Revolución e independencia del Río de la Plata. Una revisión historiográfica desde las fuentes primarias

Resumen

-OBJECTIVES. The main objective of this thesis work is to address the revolution and independence of the Río de la Plata from a review of these issues, appealing to primary sources little used by historians and which, in my opinion, provide new perspectives on these problems. Appealing to contemporary documents of those founding events, I have tried to resort mainly to sources that provide an "external" perspective to the revolution and independence of the River Plate; this is to reports, letters, representations of officials, travel diaries, eyewitness testimonies and articles in the American and European press. I give preference to the opinions and interpretations left to us by those participants who, for the most part, were not central architects of the revolution and independence of the River Plate. I focus my attention, for example, on Spaniards who from America confronted the insurgent movement born in Buenos Aires in 1810 and / or on those foreigners who, as actors or observers, were involved in the dramatic events that accompanied the birth of a new nation. I tried, then, that what was expressed in this thesis is corroborated by documents contemporary to the facts. The inclusion of these authors and the selection of the investigated facts are intended to specify issues that, when addressed by foreign participants or observers, need to be made explicit. They also contribute to ideologically outlining the revolution from the protagonists themselves. -SCIENTIFIC INTEREST. Within the Spanish-American independence revolutions, the Rio de la Plata stands out because in its genesis and development not only were Creoles, Indians, Spanish Americans and European Spaniards involved. It also involved powers that played, in some cases, outstanding roles such as Great Britain, Portugal or France; without excluding nascent powers like the United States of America. This research provides the novelty of studying, from documents of the protagonists themselves, the role of foreigners and Hispanic Europeans, played in the origin, deployment and, finally, in the independence of the River Plate revolution. Revolution that gave rise to the Argentine Republic and also contributed to the birth of Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Peru. -MOST RELEVANT CONCLUSIONS. According to the testimonies that I call external, the birth of a revolutionary government in Buenos Aires in May 1810 did not surprise the Spanish authorities. What contributed to the step back of the viceroy and the members of the Cabildo was the pressure of the neighbors and the willingness of the militias to support the uprising. Implementing a new administration in opposition to the viceroy in a context dominated by monarchical traditions was a revolutionary event. The first Junta established a new political culture concealing its independence objectives behind the “mask of Fernando VII” in order to avoid the foreseeable reaction of Spanish officials and apply the recommendations of the British ambassador Lord Strangford. For the representative of London it was not convenient to advance in a government that declared itself independent since, predictably, the British cabinet would be forced to reject it due to the alliance established with Spain to fight the Napoleonic troops. The British needed trade with Buenos Aires, since they obtained profits that helped to sustain the onerous war against the Napoleonic troops and, for their part, the revolutionaries from the River Plate depended on the exchange with Great Britain to pay for the drain on resources claimed by the armies they were confronting. against the viceregal hosts. Thus, political and economic reasons made the interests of the revolutionaries coincide with those of S.M.B. Although the restorations had reinforced the power of the European monarchies, the Spanish crown emerged militarily and economically weakened from the crisis generated by the Napoleonic invasion. The Hispanic dominions in America were claimed by the peoples to gain independence from a colonial system that they considered oppressive and, in turn, coveted by powers such as the Anglo-Saxons that saw their economic and military power increased by the growing process of industrialization and the oceanic dominance of their fleets.