Cornelio Saavedra|Mariano Moreno|Juan José Castelli|Paraguay campaign}}
Ever since the revolution, there were serious conflicts among diverging views regarding the political organization of the provinces. While some advocated a strong and executive central government with little accountability to the regional interests, a position at first favored by the "enlightened" revolutionary and independentist elements, others sought to integrate representatives from the provinces in a larger deliberative assembly. As the latter position gained the upper hand, the [[Primera Junta]] grew to incorporate delegates from the provinces in 1811. However, as it became evident that such an arrangement was not effective enough to lead the war efforts, a [[First Triumvirate (Argentina)|triumvirate]] assumed executive powers while the assembly retained some controlling functions.
===Assembly of the year XIII===
[[File:AsambleaXIII.svg|thumb|right|200px|United Provinces represented at the [[Asamblea del Año XIII|1813 Congress]].]]
{{Main|Revolution of October 8, 1812|Second Triumvirate (Argentina)|Assembly of the year XIII}}
{{See also|Army of the North|Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers}}
===Supreme Directorship===
{{Main|Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata}}
{{See also|Army of the Andes|Carlos María de Alvear}}
[[File:Acta Independencia argentina quechua.jpg|thumb|Declaration of Independence of the United Provinces of South America (1816)]]
===Declaration of independence===
{{Main|Congress of Tucumán|Argentine declaration of independence}}
{{See also|Inca Plan|Juan Martín de Pueyrredón}}
===Liga Federal===
{{Main|Liga Federal|Argentine Civil War}}
The Liga Federal (1815–1820), or Liga de los Pueblos Libres (League of the Free Peoples), was an alliance of provinces in what is now Argentina and Uruguay, organised under democratic federalist ideals strongly advocated by its leader, [[José Gervasio Artigas]].
The government of the United Provinces of South America felt threatened by the growing appeal of the Liga Federal, so they did nothing to repel the incoming [[Luso-Brazilian invasion|Portuguese invasion]] of [[Misiones Orientales]] and the [[Banda Oriental]], the stronghold of Artigas. Brazilian General [[Carlos Frederico Lecor]], thanks to their numerical and material superiority, defeated Artigas and his army and occupied [[Montevideo]] on 20 January 1817, but the struggle continued for three long years in the countryside. Infuriated by the passivity of Buenos Aires, Artigas [[Argentine Civil War|declared war on Buenos Aires]] while he was losing to the Portuguese.
On 1 February 1820, Federal League governors [[Francisco Ramírez (caudillo)|Francisco Ramírez]] of [[Entre Ríos Province|Entre Ríos]] and [[Estanislao López]] of [[Santa Fe Province|Santa Fe]], [[Battle of Cepeda (1820)|defeated]] a [[Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata|Supreme Directorship]] [[Arequito Revolt|diminished]] army, ending the centralized government of the United Provinces, and established a [[Federation|federal]] [[Treaty of Pilar|agreement]] with [[Buenos Aires Province]]. Similarly, the Federal League effectively came to an end when its constituent provinces rejoined the United Provinces.
Artigas, defeated by the Portuguese, retreated to Entre Ríos. From there, he denounced the [[Treaty of Pilar]] and entered into conflict with his former ally governor Ramírez, who crushed the remnants of Artigas' army. The former Protector of the Free Peoples was exiled in [[Paraguay]] until his death. The [[Banda Oriental|Eastern Province]] was annexed by [[United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves|Portugal]] to its [[Cisplatina|Brazilian dependences]] in 1821.
===Anarchy of the year XX===
{{See also|Argentine Constitution of 1819|Battle of Cepeda (1820)|Treaty of Pilar}}
===First presidency===
{{See also|Bernardino Rivadavia}}
===War with Brazil and Independence of Uruguay===
{{Main|Cisplatine War|1828 Treaty of Montevideo}}
===Resumption of the Civil War===
{{Main|Argentine civil wars|Unitarian League|Pacto Federal}}
{{See also|Manuel Dorrego|Juan Lavalle|José María Paz|Juan Manuel de Rosas|Argentine Confederation}}
== Break up of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ==
The result of the [[Argentine War of Independence|wars]] was the independence of the provinces. Several new nations appeared, there were:
===Bolivia===
Five provinces would go on to become Bolivia:
[[Charcas Province|Charcas]],
[[Cochabamba]],
[[Mizque]],
[[:es:Chichas|Chichas]], and
[[Tarija, Bolivia|Tarija]].
===Uruguay===
The [[Banda Oriental|Eastern Province]] (''{{lang|es|Provincia Oriental}}'') became independent as [[Uruguay]] as a consequence of the [[Preliminary Peace Convention (1828)|treaty of Montevideo]], partly retaining its old name in its official name: the ''Eastern'' Republic of Uruguay. Due to the text of the aforementioned treaty, United Provinces and Imperial Brazil both renounced their claims to the province and agreed to grant it independence, but the treaty did not include nor ask the Orientals' opinion, and also omitted to detail the borders of the new state what would give Brazil a chance to move its borders further south. The Constitutional Assembly approved the Constitution of Uruguay on 10 September 1829 and it was sworn by the citizens on 18 July 1830.<ref>{{cite book|last=Frega|first=Ana|date=2012|chapter=SOBERANÍA Y ORDEN EN LA BANDA ORIENTAL DEL URUGUAY. ESPACIOS DE FRONTERA Y TIEMPOS DE REVOLUCIÓN|language=es|editor-last=Annino|editor-first=Antonio|editor-last2=Ternavasio|editor-first2=Marcela|title=El laboratorio constitucional iberoamericano: 1807/1808-1830|pages=237–260 |publisher=AHILA / Iberoamericana / Vervuert|location=Spain|doi=10.31819/9783865279996-013|isbn=9783865279996|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31819/9783865279996-013|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31819/9783865279996|chapter-url-access=subscription|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
===Brazil===
[[Misiones Orientales]], after years of Portuguese domain, were recovered with the 1828 Campaign of [[Fructuoso Rivera]] at the Misiones Orientales, but it was ''[[de jure]]'' recognized as Brazilian, following the outcome of the [[Cisplatine War]].
===Argentina===
Following a long [[Argentine Civil War|civil war]], the following provinces joined to become the [[Argentine Republic]]:
[[Buenos Aires Province|Buenos Aires]] (The outpost of [[Carmen de Patagones]] in [[Patagonia]] is now part of Buenos Aires Province),
[[Catamarca Province|Catamarca]],
[[Córdoba Province (Argentina)|Córdoba]],
[[Corrientes Province|Corrientes]],
[[Entre Ríos Province|Entre Ríos]],
[[Jujuy Province|Jujuy]],
[[La Rioja Province (Argentina)|La Rioja]],
[[Mendoza Province|Mendoza]],
[[Salta Province|Salta]],
[[San Juan Province (Argentina)|San Juan]],
[[San Luis Province|San Luis]],
[[Santa Fe Province|Santa Fe]],
[[Santiago del Estero Province|Santiago del Estero]], and
[[Tucumán Province|Tucumán]].
== See also ==
* [[Name of Argentina]]
* [[Second Triumvirate (Argentina)]]
* [[Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata]]
* [[Rise of the Argentine Republic]]
* [[Argentine War of Independence]]
* [[Etymology of Argentina]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Notelist}}
==Bibliography==
{{Commons category}}
* ''Símbolos Nacionales de la República Argentina'' {{ISBN|950-691-036-7}}
{{Argentine War of Independence}}
{{Argentine Civil War}}
{{Argentina topics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|34.6667|S|58.4000|W|source:wikidata|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata}}
[[Category:United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata| ]]
[[Category:Argentine War of Independence]]
[[Category:Former political divisions related to Argentina]]
[[Category:Former countries in South America]]
[[Category:Colonial Argentina]]
[[Category:Colonial Uruguay]]
[[Category:Political history of Argentina]]
[[Category:Political history of Uruguay]]
[[Category:Río de la Plata]]
[[Category:19th century in Argentina]]
[[Category:1816 establishments in Argentina]]
[[Category:1831 in Argentina]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1816]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1831]]
[[Category:1810s in Argentina]]
[[Category:1820s in Argentina]]
[[Category:1830s in Argentina]]
[[Category:1810s in Uruguay]]
[[Category:1820s in Uruguay]]
[[Category:1830s in Uruguay]]
[[Category:1810 establishments in South America]]
[[Category:1831 disestablishments in South America]]