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Argentine Civil Wars 1

Argentine Civil Wars

Argentine Civil Wars

From top left: Battle of Arroyo Grande, execution of Manuel Dorrego, Battle of Pav€n, death of Juan Lavalle, murder of Facundo

Quiroga, Battle of Caseros, Battle of Famaill•, Battle of Vuelta de Obligado.

Date 1814 € 

1880

Location Argentina

Uruguay

Result Federalization of Buenos Aires

Sanction of a federal Constitution

Belligerents

 Federales

 Blancos

 Unitarios

 Colorados

Commanders and leaders

 Juan Manuel de Rosas

 Manuel Dorrego 

Justo Josƒ de Urquiza  €

 Francisco Ram„rez  €

 Facundo Quiroga €

 Chacho Pe…aloza €

 Manuel Oribe

 Bartolomƒ Mitre

 Bernardino Rivadavia

 Juan Lavalle €

 Josƒ Mar„a Paz  (POW)

 Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

 Fructuoso Rivera

The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of internecine wars that took place in Argentina from 1814 to 1880. These

conflicts were separate from the Argentine War of Independence (1810 € 1820), though they first arose during this

period. During this time Argentina was a failed state.

The main antagonists were, on a geographical level, Buenos Aires Province and the other provinces of modern

Argentina, and on a political level, between the Federal Party and the Unitarian Party. The central cause of the

conflict was the excessive centralism advanced by Buenos Aires leaders and, for a long period, the monopoly on the

use of the Port of Buenos Aires as the sole means for international commerce. Other participants at specific times

included Uruguay, and the British and French empires, notably in the French blockade of the R„o de la Plata of 1838

and in the Anglo-French blockade of the R„o de la Plata that ended in 1850.

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Argentine Civil Wars 2

Overview

Early conflicts against centralized rule

Regionalism had long marked the relationship among the numerous provinces of what today is Argentina, and the

wars of independence did not result in national unity. The establishment of the League of the Free Peoples by the

Eastern Bank of the Uruguay River and four neighboring provinces in 1814 marked the first formal rupture in theUnited Provinces of South America that had been created by the 1810 May Revolution.

The Battle of Cepeda (1820) thwarted the goal of Buenos Aires leaders to govern the country under the Argentine

Constitution of 1819, and following a series of disorders and a short-lived Constitutional Republic led by Buenos

Aires centralist Bernardino Rivadavia in 1826 and 1827, the United Provinces established in 1810 again became

divided, and the Province of Buenos Aires would emerge as the most powerful among the numerous

semi-independent states.

Rosas and the Unitarians

Buenos Aires Governor Juan Manuel de

Rosas secured the Confederation under

Federalist rule.

A Rosas-era banner calling for "death to

the brutal Unitarians" typified the ongoing

conflict.

An understanding was entered into by Buenos Aires Governor Juan Manuelde Rosas and other Federalist leaders out of need and a shared enmity

toward the still vigorous Unitarian Party, who advocated differing forms of 

centralized government. The latter's 1830 establishment of the Unitarian

League by C€rdoba leader Josƒ Mar„a Paz from nine western and northern

provinces thus forced Buenos Aires, Corrientes and Entre R„os Provinces

into the Federal Pact of 1831, following which the Unitarian League was

dismantled. The Buenos Aires leader deposed by Rosas in 1829, General

Juan Lavalle, also led a series of rebellions with different alliances against

Rosas and the Federal Pact until Lavalle's defeat and assassination in 1841.

Since the fall of Rivadavia and the lack of a proper head of state there was a

dynamic whereby leaders (caudillos) from the hinterland provinces would

delegate certain powers, such as foreign debt payment or the management of 

international relations to the Buenos Aires leader. In addition, Rosas was

granted the sum of public power. These powers also enabled Rosas to

participate in the protracted Uruguayan Civil War in favor of Manuel Oribe,

though unsuccessfully; Oribe, in turn, led numerous military campaigns on

behalf of Rosas, and became an invaluable ally in the struggle against

Lavalle and other Unitarians. The Argentine Confederation thus functioned,

albeit amid ongoing conflicts, until the 1852 Battle of Caseros, when Rosas

was deposed and exiled.

Urquiza and the secession of Buenos Aires

The central figure in the overthrow of Rosas, Entre R„os Governor Justo Josƒ

de Urquiza, failed to secure Buenos Aires' ratification of the 1852 San

Nicol•s Agreement, and the State of Buenos Aires was declared. The

secessionist state rejected the 1853 Constitution of Argentina, and promulgated its own the following year. The most

contentious issue remained the Buenos Aires Customs, which remained under the control of the city government and

was the chief source of public revenue. Nations with which the Confederation maintained foreign relations,

moreover, kept all embassies in Buenos Aires (rather than in the capital, Paran•).

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Argentine Civil Wars 3

Justo Josƒ de Urquiza's 1852 overthrow of 

Rosas fanned Buenos Aires secessionists

Bartolomƒ Mitre wrested concessions

toward Buenos Aires and became a

staunch defender of national unity.

The State of Buenos Aires was also bolstered by its numerous alliances in the

hinterland, including that of Santiago del Estero Province (led by Manuel

Taboada), as well as among powerful Liberal Party governors in Salta,

Corrientes, Tucum•n and San Juan. The 1858 assassination of San Juan's

Federalist governor, Nazario Benav„dez, by Liberals inflamed tensions

between the Confederation and the State of Buenos Aires, as did a free tradeagreement between the chief Confederate port (the Port of Rosario) and the

Port of Montevideo, which undermined Buenos Aires trade. The election of 

the intransigent Valent„n Alsina further exacerbated disputes, which

culminated in the Battle of Cepeda (1859).

Buenos Aires forces, led by General Bartolomƒ Mitre, were defeated by

those led by the President of Argentina, Justo Josƒ de Urquiza. Ordered to

subjugate Buenos Aires separatists by force, Urquiza instead invited the

defeated to a round of negotiations, and secured the Pact of San Josƒ de

Flores, which provided for a number of constitutional amendments and led to

other concessions, including an extension on the province's customs house

concession and measures benefiting the Bank of the Province of Buenos

Aires, whose currency was authorized for use as legal tender at the customs

house (thereby controlling much of the nation's foreign trade).

Mitre ultimately abrogated the Pact of San Josƒ, leading to renewed civil

war. These hostilities culminated in the 1861 Battle of Pav€n, and to victory

on the part of Mitre and Buenos Aires over Urquiza's national forces.

President Santiago Derqui, who had been backed by Urquiza, resigned on

November 4, 1861. Mitre, who despite victory reaffirmed his commitment to

the 1860 constitutional amendments, was elected the republic's first presidentin 1862.

National unification

President Mitre instituted an limited suffrage electoral system known as the

voto cantado ("intoned vote"), which depended on a pliant electoral college and would be conditioned to prevent the

election of secessionists to high office through electoral fraud, if necessary. The 1874 election of Catamarca

Province Nicol•s Avellaneda, who had been endorsed by an erstwhile Buenos Aires separatist, Adolfo Alsina, led to

renewed fighting when Mitre mutineed a gunboat to prevent the inaugural. He was defeated, however, and only

President Avellaneda's commutation spared his life.

Vestigial opposition to the new order continued from Federalists, notably La Rioja leader Chacho Pe…aloza, who was

killed in 1863 following a long campaign of internecine warfare, and Entre R„os leader Ricardo L€pez Jord•n, whose

Jordanist rebellion of 1870 to 1876 marked the last Federalist revolt. The 1880 election of the leader of Conquest of 

the Desert, General Julio Roca, led to a final armed insurrection by Buenos Aires Governor Carlos Tejedor. Its quick 

defeat and a truce brokered by Mitre quieted the last source of open resistance to national unity (Buenos Aires

autonomists), and resulted in the Federalization of Buenos Aires, as well as the hegemony of Roca's PAN and

pro-modernization Generation of '80 policy makers over national politics until 1916[citation needed ]

.

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Argentine Civil Wars 4

Main conflicts

† War between the Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the R„o de la Plata and Josƒ Artigas' League of the

Free Peoples (1814 € 1820)

†† Battle of Cepeda (1820)

† Conflicts with La Rioja leader Facundo Quiroga (1826 € 1835)

† Federalist war against the Unitarian League (1831)

† Revolution of the Restorers against Buenos Aires Governor Juan Ram€n Balcarce (1833)

† Conflicts with La Rioja leader Chacho Pe…aloza (1835 • 1845; 1860 • 1863)

† French blockade of the R„o de la Plata (1838)

† Free Men of the South revolt, quelled at Chascom‡s in 1839

† Pedro Ferrƒ's Corrientes revolt (1839 € 1842)

† Involvement in the Uruguayan Civil War by Rosas on behalf of Manuel Oribe (1839 € 1851)

† War with the Northern Coalition (1840 € 1841)

† Revolt by Juan Lavalle against Juan Manuel de Rosas (1841)

† Battle of Caaguaz‡ and defeat of Unitarian forces in Corrientes (1841)

† Joaqu„n Madariaga's Corrientes revolt (1843 € 

1847)

† Battle of Vuelta de Obligado (1845) and Anglo-French blockade of the R„o de la Plata (1845 € 1850)

† Entre R„os leader Justo Josƒ de Urquiza's break with Rosas (1851)

† Battle of Caseros (1852)

† Revolution of September 11, 1852, creating State of Buenos Aires

†† Siege of Buenos Aires (1853)

†† Battle of Cepeda (1859)

† Battle of Pav€n (1861)

† Felipe Varela's Revoluci€n de los Colorados in Catamarca and other western provinces (1867)

† Entre R„os leader Ricardo L€pez Jord•n's rebellion (1870 € 1876)

† Bartolomƒ Mitre's insurrection against Autonomist Party and President-elect Nicol•s Avellaneda (1874)

† Buenos Aires Governor Carlos Tejedor's rebellion against President-elect Julio Roca (1880)

References

† Levene, Ricardo. A History of Argentina. University of North Carolina Press, 1937.

† Luna, Fƒlix. Los caudillos. Buenos Aires: Editorial Pe…a Lillo, 1971.

†   Historical Dictionary of Argentina. London: Scarecrow Press, 1978.

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Article Sources and Contributors 5

Article Sources and ContributorsArgentine Civil Wars  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=592164353 Contributors: Anotherclown, Aymatth2, Cambalachero, Courcelles, DagosNavy, Dentren, Edward J.

Picardy, GcSwRhIc, Hchc2009, IANVS, In ictu oculi, MIKHEIL, Magioladitis, Nick Number, Pol098, Sebasbronzini, Sherlock4000, Tassedethe, The Illusive Man, Title punk3, Vrenator, Who is

like God?, 15 anonymous edits

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Augusto Ballerini (1857 - 1897) Batalla_de_Pavon.jpg: Ignacio Manzoni Barranca_Yaco_2.jpeg: Gaetano Descalzi (1809-1886) Caseros.jpg: Austrian writer Alejandro Bernheim and the Italian

cartoonist Carlos Penutti. Alejandro Bernheim founded together with the Chilean writer Manuel Bilbao (1827-95) the newspaper "La Rep‡blica" in 1868. IMPORTANT: Even if both were only

18 years old in 1852 (that is, were born in 1834) and had lived up to 100 years old and had died in 1934, even so more than 75 years has passed. Famaill•.jpg:

Batalla_de_la_Vuelta_de_Obligado.jpg: Manuel Larravide (1871-1910) derivative work: Belgrano (talk)

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Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Vectorised by Froztbyte

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File:Rosas 2.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rosas_2.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: Fernando Garc„a del Molino (1813 € 1899) (attributed)

File:Mueran los salvajes unitarios.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Mueran_los_salvajes_unitarios.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Juan Manuel de Rosas

File:Justo jos€ de urquiza.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Justo_josƒ_de_urquiza.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Fadesga, LeoDavid

File:Bartolom€ Mitre 3.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bartolomƒ_Mitre_3.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was ALE! at de.wikipedia

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