II. THE YEAR 1810

"The new government lost no time in propagating the revolution throughout the Viceroyalty, inviting the towns to follow the example of Buenos Aires, to appoint popular assemblies, and to name deputies to form a congress, which should decide their future fate. Where the people were free to express their opinions the vote was unanimous. Maldonado and Colonia, in the Banda Oriental; Las Misiones and Corrientes, La Bajada and Santa FÈ, along the rivers; San Luis, in the interior of the Pampas; Mendoza and San Juan, at the foot of the Andes; Salta and Tucuman, on the confines of Upper Peru, answered the call of the capital; Chili soon afterwards following the same example."[16]

The revolution of the 25th May, 1810, was the work exclusively of the citizens of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires took upon herself the responsibility of the step, and spared neither blood nor treasure to secure to herself and to the Argentine people, that liberty which she was the first to proclaim in South America as the birthright of man. Throughout the provinces there were many friendly to the cause, but there were also many who were not so, and more still who looked on with perfect apathy, and were ready to accept as their rulers any who might claim the sceptre which had fallen from the hands of Spain.

To secure the triumph of her friends, Buenos Aires fitted out an army composed of volunteers, equipped by private subscription, and despatched it into the provinces. From Cordova this army marched to the borders of Upper Peru, under the command of Don Antonio Balcarce, defeated Goyeneche and other Spanish generals in several actions, shot General Nieto and other chiefs, and completely freed the ArribeÑo provinces from Spanish rule. The revolution advanced in every direction, Chili entered into strict alliance with the Junta of Buenos Aires, and sent a contingent of troops, and the auxiliary army, again victorious at Suipacha, menaced with destruction the last remnants of the Spanish army of Upper Peru.

A second expedition was also despatched to Paraguay under the command of Don Manuel Belgrano, who received the grade of general. Belgrano crossed the ParanÀ on the 19th December, putting to flight a small force under Colonel Thompson, which opposed his passage, and occupied the town of ItapÙa.

But there was one exception to this general success which attended the first measures of the Revolutionary Junta. General Don Francisco Elio, Governor of Monte Video under the late Viceroy Cisneros, was appointed in his place Viceroy of Buenos Aires by the new Regency of Cadiz. Until the receipt of this appointment Elio had given a favourable hearing to the emissaries of the Junta Gubernativa, but he now insisted upon their recognition of his authority, and, finding his friendly overtures rejected, declared war against Buenos Aires, and despatched the Spanish squadron to blockade that port. The authority of Spain was for a time re-established throughout the Banda Oriental, but the blockade of Buenos Aires, after lasting three months, was raised in November, through the intervention of Lord Strangford, who considered the Junta Gubernativa, who ruled in the name of King Ferdinand, as the allies of Great Britain.

So ended the year 1810. During the seven months which had elapsed since the revolution of the 25th May, many reforms had been introduced into the administration, chiefly through the influence of Dr Don Mariano Moreno, secretary to the Junta Gubernativa, but even his far-seeing intellect did not fully comprehend the magnitude of the task Buenos Aires had taken upon herself.

The first aim of the patriots was to procure the concurrence of all the different provinces of the Viceroyalty. The next necessity was to organise some entirely new form of government, which should amalgamate these different provinces into one people. The history of the Argentine Republic for the next six years, is the record of struggles for these two objects, and of resistance against the attempts of Spain to re-establish her authority.

The cry of "Liberty" raised in Buenos Aires on the 25th May, 1810, had resounded throughout the Western Hemisphere, awakening responsive echoes in the hearts of the down-trodden colonists of Spain. Venezuela and Mexico had arisen against their oppressors, Chili had declared for the revolution, Peru alone remained faithful to Spain, and Peruvian troops marched under the Spanish flag against the patriot armies of Buenos Aires. But in Buenos Aires only had the champions of liberty any secure footing, to Buenos Aires alone could the enslaved peoples of America look for the full achievement of their freedom.

III. PARAGUAY

Paraguay had suffered more than any other province of the Viceroyalty from the tyrannical exactions of Spanish rulers, but the rule of Velazco, the then governor, was extremely popular, and General Belgrano with his small army, instead of meeting with a friendly reception, found the whole country in arms against the PorteÑos; the country people fled before him, driving off their horses and cattle, leaving nothing behind them that could in any way assist his progress, but without venturing to molest him.

Through forests and swamps Belgrano forced his way with infinite labour to within eighteen leagues of Asuncion, where, at Paraguay, on the 19th January, 1811, he with 800 men attacked the Paraguayan army under Velazco, which numbered 9000. The impetuous valour of the volunteers at first carried all before them, but, disordered by success, one part of them was surrounded by overwhelming numbers and cut to pieces, and the rest under the immediate command of Belgrano were forced to retire. On the banks of the Tacuari, Belgrano halted with the remnant of his small army, was there attacked by a pursuing column of 3000 men, repulsed them, and then offered to retire across the ParanÀ if allowed to march unmolested, saying it was not his object to conquer Paraguay.

In a lengthened conference Belgrano fully explained his views to the Paraguayan generals and officers, his proposition was accepted, he recrossed the ParanÀ, but the object of his expedition was achieved. Soon after his retreat the Paraguayans rose against their Spanish rulers, deposed them, and placed the government in the hands of a triumvirate of natives. Of this triumvirate Dr Francia, a lawyer of Asuncion, was the leader, a man of considerable mental attainments and of great suavity of address, but withal of an iron will and of a most ruthless disposition. Before long he had made himself the sole ruler of Paraguay, and presently, seeing that anarchy was gradually spreading over the other provinces of the late Viceroyalty, he cut off all intercourse between Paraguay and the rest of the world.

IV. THE BANDA ORIENTAL

Early in 1811 the campaÑa of the Banda Oriental rose in rebellion against the Spanish Viceroy; the Junta of Buenos Aires sent an army to aid the movement. To Belgrano, recalled from the frontiers of Paraguay, was entrusted at first the command of this army, but he was soon superseded by General Rondeau, who was by birth an Oriental.

JosÈ Artigas had commenced life as an estanciero, and had obtained great fame and influence among the paisanos of the Banda Oriental, till the Government of Monte Video, finding themselves unable otherwise to put a stop to depredations upon the revenue, entrusted him with the task of suppressing contraband trade; his influence with the paisanage became greater than ever. In February, 1811, he put himself at the head of the popular outbreak, marched with his "gauchos" upon Monte Video, won the first victory of the war at Las Piedras, and then, joining the army of Rondeau, assisted him in laying siege to Monte Video.

The Princess Carlota of Brazil sent an army of 4000 Portuguese in aid of the Viceroy. Then peace was made in November, 1811, but was of no long duration. JosÈ Artigas took umbrage at the slow retreat of the Portuguese, and made war upon them with his light cavalry on his own account. Again the Government of Buenos Aires sent an army to aid him, and secured the retreat of the Portuguese by concluding a separate peace with them, after which, in October, 1812, Rondeau again laid siege to Monte Video.

On the 31st December the garrison sallied out, under the command of Vigodet, who had succeeded Elio in command, and attacked the principal position of the besiegers at the Cerrito. The sortie was at first successful, but the day was retrieved by the gallantry of Colonel Soler, who with the 6th regiment recaptured the Cerrito at the point of the bayonet, and drove the garrison back with heavy loss into the city.

After this, Artigas left the whole work of the siege to the PorteÑos, named himself the military Governor of the Banda Oriental, and sent deputies chosen by himself to the "Constituent Assembly" of Buenos Aires. The assembly refused to admit his deputies, on the ground that they were not legally elected; whereupon Artigas declared war against Buenos Aires, and sent emissaries into Entre Rios, Corrientes, and Santa FÈ, seeking to stir up the people of those provinces against the "Government of the PorteÑos."

At this time, the Government of Spain sent out to Monte Video a reinforcement of 2200 men. Thus, when in January, 1814, Don Gervacio Posadas was appointed Supreme Director of the united provinces, he found himself with two wars upon his hands in the Banda Oriental. The Argentine army, aided by Artigas, had been unable to capture Monte Video, the garrison of that city was now much stronger than before, and Artigas was actively engaged in cutting off the supplies of the besieging army. Don Juan de Larrea, a Spaniard by birth, and one of the members of the Junta Gubernativa appointed on the 25th May, 1810, was the man to whom belongs the credit of overcoming these difficulties. Up to this time the Spanish fleet had held the command of the estuary of La Plata; the Government of Buenos Aires, inspired by Larrea, now fitted out some small merchant vessels as men-of-war, and, placing them under the command of an Irishman named William Brown, determined to dispute this supremacy.

The Spanish fleet was at that time divided into two squadrons, one stationed at Martin Garcia, an island which commands the entrance to the rivers Uruguay and ParanÀ, the other stationed at Monte Video. Brown sailed in the first place against Martin Garcia, but was beaten off by the Spanish squadron with heavy loss. He returned to Buenos Aires for the purpose of refitting and procuring reinforcements, after which he again approached the island, and, landing his crews, captured it on the 16th March, 1814. The Spanish squadron fled up the Uruguay, and placed themselves under the protection of JosÈ Artigas.

Brown then sailed for Monte Video, attacked the Spanish squadron there on the 14th May, and after a desperate conflict against very superior numbers, gained a complete victory, and blockaded the city.

On the 8th May General Alvear crossed the river from Buenos Aires with 3000 men, and with this reinforcement took command of the besieging army. On the 20th June Monte Video, closely invested by land and sea, surrendered. The trophies of this victory were 3500 prisoners, eight standards, 545 guns, and 8200 muskets.

Artigas, on hearing of the surrender, immediately advanced upon Monte Video, but his lieutenant, Otorguez, a caudillo of infamous repute, was twice defeated by a small force detached against him under the command of Colonel Dorrego, but Dorrego was in his turn completely defeated at Guayabo by Don Fructuoso Rivera, in consequence of which, the Government of the united provinces entered into an arrangement with Artigas. On the 24th February, 1815, Artigas took peaceable possession of Monte Video, the Argentine army returned to Buenos Aires, and the Banda Oriental became an independent state.

V. THE ARMY OF UPPER PERU

The auxiliary army of the north after its first successes, took the name of "the army of Upper Peru," and, under the command of Colonel Diaz Velez, penetrated victoriously to the confines of the province of Cuzco, but was on the 20th June, 1811, surprised by Goyeneche at the Desaguadero and totally routed. The remains of the army, under the command of Don Juan Martin Puyrredon, made good their retreat, in defiance of all the efforts of the Spaniards to stop them, to the city of Salta. Here Puyrredon and Diaz Velez again attempted to make head against the enemy, but their vanguard was defeated at Nazareno and they were compelled to retreat upon Tucuman. On the march they were joined by General Belgrano, who had been recalled by Government from the Banda Oriental and appointed to the command of this army, at the request of General Puyrredon, whose health was much shattered by the hardships through which he had passed.

On the 26th March, 1812, Belgrano took the command of the army of Upper Peru, which was no longer an army but a disorganised, half armed mob, with a very small supply of ammunition, consisting of barely 1500 men, one fourth of whom were sick. The retreat of Goyeneche gave him time to form an army on the basis of this remnant; again he advanced into the neighbourhood of Salta. Government, too much occupied by the war in the Banda Oriental to send him any effective reinforcement, sent him positive orders to retreat to Cordova. To these orders he paid no attention, till Goyeneche, after quelling an insurrection in Cochabamba, despatched General Tristan with an army of 3000 men to attack him.

In August Belgrano commenced his retreat from Jujui, closely pursued by the Spanish vanguard, till on the 3rd September they drove in his rearguard under Diaz Velez at Las Piedras, upon which he turned on them with his whole army and totally routed them. The success of this skirmish so greatly encouraged his men, that Belgrano, disregarding renewed orders to retreat to Cordova, determined to halt at Tucuman. The inhabitants of this city received him with acclamations, and some of the principal citizens raised a contingent of "gaucho" cavalry among the paisanos for his assistance.

On the 24th September Tristan marched past the city of Tucuman with the idea of cutting off the retreat of Belgrano and compelling him to surrender. Belgrano sallied out and attacked him; he himself at the head of his gaucho allies broke through the Spanish line and assailed them in the rear, while his infantry completely routed their centre, capturing five guns and three standards. The left wing of the Spanish army stood firm, but the next day Tristan beat a precipitate retreat, having lost 450 killed and 700 prisoners; the loss of the patriots was 80 killed and 200 wounded.

The news of this victory excited the greatest enthusiasm in Buenos Aires; then in January, 1813, came the news of the victory of the Cerrito, and in February the victory of San Lorenzo. Fortune seemed again to smile upon the patriot cause.

Colonel San Martin, since his arrival in Buenos Aires in 1812, had been actively engaged in organising a regiment of cuirassiers, known to history as the mounted grenadiers famous in the campaigns of Chili and Peru. Their first exploit was the affair of San Lorenzo, where they cut to pieces a detachment of Spaniards who had landed from the squadron.

After the victory of Tucuman, Belgrano received reinforcements until he had 3000 troops under his command, exclusive of the gaucho cavalry of Tucuman, who scoured the whole country round, and greatly harassed the Spanish general, Tristan, in his endeavours to reorganize his routed army.

Up to this time the patriot armies had fought under the Spanish flag. Previous to taking command of the army of Peru, Belgrano had been for a short time stationed at Rosario, where he had adopted a new flag for his troops, two horizontal stripes of blue and one of white, with the national arms embroidered in the centre of the white stripe. For this proceeding he had incurred the censure of the Government, and had withdrawn his flag, saying that he should keep it concealed until he could adorn it with the laurels of victory.

In February, 1813, Belgrano marched from Tucuman; on the banks of the Rio Pasages, in the province of Salta, he halted his army on the 13th February, and hoisting the blue-and-white flag upon a flag-staff, administered to the whole army an oath of obedience to the "Sovereign Assembly," from which imposing ceremony that river bore afterwards the name of the "Rio del Juramento." Belgrano stood beside the new standard, and drawing his sword held it across the staff, while every officer and soldier of the army came up and kissed this military cross as he took the oath. This standard was afterwards adopted by the nation, and is to-day the national flag of the Argentine Republic.

From the Rio del Juramento the patriot army marched upon Salta, where Tristan was then stationed with 3500 men. In the neighbourhood of this city the two armies met on the 20th February; the battle was hotly contested, but at length the Spaniards were driven in disorder back into the city, where the whole army surrendered that afternoon, but after laying down their arms were permitted by Belgrano with misplaced generosity, to retire to Peru.

The losses in this battle were about equal, 600 killed and wounded in each army. The trophies of the victory were three standards, ten guns, and the whole of the arms and baggage of the royal army.

Goyeneche, who was at Potosi with 4000 men, retired precipitately on the news of this disaster, and throwing up his command was succeeded by Pezuela.

Belgrano made but slight use of his victory, and spent months at Potosi organising schools, while the royalists recovered from their panic and organised an army. Of his supineness Pezuela took every advantage, and, having assembled about 4000 men, advanced in the spring upon Potosi. Belgrano awaited him on the table-land of Vilcapugio, where he was attacked by Pezuela on the 1st October. The patriots, advancing with their usual impetuosity, at first carried all before them, but through an ill-understood order were seized with a sudden panic and suffered a total defeat. Belgrano lost the whole of his guns and baggage, but saved his standard, and four days afterwards established his headquarters at Macha with a remnant of his army.

In a month's time Belgrano had succeeded in again assembling about 3000 men, while the victorious royalists were held in check by the gaucho cavalry which swarmed all around their position. In November Pezuela again advanced and again defeated the patriots at Ayouma, Belgrano retiring from the hard-fought field with only 400 infantry and eighty cavalry.

Belgrano retreated to Jujui, where he succeeded in collecting 1800 men, but on the approach of Pezuela he evacuated that city, and continued his retreat to Tucuman, where he was met by considerable reinforcements, including the mounted grenadiers of San Martin, who was named second in command.

Worn out with sickness and reverses, Belgrano applied to be relieved of his command, and in January, 1814, resigned it into the hands of General San Martin, who, establishing his headquarters at Tucuman, applied himself diligently to reorganising the army, and constructed an entrenched camp to the north of the city. Pezuela reoccupied Jujui and Salta, but the two victories gained by Belgrano had so roused the spirit of the people, that the paisanos rose in mass against the invaders, and under Arenales and GÜemes prevented any further advance of the royalists.

In this year 1814, the revolution in Chili was completely crushed by the defeat of the patriots at Rancagua. San Martin gave up the command of the army of Peru to General Rondeau, and, marching with his mounted grenadiers and a small force of infantry to Mendoza, set to work to collect and organise the immortal "army of the Andes."

Rondeau, advancing from Tucuman, retook Salta and Jujui, but was afterwards totally defeated at Sipe-Sipe by Pezuela, on the 29th November, 1815, and retreated to Jujui.

VI. THE SOVEREIGN PEOPLE

Such is a slight sketch of the military achievements and reverses of the Argentine patriots, during the first six years of the era of liberty. But not against external foes alone had they to contend, even yet a more formidable foe, was the ignorance of the most enlightened among them of the first principles of popular sovereignty. The principles of representative government, then but partially understood even in England, were by the Argentine people understood not at all. Further, the Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires comprised a host of discordant elements, which only the most consummate skill could weld at once into one homogeneous people.

The Junta Gubernativa had not been long in power before it became divided into two parties, Conservatives and Democrats. The latter, under the leadership of Dr Moreno, represented the revolution; they were for completely changing the whole system of government, and to themselves made no secret that their ultimate aim was the establishment of an independent republic on the democratic basis of the sovereignty of the people. The Conservatives, of whom Don Cornelio Saavedra was the head, aimed at nothing more than continuing the government under the old forms, but independent of Spain, until such time as Ferdinand VII. might again exercise his royal authority. Such reforms as were forced upon them they accepted, but they made no attempt to direct public opinion to any definite end, they had no fixed policy whatever, and thus the measures of the Junta were directed exclusively by the more active Democrats, until in the month of March, 1811, twelve deputies named by the Cabildos of as many provincial towns arrived in Buenos Aires.

These provincial deputies, in spite of the opposition of Dr Moreno, were incorporated with the Junta itself, and gave an overwhelming majority to the Conservatives, who, not content with this triumph, stirred up a popular commotion for the purpose of crushing the Democrats. The result was the expulsion of four of the leading Democrats from the Junta, after which the provinces were directed to form Juntas of their own.

In September the form of government was again changed by the authority of the Cabildo. The Junta was resolved into a deliberative assembly, whose functions were very obscure, and the executive was entrusted to a triumvirate, Chiclana, Passo, and Sarratea. To this triumvirate Don Bernardina Rivadavia acted as secretary, and his clear intellect infused itself into every measure adopted.

The provincial Juntas and the Junta of the capital were abolished, and the triumvirate, under the name of "The Superior Provisional Government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata," commenced a vigorous policy of centralisation, with a view to putting an end to the disorder which had crept into every branch of the administration. Among other decrees was one establishing liberty of the press.

The only check upon the power of the triumvirate was an assembly of "Notables" chosen by the Cabildo. This assembly had the right of appointing a successor to an outgoing triumvir every six months. On the occasion of the first election their choice fell upon Don Juan Martin Puyrredon, who was at that time absent in the interior. The triumvirate denied their right to appoint a deputy to represent him until his return to the capital, they insisted, the assembly was dissolved, and the whole powers of government were assumed by the triumvirate.

But the Argentine people, in accepting the revolution of the 25th May, had delegated their power to an executive, only until the meeting of a sovereign congress. The triumvirate convened a new assembly elected by the Cabildos of the capital and of the provincial towns, which was far from representing the people, and was in no sense a congress.

At this time there existed in London a secret society, composed entirely of men born in Spanish America, organised by General Don Francisco Miranda of Venezuela, with the object of working out the independence of the Spanish colonies of America. Three members of this society, JosÈ de San Martin, Carlos Maria de Alvear, and JosÈ Matias Zapiola, all Argentines by birth, arrived in Buenos Aires on the 13th March, 1812, in the British ship George Canning. They at once proceeded to form a branch of this society under the name of "Los Caballeros Racionales," and found many eager adherents among the more advanced Democrats of the capital.

Taking advantage of the popular discontent with the measures of the triumvirate the "Caballeros Racionales" stirred up a commotion, and a fresh revolution in September placed the executive in the hands of a new triumvirate, consisting of:

Dr Don Juan Jose Passo,
Don Nicolas Rodriguez PeÑa,
Antonio Alvarez Jonte,

all of whom belonged to the Democratic party.

"The eternal captivity of Ferdinand VII., has destroyed the last rights of Spain."

Such were the words with which the new Government commenced their first address to the Argentine people. They cast aside at once the fiction of loyalty to a foreign king, and claimed to govern only by the will of the people.

In accordance with this programme they devised a new plan of electing the deputies to the assembly. Each town or city was divided into eight electoral districts; in each district the citizens voted "viva voce" for an "elector"; the eight "electors" so chosen by each city named the deputy or deputies who should represent that city. Buenos Aires, as the capital, had the right of sending four deputies to the assembly, the capital of each province two, and all other towns one each.

This was an immense advance upon the old system of leaving the right of naming deputies to the Cabildos, and produced a very fair representation of the urban population of the united provinces, but the rights of the rural population were entirely overlooked.

"The General Constituent Assembly" was inaugurated on the 31st January, 1813. Without proclaiming the independence of the united provinces, they yet took to themselves the supreme power, substituting the national arms for those of Spain; a national flag for the flag of Spain; suppressing all laws and customs which in any way recognised Spanish tribunals as courts of appeal; abolished the Inquisition and judicial torture; gave liberty to all children born of slave parents after that date; and in the service of the Litany substituted a prayer for the "Sovereign Assembly of the United Provinces" in place of the one previously offered on behalf of the King. Further, they decreed that all Europeans, whether ecclesiastics, civilians, or soldiers, who should not within fifteen days become citizens should forfeit any employment they held under Government.

In January, 1814, the assembly determined upon another great step, they abolished the triumvirate and placed Don Gervacio Posadas at the head of the state, with the title of "Supreme Director of the United Provinces," but after holding office for one year Posadas resigned, and Don Carlos Maria de Alvear was named Supreme Director.

Alvear owed his election to the influence of the "Caballeros Racionales," of which secret society he was President, but he was disliked both by the mass of the people and by the army.

The position of the united provinces was at this time very critical; the fall of Napoleon had set Ferdinand at liberty, he was again King of Spain, and was preparing at Cadiz an expedition of 15,000 men for the purpose of reconquering the revolted colonies of La Plata. Alvear despaired of securing the independence of the united provinces, but five years of revolutionary rule had inspired the entire Argentine people with a hatred of Spain; he determined to place them under the protectorate of Great Britain. With this object he chose two ambassadors, Don Manuel Belgrano and Don Bernardino Rivadavia, whom he despatched to London with credentials to the Court of Saint James, and with a despatch addressed to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in which, after describing the disorder into which everything had fallen from the inaptitude of the people for self-government, he said:

"These provinces wish to belong to Great Britain, to adopt her laws, to obey her Government, and to live under her powerful influence. They deliver themselves unconditionally to the generosity and good faith of the English people."

The two ambassadors reached London in March, 1815, only to find Europe in a fresh commotion produced by the return of Napoleon from Elba. This unforeseen event, put an end to the expedition in preparation at Cadiz; greatly improved the position of Charles IV., ex-King of Spain, who still asserted his right to the crown of Spain, and was then living in retirement at Rome; and utterly precluded any hope that the British Government would adopt any policy in opposition to the interests of Ferdinand.

The two ambassadors never presented their credentials to the Court of Saint James, and, in conjunction with Sarratea, who was at that time agent in Europe for the Government of the united provinces, addressed themselves, instead, to the ex-King Charles, offering to bestow the crown of Buenos Aires upon his adopted son the Infante Don Francisco de Paula. Waterloo put an end to this negotiation, Rivadavia went to Spain to endeavour to treat with Ferdinand, and Belgrano returned to Buenos Aires.

Belgrano was no great genius, either as a military man or as a politician, but he was a hard-working, honest patriot; loving his country, and ready to make any personal sacrifice in her service, he aspired to no dignities and was careless of all emolument; he devoted his life and his energies to securing the independence of the Argentine people. But he was also a deep thinker, and foresaw that the anarchy which was spreading over the united provinces threatened evils even worse than the tyranny of Spain. During his residence in England, he had seen that the liberty of the people was perfectly compatible with monarchial institutions; he returned to Buenos Aires, convinced that the establishment of a monarchy was the only means by which order and liberty could be at once secured to the Argentine people.

During the campaign of Tucuman he had entered into friendly relations with various Indian chieftains of the interior, among them he now proposed to search for a lineal descendant of Atahualpa, for the purpose of re-establishing the Empire of the Incas. In this purpose he found many willing to join him, but the Argentine people, jealous of their new-born liberty, looked upon the project as a dream.

The necessities of Government had compelled them to many extreme and arbitrary measures for the replenishing of the exhausted treasury. Of these measures the Spanish residents of Buenos Aires were the especial victims. Early in the year 1812 the capital was almost drained of troops by the large reinforcements despatched to the army in the Banda Oriental, and the Spanish residents, headed by Don Martin Alzaga, entered into a conspiracy together, their object being to seize the city, put to death all the principal Argentine leaders, and to set up a new government in connection with the Spanish Cortes then assembled at Cadiz. To further their scheme they entered into a correspondence with the Princess Carlota of Brazil, and the Portuguese army, which had received orders to retire from the Banda Oriental, delayed its retreat in pursuance of secret instructions, and was held in readiness to support the conspirators if they should succeed in gaining possession of the capital.

Until the eve of the outbreak, the Government was in complete ignorance of the danger, but immediately on the discovery of the conspiracy adopted the most vigorous measures of suppression. Thirty of the principal conspirators, including Don Martin Alzaga, were shot, and their bodies hung upon gibbets, seventy-eight of less note were condemned to minor punishments, and the danger was thus averted.

The authors of the revolution of the 25th May, 1810, had sought to establish a new government upon the democratic basis of the sovereignty of the people. Many of them were men of great intellectual attainments, but they had adopted the ideas of the revolutionary leaders of France, in the full persuasion that that form of government, which is in theory the best, must necessarily be the best in practice. The failure of democracy in France had not opened their eyes to the fact that a government, to be securely based upon the will of the people, must be constructed in conformity with the traditions, circumstances, and instincts of the people.

The first five years of revolutionary government were thus a series of political experiments, a series of abortive attempts to govern a number of distinct provinces by schemes of administration, which might have been fully adequate for the government of the small republics of ancient Greece, or of the Italian cities of the middle ages, when each city was a separate state, but were totally inadequate for the government of an immense territory, peopled chiefly by herdsmen and shepherds. They totally failed to give the people any adequate means of expressing their will, and the result was that during these years the people, who had responded eagerly to the cry of liberty, interpreted in their own way the theory of popular sovereignty.

The nature of the country and the traditions and instincts of the people all inclined them to an aristocratic form of government; the attempt to form an administration on a democratic basis was consequently a complete failure.

The mass of the Argentine people were herdsmen and shepherds, who lived scattered over immense plains, who were yet in a state of semi-barbarism; the theory of the sovereignty of the people was interpreted to mean that each man had a right to choose his own ruler. The qualities which they could most fully appreciate were dauntless courage, a strong seat on horseback, and a ruthless will. Men possessed of such qualifications were those to whom they would naturally look as their leaders, and to whom they were ready to yield the most unquestioning obedience; but men like these were not the men to work cordially with the authors of the revolution in the regeneration of their country. Thus the leading Democrats, almost ignoring the existence of the mass of the people, except when they looked to them for aid against the Spaniards, sought only the co-operation of the towns and cities in their attempts to form a national government.

The revolution of the 25th May, 1810, was exclusively the work of the citizens of Buenos Aires. The nucleus of all the armies which fought in the subsequent campaigns was formed of the militia of Buenos Aires; the Patricios, and other regiments levied in Buenos Aires, bore the brunt in every conflict. It was the militia of Buenos Aires who marched with Belgrano through the dense woods and endless swamps of Paraguay, and held their own against the overwhelming odds of fourteen to one. It was the militia of Buenos Aires who kept the Portuguese armies in check in the Banda Oriental, laid siege to Monte Video, where the garrison outnumbered them three to one, gained the victory of the Cerrito, and eventually compelled the surrender of the city. It was the militia of Buenos Aires who penetrated with Balcarce, Diaz Velez, Puyrredon, and Belgrano to the confines of Upper Peru. It was the militia of Buenos Aires who decided with their bayonets the fields of Suipacha, Tucuman, and Salta; they stood round Belgrano and the blue-and-white standard among the rocks on that dismal night which followed the rout of Vilcapugio; they retreated with him from the still more disastrous field of Ayouma. Argentines from other provinces, Paz, Arenales, Martin GÜemes, and many others, vied with their comrades from Buenos Aires in gallantry and endurance on many a hard-fought field; on two occasions Belgrano saved the remnant of his army solely through the devoted bravery of his "gaucho" allies of the interior, but in every conflict the brunt fell upon the infantry of Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires not only furnished the nucleus to every army, but her citizens impoverished themselves to provide by voluntary contributions for the support and equipment of these armies, while her trade was harassed, and at times destroyed, by the hostility of the Spanish cruisers. Of all the cities of the interior, Tucuman alone displayed equal patriotism, equal zeal for the cause of all.

But Buenos Aires in return for the great sacrifices she made, claimed for herself the chief place in the direction of affairs. The Cabildo of Buenos Aires took upon itself on more than one occasion the right of nominating the Government which ruled in the name of the Argentine people. The "Constituent Assembly" of the year 1813 was the first legislative body which in any degree represented the united provinces. This assembly soon fell under the influence of the secret society, then known as "Los Caballeros Racionales," and later on as "La Sociedad de Lautaro."

The provincial jealousy of Buenos Aires, which almost disappeared in the first burst of enthusiasm that welcomed the cry of "Liberty" raised by Buenos Aires on the 25th May, 1810, soon revived; the provincial cities began to ask themselves whether the domination of Buenos Aires, the domination of a secret and irresponsible society, was not worse than the domination of Spain. The disastrous issue of some of the campaigns, and the continued demands upon them for supplies, exhausted their patience. Then rose up a new power in the state, to which both the provincial cities and Buenos Aires, had hitherto given but slight attention—the people.

The army of Peru under Rondeau, the army of the Andes under San Martin, refused to obey the orders of a Government which was merely the mouth-piece of a clique. In their dilemma the citizens of Buenos Aires looked about for a deliverer who should free them from a despotism which threatened them with the loss of all for which they had fought. Their gaze fell upon the new power which had risen up amongst them, they appealed to the people.

In the year 1815 JosÈ Artigas stood forth prominently as "the man of the people." The people were in a state of semi-barbarism. He himself was little better, but he understood them, knew how to attract their sympathies to himself, and how to rule over them. The Banda Oriental, Entre Rios, and Corrientes obeyed him. In answer to the appeal of the citizens of Buenos Aires, he crossed the Parana into Santa FÈ with the pompous title of "Chief of the Orientales and Protector of the Free Peoples." The men of Santa FÈ received him as their deliverer. Cordova declared herself independent of Buenos Aires.

The people, knowing nothing of representative Government, chose for themselves their leaders, and prepared to yield them unlimited obedience. In every province there rose up petty chieftains, ruling with absolute sway over their followers, ready for any sacrifice to defend their country against Spain, equally ready to defend their provincial rights against the domination of Buenos Aires. These popular chieftains throughout the provinces hailed Artigas as their champion.

Alvear bestirred himself against this new enemy, and despatched an army to drive him from the province of Santa FÈ. But on the frontier of Buenos Aires this army joined the popular movement, and fraternised with the barbaric hordes of Artigas. Then the citizens of Buenos Aires arose and decreed the downfall of the Government, the assembly was dissolved, and Alvear took refuge on board a foreign vessel anchored in the roadstead.

The Argentine people were left without a government, and, in presence of the anarchy which prevailed, without any legal means of appointing one. Again Buenos Aires put herself forward as the arbiter of the destinies of the nation. The Cabildo of Buenos Aires resumed to itself the powers of government, and decreed the election by the citizens of Buenos Aires of a "Junta de Observacion," which should form a provisional government until the convention of a sovereign congress. This Junta named General Rondeau, then in command of the army of Upper Peru, Supreme Director.

The new Government found itself face to face with three distinct enemies, Spain, the provinces, the people. Two provinces of the old Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires, Paraguay and the Banda Oriental, were now completely independent of Buenos Aires; every other province had an equal right to such independence; Cordova and Santa FÈ utterly refused to recognise the new government; Entre Rios and Corrientes had chosen a ruler for themselves, and obeyed the orders of JosÈ Artigas. The people everywhere, weary of the exactions of the nominees of the capital, looked to JosÈ Artigas as their champion.

Artigas, obeying the universal law which impels "the man of the people" to become a despot, sought only to consolidate and extend his own power.

The Government, after a vain attempt to come to some definite arrangement with Artigas, concluded a truce with him. He retired across the Parana, and they despatched an army to occupy Santa FÈ. But this Army was compelled to capitulate to the "Montonera," or "gaucho" cavalry of Santa FÈ. A second army, stationed at Rosario, revolted, and demanded the resignation of the Supreme Director. The Government yielded, the "Junta de Observacion" named General Antonio Gonsalez Balcarce, Supreme Director, and the army of Buenos Aires was withdrawn from Santa FÈ.

VII. THE CONGRESS OF TUCUMAN

The only hope now of putting an end to this anarchy lay in the assembling of a sovereign congress, in which all the provinces should be duly represented.

On the 24th March, 1816, this congress was convened at Tucuman, the mass of the Argentine people looking on with supreme indifference. At the same time Artigas amused himself by convening a Federal congress of his own at Paysandu in the Banda Oriental.

Each province sent deputies to the Congress of Tucuman in proportion to its estimated population, and some attempt was made to procure the representation of the campaÑa. Buenos Aires sent seven deputies; Cordova, five; Chuquisaca, four; Tucuman, three; Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, Mendoza, and Salta, two each; La Rioja, San Luis, San Juan, Misque, Cochabamba, and Jujui, one each. The Banda Oriental, Entre-Rios Corrientes, and Santa FÈ sent no deputies, Paraguay was by this time completely isolated from Argentine affairs.

The congress of Tucuman did not fully represent the Argentine people, nevertheless it was a more exact representation of the popular will than any assembly which had yet been convened. Upon one point only had the Argentine people as yet made up their minds, they looked upon themselves as an independent nation, and were ready to assert that independence before the world. To this resolve of the people, the Congress of Tucuman gave full expression.

The first measures of Congress were marked by great timidity, as though they feared to measure the extent of their power, but on the 3rd May they appointed Don Juan Martin Puyrredon Supreme Director, thus annulling the appointment of General Balcarce by the Junta of Buenos Aires.

VIII. INDEPENDENCE

In June Belgrano and San Martin arrived in Tucuman; neither of them were members of Congress, but their personal influence had great weight in the decisions of that body. In pursuance of their counsels, on the 9th July, 1816, a day ever memorable in the annals of the Argentine people, the secretary of Congress proposed this question to the deputies:

"Do you desire that the provinces of the union form a nation free and independent of the kings of Spain?"

"Yes," answered every deputy, springing to his feet.

That answer was the true, outspoken will of the Argentine people, and has been maintained by them with unshaken heroism ever since. By that answer the Argentine people took their place in the world as an independent nation. Nothing less than that answer would have justified the revolution of the 25th May, 1810. That answer was the seal to the liberties of the New World, it carried with it the independence of all the infant peoples then groaning under the tyranny of Spain.

The Act of Independence was then drawn out as follows:

"We, the representatives of the united provinces of South America, invoking that eternal Power which presides over the universe, in the name and by the authority of the people we represent, protesting before Heaven and before all nations and men of the globe, the justice of our vote, solemnly declare before all the world, that it is the unanimous and undoubted will of these provinces to break the chains which bind them to the kings of Spain, to reassert the rights of which they have been despoiled, and to take upon themselves the high character of a free nation. In consequence of which they remain with ample and full power to adopt such form of government as justice and their circumstances may require. All and each one of us so publish, declare, and notify, binding ourselves to the fulfilment and support of this their will, under the security and guarantee of our lives, fortunes, and good name."

Twenty-nine deputies signed their names to this Declaration of Independence. To maintain this independence the Argentine people, by their deputies and their authorities of every class, devoted themselves, their lives, and their properties, and amid all the convulsions through which they have since passed they have never faltered for one moment in their adhesion to this solemn declaration which was made for them by the Sovereign Congress of Tucuman on the 9th July, 1816.

Since then the anniversary of that great day has been yearly welcomed with rejoicings throughout the length and breadth of the land. Amid the vineyards of Mendoza, on the sunny plains of Santa FÈ, in the peaceful seats of learning at Cordova, and amid the busy hum of commerce at Buenos Aires, the yearly recurrence of that day has been welcomed ever since. ArribeÑos, RivereÑos, and PorteÑos, whatever their passing differences, alike look back in boastful pride to the day when their forefathers boldly asserted their right to a place among the nations of the world.

Through much turmoil and sorrow, through anarchy, tyranny, and bloodshed the Argentine people have struggled since the day when Buenos Aires first raised the standard of freedom. For six years they laboured before they could unite to declare themselves a nation, even to the present day their efforts to form themselves into one homogeneous people have not met with full accomplishment. But the Argentine Republic now exists, she holds her acknowledged place among the nations. The dream of those gallant men who, on the 25th May, 1810, shook themselves free from the traditions of centuries, is fulfilled.

In many of the events which we have so shortly chronicled in this epilogue, Don Marcelino Ponce de Leon and Don Carlos EvaÑa took their share, playing their parts, each according to his several character. Both of them sprang to their feet and responded with an enthusiastic "Yes" to the question proposed to the deputies by the secretary of the Sovereign Congress of Tucuman, on the 9th July, 1816, both of them signed the Declaration of Independence. Yet if you read that document you will not find either of those names there written. They represent two great sections of the Argentine people, differing widely in their principles, more widely yet in their modes of thought, who joined cordially together, to overthrow the domination of Spain, to establish the Argentine Republic.

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THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH

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The original spelling and grammar have been retained.

Footnotes have been moved to the end of the chapters in which they are referenced.

Minor changes in hyphenation and other punctuation have been made without annotation.

The cover image for this book was created for use with this electronic format and is released to the public domain.

Typographical changes to this volume:

Pg 6 in the aame[name] of the King of Great Britain.
Pg 31 DoÑa Constanica[Constancia] and Dolores
Pg 41 earned for themelves [themselves] immortal fame
Pg 75 forming perpendicular chiffs,[cliffs]
Pg 78 taking his hand let[led] him up to his mother
Pg 82 the things[thing] is to commence a
Pg 83 one of the twenty had make[made] off from the
Pg 83 he ordered them to drive to[delete to] four stout stakes
Pg 87 when the golloping[galloping] of horse
Pg 87 said DonÑ[DoÑa] Constancia
Pg 88 Then you were made prisioner[prisoner]
Pg 99 his two brothers, Lietuenant[Lieutenant] Gordon
Pg 103 and a few sconds[seconds] afterwards
Pg 107 near to the Ensenada do[de] Barragan
Pg 107 has already reported to to[delete to] himself
Pg 126 But he shrank form[from] her
Pg 131 the losses seemed marvellously[marvelously] small
Pg 140 the distant hum with[which] told him
Pg 140 We[He] had crossed the ocean
Pg 143 on the Plaza Miserere[Miserere]
Pg 145 The right wing of this columnn[column]
Pg 146 closed by a black mound of eath[earth]
Pg 173 Very few prisoners find such kind goalers[gaolers]
Pg 177 He[We] thought him our friend
Pg 188 like one of the old partiarchs[patriarchs]
Pg 191 by any proceedure[procedure] short of an absolute rupture
Pg 196 to meddle any more in this affiar[affair]
Pg 215 who thought in[it] one of the
Pg 220 I know don't [don't know] any woman
Pg 220 her enthusiam[enthusiasm] beamed
Pg 224 Buenos[Buenas] noches y pasa adelante,
Pg 224 Upon which one of then[them] led him
Pg 229 and could bribe my goalers[gaolers].
Pg 230 Princess Carloto[Carlota] will not find
Pg 232 The idea is perfectly inadmissable[inadmissible]
Pg 236 Buenos Aires hailed the even[event] with joy
Pg 237 in which Don Carlos had esconced[ensconced] himself.
Pg 238 the interest of the is Patria[Patria is] above every other
Pg 240 But do not afflict pourself[yourself],
Pg 245 Until the new Viceroy arrive [arrives]
Pg 250 in the most critical noment[moment]
Pg 262 their follow[fellow]-countrymen.
Pg 289 said Don Ciricao[Ciriaco]
Pg 291 For this DoÑa[Don] Manuel Belgrano
Pg 296 he forget[forgot] that he
Pg 303 But Marcelino heardly[hardly] heard the remark
Pg 318 With heard [head] erect
Pg 322 for his bad success as a sportsmen.[sportsman]
Pg 332 Enclosed in this letter come[came] another
Pg 338 Look you, Don Alfonso," said Asnerios[Asneiros]
Pg 376 hunging[hanging] low over the city
Pg 377 clothing the whole earch[earth] with
Pg 378 than she had heart[heard] him speak
Pg 381 looked back in indignation upon his coleagues[collegues],
Pg 382 King Fedinand[Ferdinand] VII
Pg 386 Marcelino has peruasded[persuaded] him
Pg 386 He declined it," said Esneiros[Asneiros]
Pg 391 were in the enighbourhood[neighbourhood] caused
Pg 401 in the hearts of the citzens[citizens]