Thomas Montangero Ory

UNSAM
History

1. Explain the main features of colonial Argentina before

independence.
Columbus arrived to the Caribbean in 1942, when Argentina only existed
of nearly 1 million indigenous inhabitants. It took over 300 years before
the Europeans established in Argentina and the southern cone. While Peru
and Mexico had large empires of indigenous established like the Incas and
the Aztecs, with wealth and riches, which fell within few years after
Spanish arrival. After all, there was no empire to conquer in Argentina and
certainly no wealth to sustain the Spaniards. The indigenous inhabitants of
the southern cone were only nomads and had little wealth compared to
the Incas of Peru. The original inhabitants of the region that became
modern Argentina did not have agriculture, but had to survive on hunting
and gathering in their nearby environments; they lacked of technology
that is more sophisticated and did only use Stone Age technology. The
indigenous were separated into many groups with different languages,
culture and ways of living. Some were hunters and gatherers while others
with more influence of the Incas that had more agriculture.
The Europeans had to conquer Argentina, little by little over many years,
with many small conquests over the indigenous inhabitants.
In 1536, Pedro de Mendoza led his voyage to establish the first settlement
of Buenos Aires at the edge of the Argentine Pampas1. The local Indians
refused to help with rations for them and no minerals nor precious metals
for the taking, the new settlement grew hungry and fractious, while local
Indians attacked them. The settlers had no choice, but to leave and
abandon Buenos Aires. The areas around Rio de la Plata lacked in wealth,
population dispersion and decentralization ruined the plans of the
Spaniards. It was not as establishes as the great Incas or Aztecs and they
cooperation with the Indians did not go that well.
44 years later Juan de Garay a descendant of Mendozas party that went
up river to Paraguay returned down river to the outburst of Rio de la Plata
to found the second foundation of Buenos Aires. The second foundation of
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Thomas Montangero Ory

UNSAM
History

Buenos Aires ended the Spanish expansions in Spanish America. Nearly all
the cities of todays Latin America had been established since Columbus
arrived and until the second establishment of Buenos Aires.1

Later on the expansion of slave trade in Buenos Aires expanded and

internal products from Latin Amerika reached Buenos Aires and then to
rest of the world. Like the silver trail that stretched from Potosi in Peru to
Santiago del Estero, Tucuman, Santa Fe, and Mendoza, which owned their
economic well-being to the passage. The mine in Potosi needed a passage
of goods from the towns and cities located in the route, as the city and
mines are located on the mountains with little vegetation and terrain, only
mules could transport the silver. Goods and mules in huge number
reached Potosi so the people could continue extracting the mines and live
in the cities. The Potosi mine and the silver trade route had a huge impact
on commercial trade from the cities on the route and in Buenos Aires
By the time of the 18th century; the Rio de la Plata had grown from being
on the

outburst of Spanish America to become one of the most

commercial areas of Spains colonies. The importance of Buenos Aires

Grew and trade flourished at the port. Stimulated by exports from the
mines, the area became an important market for foreign ships.1 Slaves
also arrived in increasing numbers and the expanding market, influenced
the growing cultivated pampas farmer to use methods that are more
efficient. The exportation of hide from Argentina was also growing due to
conflicts in Europe between Spain, France, Britain and Portugal. Especially
the British showed considerably interest in hides, by 1724 Buenos Aires
exported over 60,000 units of hide.1 All this influenced the expansion of
the population throughout the region, especially in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires became the superior city of Atlantic economy and won
growing dominance over the regions to its rear, also began expanding its
jurisdiction over the pampas. This did not only come with good news as
Portugal regained independence from Spain, and thus started a period of
conflicts and political struggles for Spanish and Portuguese settlements in
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Latin Amerika.2 The Portuguese began to reconstruct their commercial

system and funded Colonia on the other side of the estuary. The founding
of Colonia was immediately met by hostility. The governor of Buenos Aires
Jose de Garro sent out an army mobilized of Indians, Jesuits, garrison from
Buenos Aires, and captured the city. The city of Colonia was recaptured
bye the Portuguese and later on recaptured by Buenos Aires again.

Colonial Argentina is a place ruled by the Spaniards and the established

Spaniards who has become the elite. Colonial Argentina was a very
important part of the Spanish colonies especially for its ports and
passages to other riches from other parts of Spanish America. Its huge
farmed lands, Bourbon reforms2,. Labor, work, important elite families. All
this made Argentina important, and got the region to grow in economics
and populations, all this shaped Argentina to what It later would become.

2. Explain the main features of the rosista period

( 1829-1852)
The rosisita Period from 1929-1852 was a period in Argentina that
consisted of a federalist govern dictatorship. Juan Manuel De Rosas
became governor of Buenos Aires in 1829 with the help of Lopez from
Santa Fe. The two of them defeated Lavalle at Puente de Marquez and
Rosa was greeted as a savior of the two years Anarchy rule. With the
unbridled dictatorial powers, Rosa was now the leader of the Unitarian
centralist Buenos Aires, as a Federalist.2
Once Rosas had gained the power of Buenos Aires, he proved to become a
strong leader that became very difficult to dislodge with many enemies
that reviled Rosas as a Bloody Tyrant and a symbol of barbarism.

He inherited a strong economic and political crisis. Buenos Aires was

impregnated in worthless paper money and inflation, and the effects of the
Brazilian blockage of the Rio de la Plata still lingered and affected the
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cattle ranchers marked. By ruling freely, Rosas quickly formed an army

and started censorships of his critics and enemies. His province
commercial during his rule as governor aided him in directing the interior
provinces as well.
As a federalist politician, Rosas supported states rather than a central
Argentinian government. He and his government benefited from a relative
free trade largely of landowners than other provinces. He collected
revenues from the port and reserved a major militia in the province.
Rosista called himself The Restorer of laws1 as he acted as a populist in
order to reinforce and preserve, hi did not want to change the colonial
social order that was threatened by the earlier political anarchy and
lawlessness. Rosas, born into the creole landowning class, was the most
successful of the 19th- century strongmen, known for setting stability to
the economic and political life
After Rosas resigned as a governor in 1833, he led his troops on a
campaign to appease the Indians. The campaign was both military and
diplomatic, for the Indians that opposed fell to the ground from Rosas and
the gauchos lance tips.1 He also cultivated alliances with the indigenous;
he gave them horses, cattle, tobacco and yerba mate to the indigenous
leaders. He obligated the treasury of the provincial government to pay for
his tributes. The Elite of Buenos Aires decided to reappoint Rosas as a
governor again in 1835 and this time with more power as he became a
governor with dictatorial powers.
Rosas was responsible for developing stat terrorism in Argentina. He
formed a secret police force called the Mazorca1. He kept the Mazorca as
a group of political thugs of the working class to intimidate his opponents
and punish the ones that challenged his rule. The secret police and the
terror did bring political security for the first time in Argentina since the
war of independence, but it also resulted in the exile of some of
Argentinas brightest minds.1 Although Rosas was not above exploiting
race and class antagonism, he did not set about reforming social order. He
never suggested the redistribution of land nor did he renounce to
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discipline the popular classes who supported him. He was in favor of the
emerging elite of the ranches, the estancieros that he belonged. He
permitted trade with all countries wishing to purchase Argentinian ranch
products and upheld the private property rights of the well to do. Above
all, Rosas wished to reestablish order, controlling as a dictator and
intimidate his opponents of his own class.
Even though Rosa was governor of Buenos Aires he intervened in other
places outside the province using power, money and militia from his
province to impact internal or external affairs. He lent forces to a
Uruguayan faction that laid siege to a rival party in Montevideo. He also
prevented foreign trade on the Parana and Uruguay River. Things like this
made him a major threat for a lot of factions and people. During the late
1830s and 1840s he faced a series of major threats to his power and rule.
The Unitarians found allys from the ruler of Peru-Bolivian confederation
Andreas de Santa Cruz. Rosas declared war against the Peru-Bolivian
confederation in 1837 joining the war between Chile and Peru-Bolivia,
Rosistas army played little different in the war, which resulted in the
overthrow of Santa Cruz and dissolution of the Peru-Bolivian confederation.
On march 28 in 1838, France declared a blockade in the Rio de la Plata of
the port of Buenos Aires, eager to extend influence in Buenos Aires as they
had in Montevideo. The blockage caused severe damage to the economy
as the Brazilian blockage had some decades earlier. It caused damage to
all the provinces because of their exportation through the port of Buenos
Aires. From the wake of the blockage came another civil war. In 1839 with
the support from the French, Juan Lavalle the exiled Unitarian general
invaded Entre Rios from Montevideo. Uruguay also declared war on Rosas,
and the Bolivians invaded the northwest, simultaneously a rebellion of
cattle ranchers from Chascoms was sparked by demands of new land as
the blockage had made cattle prices extremely low.
One by one, Rosas eliminated his enemies. In the northwest, his supports
quickly expelled the Bolivians.2 An army led by Rosas brother eliminated
the cattle rebellion. In the war with Uruguay, Rosa bargained with local
Uruguayan factionalism to raise a force against and to pin down his
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enemies in Uruguay. While the police force in Buenos Aires kept everything
under firm control. As the French blockade continued, the British started to
concern about their own trade losses, and pressured the French into
ending the blockade in 1840. Lavalle however was defeated at Sauce
Grande in Entre Rios and then in Santa Fe and was finally driven to Salta.
He was later killed in 1841 in Jujuy, and his death ended this bout of civil
war. Only Montevideo survived as a last outpost of resistance against Rosa
while his Uruguayans friends failed to siege the city in 1843.
Rosas victories in 1839-1841 just reconfirmed his position as a strong
leader through the region and its surrounding leader. Rosas was a man of
the ranch, a friend of the Gauchos, afro-Argentinian and some Indians. He
was also a feared enemy of many, his strong commitment to militias and
armys helped him from defending and attacking his enemies and
strengthen his role as dictator governor of Buenos Aires. His rule extended
from 1829-1832 and then 1835-1852. After 1848, when Rosas refused to
reopen Paran. Urquiza the governor of Rosario and leading provincial
military commander grew restless. As Rosario and Urquiza had grown
economical after becoming governor in 1841. The problem for Urquiza was
that Paran was closed and his possessions in entre Rios were worthless if
Entre Rios were denied trade. At length Rosas demands unsatisfied and
Urquiza turned into rebellion. Gathering Allies from Brazil and Uruguay.
Urquiza came with some demands, but Rosa denied to respond and
ignored him. Then with an army of 28 000 marched on Buenos Aires, in
early 1852 Rosas was defeated and his local followers had completely
deserted him.

Sources:
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Thomas Montangero Ory

UNSAM
History
1
A Brief History of Argentina Second Edition Jonathan C. Brown University of Texas
at Austin
2

Argentina 1516-1987 from Spanish Colonization to alfonsn, David Rock,

University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles.

3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Manuel_de_Rosas

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