Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Uruguay, 1776–1810. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was the last to be organised and also the shortest-lived viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. It was established in 1776 from several former Viceroyalty of Peru dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata Basin, roughly the present-day territories of Argentina, northern Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, extending inland from the Atlantic Coast. Buenos Aires was chosen as the capital. These events proved decisive at the 1810 May Revolution events deposing Viceroy Cisneros at Buenos Aires.
Seat of power: Buenos Aires
Rulers
Pedro de Cevallos
Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1776–1778
Cevallos was the first Viceroy of the Río de la Plata in 1776. Colonia del Sacramento was attacked and destroyed by an expedition led by Cevallos in 1776.
Portrait of Pedro de Cevallos: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo
Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1778–1784
He assumed the post of Viceroy in 1778, having had a wide set of accomplishments, developing a local economy, colonizing uninhabited lands (or inhabited by local natives), establishing local government (Intendencias) all over the viceroyalty and prepared the way to the foundation of the Real Audiencia de Buenos Aires. During his administration, he established the first city census, which at the time showed about 37,000 inhabitants. He played an important role in the repression of the uprising of Túpac Amaru II in Peru.
Portrait of Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo: Edeiaid, CC0, file
Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo
Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1789–1795
As viceroy, he improved the layout of the streets of Buenos Aires and fortified the city of Montevideo. He created local councils and police corps, gave a boost to animal husbandry, mediated between the conflicts of business people and ranchers, and fought against contraband.
Portrait of Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo: Douglas Yu, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú
Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1797–1799
During his mandate, he had to contend with the presence of British and Portuguese forces in the Río de la Plata region, as well as nascent revolutionary sentiment inspired by the recent French Revolution. He opened the port of Buenos Aires to foreign traffic in a bid to stimulate the commercial activities of the Viceroyalty, which had begun to suffer from the growing tensions between the European powers.
Portrait of Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú: Tom99argie, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Gabriel de Avilés, 2nd Marquis of Avilés
Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1799–1801
He was viceroy in Buenos Aires until 1801, when he was promoted to viceroy of Peru. Avilés had a reputation as a man of good character, kind and pious.
- Gabriel de Avilés, 2nd Marquis of Avilés (Wikipedia)
- Gabriel de Avilés, 2nd Marquis of Avilés (Wikidata)
Portrait of Gabriel de Avilés, 2nd Marquis of Avilés: anonymous / Unidentified painter, Public domain, file
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1809–1810
He disestablished the government Junta of Javier de Elío and quelled the Chuquisaca Revolution and the La Paz revolution. An open cabildo deposed him as viceroy during the May Revolution, but he attempted to be the president of the new government junta, thus retaining power. The popular unrest in Buenos Aires did not allow that, so he resigned.
Portrait of Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros: Unknown artistUnknown artist, Public domain, file
Culture
- Between 1780 and 1782, the Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II inspired a violent Aymara-led revolt across the Upper Peru highlands, demonstrating the great resentment against colonial authorities by both the mestizo and indigenous populations.
- Twenty-five years later, the Criollos, native-born people of Spanish descent, successfully defended against two successive British attempts to seize control of Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
- The entire history of this Viceroyalty was marked by growing domestic unrest and political instability.
Picture
Colonia del Sacramento is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Image: JGHowes, photographer (Canon AE-1 camera)., Attribution, file
Sources
- Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (Wikipedia)
- Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.