Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
European powers flourished. The wealth passing through the city fueled its initial
growth.
With the decline of silver mining at Potosí in the late 18th century, the Spanish Crown
was forced to recognize Buenos Aires' importance for direct transatlantic trade. Relaxing
its restrictions, Spain made Buenos Aires the capital of the new viceroyalty of the Río de
la Plata - which included Paraguay, Uruguay and the mines at Potosí - in 1776.
The new viceroyalty had internal squabbles over trade and control issues, but when the
British raided the city in 1806 and again in 1807 (in an attempt to seize control of Span-
ish colonies during the Napoleonic Wars), the response was unified. Locals rallied
against the invaders without Spanish help and chased them out of town.
The late 18th century also saw the emergence of the gauchos of the pampas. The South
American counterpart to North America's cowboys, they hunted wild cattle and broke in
wild horses whose numbers had multiplied after being left behind by expeditions on the
Río de la Plata.
Independence & Infighting
Toward the end of the 18th century, criollos (people of pure Spanish descent born in the
New World) became increasingly dissatisfied and impatient with Spanish authority. The
expulsion of British troops from Buenos Aires gave the people of the Río de la Plata new
confidence in their ability to stand alone. After Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, Buenos
Aires finally declared its independence on May 25, 1810.
Independence movements throughout South America soon united to expel Spain from
the continent by the 1820s. Under the leadership of General José de San Martín and oth-
ers, the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (the direct forerunner of the Argentine
Republic) declared formal independence at Tucumán on July 9, 1816.
Despite achieving independence, the provinces were united in name only. With a lack
of any effective central authority, regional disparities within Argentina - formerly ob-
scured by Spanish rule - became more obvious. This resulted in the rise of the caudillos
(local strongmen), who resisted Buenos Aires as strongly as Buenos Aires had resisted
Spain.
Argentine politics was divided between the Federalists of the interior, who advocated
provincial autonomy, and the Unitarists of Buenos Aires, who upheld the city's central
authority. For almost 20 years bloody conflicts between the two factions left the country
nearly exhausted.
