Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata
Encyclopedia
The Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata was a five-year long naval blockade imposed by France and Britain on the Argentine Confederation
ruled by Juan Manuel de Rosas
. It was imposed in 1845 to support the Colorado Party
in the Uruguayan Civil War
and closed Buenos Aires to naval commerce. The Anglo-French navy trespassed into the internal waters
of Argentina, in order to sell their products, as Rosas maintained a protectionist
policy to improve the weak Argentine economy. Eventually both Britain and France gave in, signing treaties acknowledging the Argentine sovereignty over its rivers in 1849 (Britain) and 1850 (France).
between 1838 and 1840. The Peru–Bolivian Confederation, allied with France, declared the War of the Confederation
to Argentina and Chile. Rosas resisted the blockade longer than France estimated he would do, and his strategy of generating disputes between France and England over the blockade eventually gave fruit. France lifted the blockade in 1840, exchanging mutual most favoured nation
status between her and the Argentine Confederation.
Unable to deploy French troops during the blockade, France promoted civil war
s against Rosas to support the naval actions. For this purpose France aided Fructuoso Rivera
against the Uruguayan president Manuel Oribe
, who was forced to resign. Oribe escaped to Buenos Aires, and Rosas received him as the legitimate president of Uruguay, denying such recognition to Rivera. This started the Uruguayan Civil War
, where the Whites
sought to restore Oribe in power and the Colorados
to keep Rivera. As Rivera was hesitant to attack Rosas as the French expected, the Argentine expatriate Juan Lavalle
was convinced to do so, but his army was weakened by desertions, hostility of the villages in the way to Buenos Aires, and the lack of French support, as France had negotiated peace with Rosas by that time. As a result, Lavalle's army retreated to the north in disorder, without attacking Buenos Aires as intended.
Rivera's ambition was to expand the limits of Uruguay, annexing Paraguay
, the Argentine Mesopotamia
and the Riograndense Republic (part of Rio Grande do Sul
, that had declared independence from Brazil and was fighting the War of the Farrapos), into a projected Federation of Uruguay. The Argentine José María Paz
, allied with Rivera against Rosas, was against this project. Rivera took control of Paz's forces, but without his superior military training, he was completely defeated by Oribe at the battle of Arroyo Grande
. Rivera's project never got off the ground, and was forced to stand in Montevideo against Oribe's siege.
Brazil proposed a military alliance to Rosas: Rosas would take Uruguay with Brazilian support, and Brazil would take the Riograndese Republic with Argentine support. Tomás Guido
, Argentine representative in Brazil, supported the proposal, but Rosas rejected it. Rosas thought that such treaty would violate the Uruguayan sovereignty, and that it would be null if Oribe was not part of it. Honório Carneiro Leão
, representative of Brazil, did not accept Rosas's alternative proposal, and Brazil distanced from Argentina.
with France, so as to make possible later joint military operations elsewhere, such as the Opium War
or the protection of the independence of the Republic of Texas
. The British interests in South America grew when Texas was finally annexed by the United States
. Texas supplied Britain with cotton, and the British calculated that it would be easier to secure cotton sources in South America (such as Paraguay) rather than waging war with the powerful United States. Britain republished many Uruguayan libels against Rosas, such as the Blood tables, so that people supported military action against him. As there was a strong British religious tradition, Rosas was accused of replacing the crosses of churches with his portrait, persecuting religion, and killing priests; and that he may have murdered his wife Encarnación Ezcurra
and had incest
uous relations with his daughter.
Two influential French politicians of the time were the foreign minister François Guizot
and the nationalist Adolphe Thiers
. Thiers proposed that France should continue the hostilities against Rosas. He explained his opinion with three main reasons and an accessory one: humanity, patriotism, international law and expansion of commerce. He viewed Rosas as a ruthless dictator, to justify the humanitarian reason. Although Montevideo was not a French colony, he referred to it as such due to its high population of French Basques
. He considered that Rosas would be in contravention of the 4th article of the Mackau-Arana treaty (in which the Confederation recognized the independence of Uruguay) by attempting to impose an Argentine president on it. The expansion of commerce was not mentioned as a main reason, as Rosist protectionist policy limited but did not forbid French imports. Guizot rejected these ideas. He did not consider that Rosas contravened the Mackau-Arana treaty because the Confederation was not actually at war with Uruguay, but was merely supporting one Uruguayan faction against the other. He did not think that the French economy could be further benefited by taking action in La Plata, nor that it was workable to keep a colony in the zone. In respect to humanitarian reasons, he dismissed the purported Rosist crimes because they were based on reports by the Unitarian Florencio Varela
, who had no reputation as an impartial reporter. However, Guitoz ultimately agreed to the proposal, in order to foster an alliance with Britain and reduce the popular acclaim of Thiers.
Brazilian viscount Miguel Calmon du Pin e Almeida meet the British Lord Aberdeen
, to request that Brazil join Britain and France in the action against Rosas. But Britain did not have good relations with Brazil at that time, so Aberdeen rejected the Brazilian aid. Aberdeen complained that, if Brazil thought that civilization was tied with free trade, Brazil should accept extending their free trade agreement with Britain before imposing it on Rosas, and that if Brazil was concerned with humanitarian reasons they should start by abolishing slavery in their own country. Then he met Guizot, who was not receptive either. Guizot felt forced by circumstances to join a war where he did not expect to earn anything, and was reluctant to involve French troops in it. Britain would not resort to ground troops either, as the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
had proved them ineffective. The viscount informed the Brazilian court of the Anglo-French resolution. The public purposes of the war were to protect the Uruguayan independence against Oribe, defend the recently proclaimed independence of Paraguay, and ended the civil wars at La Plata. He also revealed the secret purposes: To turn Montevideo into a "commercial factory", to force the free navigation of the rivers, to turn the Argentine Mesopotamia
into a new country, to set the borders of Uruguay, Paraguay and the Mesopotamia (without Brazilian intervention), and to help the antirosistas to depose the governor of Buenos Aires and to establish one loyal to the European powers. For the viscount, it was an all-losing situation for Brazil: If the intervention was defeated, they would be helpless against the counter-attack of Rosas, Oribe and perhaps the Farrapos; and if the intervention prevailed, Brazil would have neighbors even more powerful than the Confederation. Thus, he strongly advised against joining it, and restoring good relations with Rosas if possible.
William Brent
, representative of the United States in Buenos Aires and supporter of the Monroe Doctrine
, supported Rosas in the dispute with the European powers, and proposed to act as mediator. After the victory at the battle of India Muerta
, Oribe was about to enter to Montevideo. Brent proposed that he did so giving an amnesty to the supporters of Rivera, calling to elections in the Legislature, and then the Argentine forces supporting him should leave the country at that point. Oribe accepted, but the British arrived to Montevideo and refused to allow Oribe to enter to the city. Arana, Deffaudis and Ouseley rejected Brent's mediation, and gave an ultimatum: if the army of Oribe and the Argentine navy of William Brown
did not leave Uruguay in ten days, they would proceed to block Buenos Aires.
requested permission to return to Buenos Aires, which was allowed but with the condition of delivering the British and French sailors. Brown requested permission to do so in Buenos Aires, as most of his crew was Irish, but received no answer. When he finally sailed back to Buenos Aires, he was attacked. The Anglo-French forced boarded
and seized the complete Argentine navy, the ships San Martín, 25 de mayo, General Echagüe, Maipú and 9 de julio. The French raised their flag in the first two, and the British did so in the last three. The Argentine officers were returned to Buenos Aires, and William Brown and all the British sailors were forbidden to sail under the Argentine flag during the remainder of the conflict.
The following day, the Anglo-French forces disembarked in Montevideo, reinforcing the defenses of the city. Since the defeat at India Muerta, the Montevidean defenders were less than 3.500. Rivera thanked these actions, saying that it secured the Uruguayan independence. Many politicians of Buenos Aires criticized them during a meeting in the Junta of Representatives in Buenos Aires.
Rosas learned in 1838 that the Isla Martín García
was difficult to defend, so he removed the forces from it. However, to prevent foreign claims of sovereignty, he left a force of twelve aged crippled soldiers, who would keep the flag of Argentina raised until the end. The only purpose of this army was to assert that the island was not left abandoned, and that the Anglo-French forces would only take it by an invasion
. General Lucio Mansilla received the forces and infrastructure of Martín García, to select a point in the Paraná River
and fortify it. The west side of the river was preferred, to have easier communications with Buenos Aires. However, the support to the Uruguayan Oribe took priority, and no Argentine forces supporting the siege would be retired from it, not even temporarily. Mansilla prepared the defenses at Obligado, Buenos Aires, near San Pedro.
, which would made several abuses. The tone was closer to that of a declaration of war, and may have been written by Florencio Varela.
To counter those claims, Rosas arranged a meeting with diplomats from the United States, Portugal, Sardinia, Bolivia and France. The British diplomat refused to assist, but the French Mareuil did so. All of them declared unanimously that they had no complains about the treatment to foreigners, that they had no knowledge of foreigners forced by terror into the military or to sign petitions, that they had no knowledge of abuses from the Mazorca, and that the information of alleged butcheries in India Muerta was inexact. Rosas included as well a petition signed by 15,000 British and French living in Buenos Aires, protesting against the blockade. Rosas was confident in that this formal declaration, signed by foreign diplomats, would counter the Montevidean propaganda and turn the international opinion to his side.
Durán de Mareuil, representative of French business in Buenos Aires, was among the signatories. He wrote a document requesting the end of the blockade, which included Rosas's demands. Those demands were the inclusion of Oribe in the negotiations, disarm of Montevideo, return of Colonia, Martín García and the stolen navy, departure from the internal rivers, acknowledgement of the sovereignty of Argentina and an indemnization. As expected, it was rejected in Montevideo, so Mareuil moved to Paris to give it directly to the French government.
, with Giuseppe Garibaldi
and his legion of Italian volunteers. They had a total of 28 ships, whereas Jaime Montoro, colonel defending the city had only 300 soldiers and eight small cannons. The Italian legion disembarked in the city and pillaged it. José Luis Bustamante blamed Garibaldi for it, while Garibaldi would attribute it to a lack of military discipline among his Legion. He would write in his memoirs that "the repression of disorder was difficult, considering that Colonia had plenty of resources, and specially of spirituous liquids that increased the desires of the virtuous pillagers". Even the local church was sacked, and the drunk Italians spent the night in it.
The navy moved then to Martín García, defeating the army stationed there. The flag of Argentina was removed, and replaced with the flag of Uruguay. the Argentine soldiers were removed, and the island was left abandoned.
The ship moved then into the Uruguay river
. The pillage of Gualeguaychú
was even worse than in Colonia, to the point that Bustamante wrote to Rivera worried about Garibaldi, fearing that his actions would discredit the whole operation. Garibaldi described that "The city of Gualeguaychú drove us to conquest by being a real emporium of wealth, capable to dress our ragged soldiers and supply us with harnesses. We acquired many and very good horses in Gualeguaychú, the clothes needed to dress all the people, the harnesses of cavalry and some money distributed among our poor soldiers and sailors, who suffered so much time of misery and privations". Garibaldi's plundering was valued in nearly 30,000 pound sterlings.
Garibaldi was defeated at Paysandú
by colonel Antonio Díaz, and then at Concordia
, defended by Juan Antonio Lavalleja
and an improvised navy. Then, he took control and pillaged Salto
. By November, the Anglo-French navy had control of all the Uruguay river from Colonia to Salto.
. This way they would reach Corrientes and Paraguay and, once having complete control of Uruguay and both rivers, force the Mesopotamia out of the Confederation. The convoy was composed of three steamboat
s, capable to navigate independently from the winds and a number of heavily armed sailboat
s. Those ships would protect 90 merchant vessel
s, of diverse nationalities. Arana notified the foreign diplomats that the ships entering the Parana unauthorized would be reputed as pirates
, so they informed their respective ships that they would not have protection from their home countries if they got involved in the operation. However, such messages were delayed, and the 90 ships took part of the operation anyway.
The Anglo-French weaponry was the most advanced of the time. They used Peysar rifled
cannons, and the French brought the new Paixhans gun
s. The allies also bombarded the Confederation batteries with Congreve rocket
s. This would be the first time such weapons would be used in South America, and they expected their firepower to be devastating.
The convoy stopped at the Paraná Guazú channel to study the situation. Initially, the admirals though that they would navigate unopposed, but found that Lucio Mansilla had prepared many fortifications along the river. As a result, the merchant ships would stay behind, while the combat steams open the way. There were fortifications at Ramada, Tonelero, Acevedo, and San Lorenzo. The most important fortification was located in Obligado, near San Pedro.
The first steam boats arrived to Obligado on November 18, stopping beyond the range of the cannons. They waited for the stolen San Martín ship, captained by Trehouart, who arrived the following day. The attack was delayed one more day, because the rain did not allow a clear sight of the fortifications. The ships advanced on November 20. Lucio Mansilla arranged the troops saying: There they are! Consider the insult they make to the sovereignty of our nation by navigating, with no more title than force, the waters of a river that flows across the territory of our country. But they won't achieve that unpunished! Let the blue and white banner wave in the Parana, and let's all of us die before seeing it come down from where it waves!.
The first ship to advance was the San Martín. She was about to break the chains when the wind suddenly ended and she got stuck in the place, too far from the other ships, which could not got near because of the lack of wind. The San Martín was hit more than a hundred times, two cannons were destroyed, and two officers and forty sailors died. Finally, the chain of San Martín´s anchor was broken, and she moved down the river. The Dolphin and Pandour had to retreat as well.
When the Republicano ran out of ammunition, the captain blew it to prevent it from being captured. At this point, the steamboats (unaffected by the lack of wind) proceeded to the chains. Their powerful guns outranged the Argentine cannons. The Fulton got to the chains and broke them, and the wind blew again. The ships moved, and the defenses gradually ran out of ammunition as well. By the end of the day, all batteries were destroyed, and the cannons were destroyed or taken as trophies. 250 Argentine soldiers died, and 400 were injured. The Anglo-French fleet stayed 40 days in Obligado, making repairs.
, former president of Chile, declared that the Chilean people was ashamed of the presence in Chile of a pair of newspapers that supported the Anglo-French cause. The president of Bolivia José Ballivián
, who was so far against Rosas, instructed his diplomat Manuel Rodríguez to congratulate Rosas for the action of Obligado and protest with reason of the disloyal and unjust Anglo-French intervention in the Río de la Plata against the rights and interests of the Americas. José de San Martín
wrote a supporting mail to Rosas and, despite his old age, offered his military assistance. He also wrote a mail to the British Morning Chronicle, explaining that a military occupation of Buenos Aires by Anglo-French forces would be nearly impossible.
The convoy resumed their navigation after the repairs, but with only 52 of the original 90 commercial ships, as the others returned to Montevideo. Mansilla made new attacks at the batteries in Tonelero and Acevedo, but the ships were not damaged very much. By moving to the east side of the river, they could fire against the batteries and destroy them from a safe distance. Mansilla made a more effective resistance at San Lorenzo, in the same site where José de San Martín
fought the battle of San Lorenzo
. The batteries here were hidden, and attacked the Anglo-French navy by surprise. Many merchant ships collided with others, and the steam ships fired for more than four hours. According to the British report, all ships received shots during the engagement.
The Fulton arrived to Asunción, with the intention to recognize the independence of Paraguay, recruit them against Rosas, and sign a treaty of commerce and friendship. Carlos Antonio López did not agree to the British terms, he expected recognition first, war later, and a treaty for the end; not all things at once. The commerce failed, as Corrientes and Paraguay were not as wealthy as the Anglo-French expected, and they returned with most of their products.
The return seemed difficult, as many sips were damaged and Mansilla was rearming the north of San Lorenzo, so they requested Montevideo to send reinforcements. The Philomel advanced at full speed, not answering fire whenever possible, reaching Montevideo in few days. The British steamboats Lizard and Harpy moved to reunite with the convoy. Those ships, however, stopped at Quebracho and returned fire, and the Lizard was badly damaged as a result.
Mansilla prepared a strong defense in Quebracho, against the returning convoy. He did not prepare chains to close the river this time, as the ships would be moving downstream, rather than upstream. This new attack was very successful. The Argentine cannons attacked the enemy ships at will, and the merchant ships attempted in vain to pass behind the warships. Two merchant ships were sunk, and others had to throw their cargo in the river to reduce their weight. The steam boats were the focus of the attack, the Harpy was disabled and the Gorgon suffered great damages. After three hours of fire, the ships escaped as they could, and four damaged merchant ships were set on fire to avoid Argentine capture.
Hood arranged with Rosas the conditions for peace, but Ouseley and Deffaudis refused to obey it. Deffaudis argued that he had no instructions from Paris to seek a peaceful resolution, and Ouseley that he had to work together with Deffaudis. Hood returned to Britain with the proposal negotiated with Rosas. The British administration was inclined to leave the conflict, but it was reluctant to accept the Hood bases, as they would mean a capitulation. Britain and France sent two new diplomats, John Hobart Caradoc and Alexandre Florian Joseph Colonna, who would pretend to agree with the Hood bases but surreptitiously change the terms. Rosas realized the trick, and did not accept their new proposal. They moved then to Uruguay, and negotiated an armistice with Oribe. Oribe accepted the British terms, but Rivera did not. This broke the alliance: the British diplomat was convinced that the terms were reasonable, and decided to go on with his original mission of ending the conflict. The French one declared instead that they would keep the blockade, even if it meant doing so alone.
Rosas received new diplomats, Henry Southern and Lepredour, but refused to have an interview with them before being aware of their intentions. Rosas wanted them to agree to the Hood bases, and would not accept anything else. The Southern-Arana treaty with Britain was finally signed on March 3, 1849, in strict conformity with the terms negotiated with Hood. Britain would return the stolen ships, the Martín García island, remove their troops from Uruguay, accept the Argentine sovereignty over its internal waters, and condition the whole treaty to the approval of Oribe. Finally, the British navy would make a 21-gun salute to the flag of Argentina.
Negotiations with France took a longer time. There was a strong nationalism in France by that time, and a second defeat with Argentina would hurt the national pride. The parliament was divided in two proposals: to send Lepredour with a very powerful navy, to make a treaty favourable to the French terms by intimidating Rosas, or to openly declare war. The first proposal was accepted by 338 votes over 300. Rosas refused to negotiate unless the threatening navy was removed from Uruguay, and refused to acknowledge Lepredour as a diplomat. Lepredour made up an excuse for the navy, and negotiated for nearly five months. Rosas finally agreed on August 31, 1850, to a pair of small concessions that did not actually modify the important points of the treaty: Rosas would remove the Argentine troops from Montevideo at the same time that France removed theirs, but keeping a portion of them during the first months of Oribe's rule to prevent anarchy; and Argentina would refer to Oribe in the document as "President of the Republic" whole France would do so as "Brigadier General". Before leaving the city, the French vessel transporting Lepredour would also make a 21-gun salute to the flag of Argentina.
, while traditional historians do not share that perspective. A recent example of this conflicting viewpoints took place in November 18, 2010, before the first celebration of the Day of National Sovereignty
(in commemoration of the main battle of the conflict, the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado
) as a national holiday. The newspaper La Nación
interviewed revisionist historian Pacho O'Donnell
, traditional historian Luis Alberto Romero
and British historian David Rock
.
Luis Alberto Romero considers that the importance of the battle is overrated because it was a defeat: the Anglo-French navy destroyed the artilleries and proceed to the north, as they wanted to do. The end of the blockade in favourable terms to the Confederation was more the result of a change of policy by the Foreign Office after the appointment of Lord Palmerston than a success of Rosas' diplomacy. Pacho O'Donnell considers that, even though the navy could force its way, it ultimately failed in its main purposes: they could not turn the Argentine mesopotamia into a new country, nor gain total control of the Parana River, nor establish their presence in the zone. David Rock concurs, but considers that it is exaggerated to treat the battle as an epic. He points that the number of casualties in it may be high in the context of the military history of Argentina, but not on a global scale, as it was nowhere near the 1916 Battle of the Somme, with more than 60,000 deaths in just half an hour.
Pacho O'Donnell considers as well that traditional historiography had concealed the battle of Vuelta de Obligado. Romero considers instead that, despite not giving it the higher importance, the battle is properly referenced at all the books about the time period.
Argentine Confederation
The Argentine Confederation is one of the official names of Argentina, according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35...
ruled by Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
. It was imposed in 1845 to support the Colorado Party
Colorado Party (Uruguay)
The Colorado Party is a political party in Uruguay.- Aims :It unites Conservative, Moderate and Social democratic groups. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilisation of the Uruguayan republic....
in the Uruguayan Civil War
Uruguayan Civil War
The Uruguayan Civil War, also known as "Guerra Grande", was a series of armed conflicts that took place between the Colorado Party and the National Party in Uruguay from 1839 to 1851...
and closed Buenos Aires to naval commerce. The Anglo-French navy trespassed into the internal waters
Internal waters
A nation's internal waters covers all water and waterways on the landward side of the baseline from which a nation's territorial waters is defined. It includes waterways such as rivers and canals, and sometimes the water within small bays. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of...
of Argentina, in order to sell their products, as Rosas maintained a protectionist
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
policy to improve the weak Argentine economy. Eventually both Britain and France gave in, signing treaties acknowledging the Argentine sovereignty over its rivers in 1849 (Britain) and 1850 (France).
Local context
Buenos Aires faced the French blockade of the Río de la PlataFrench blockade of the Río de la Plata
The French blockade to the Río de la Plata was a two-year long naval blockade imposed by France on the Argentine Confederation ruled by Juan Manuel de Rosas. It closed Buenos Aires to naval commerce. It was imposed in 1838 to support the Peru–Bolivian Confederation in the War of the Confederation,...
between 1838 and 1840. The Peru–Bolivian Confederation, allied with France, declared the War of the Confederation
War of the Confederation
The War of the Confederation , was a conflict between the Peru-Bolivian Confederation on one side and Chile, Peruvian dissidents and Argentina, on the other, fought mostly in the actual territory of Peru and which ended with a Confederate defeat and the dissolution of the...
to Argentina and Chile. Rosas resisted the blockade longer than France estimated he would do, and his strategy of generating disputes between France and England over the blockade eventually gave fruit. France lifted the blockade in 1840, exchanging mutual most favoured nation
Most favoured nation
In international economic relations and international politics, most favoured nation is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. The term means the country which is the recipient of this treatment must, nominally, receive equal trade advantages as the...
status between her and the Argentine Confederation.
Unable to deploy French troops during the blockade, France promoted civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
s against Rosas to support the naval actions. For this purpose France aided Fructuoso Rivera
Fructuoso Rivera
José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana was an Uruguayan general and patriot who assisted in the efforts to force Brazilians out of the Banda Oriental.-Founder of Colorado Party and President of Uruguay:...
against the Uruguayan president Manuel Oribe
Manuel Oribe
Manuel Ceferino Oribe y Viana was the fourth president of Uruguay.-Biography:Manuel Oribe was the son of Captain Francisco Oribe and María Francisca Viana, a descendant of the first governor of Montevideo, José Joaquín de Viana...
, who was forced to resign. Oribe escaped to Buenos Aires, and Rosas received him as the legitimate president of Uruguay, denying such recognition to Rivera. This started the Uruguayan Civil War
Uruguayan Civil War
The Uruguayan Civil War, also known as "Guerra Grande", was a series of armed conflicts that took place between the Colorado Party and the National Party in Uruguay from 1839 to 1851...
, where the Whites
National Party (Uruguay)
The National Party , also known as the White Party , is a major right-wing conservative political party in Uruguay, currently the major opposition party to the ruling Frente Amplio government....
sought to restore Oribe in power and the Colorados
Colorado Party (Uruguay)
The Colorado Party is a political party in Uruguay.- Aims :It unites Conservative, Moderate and Social democratic groups. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilisation of the Uruguayan republic....
to keep Rivera. As Rivera was hesitant to attack Rosas as the French expected, the Argentine expatriate Juan Lavalle
Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo de Lavalle was an Argentine military and political figure.-Biography:Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José de La Vallée y Cortés, general accountant of rents and tobacco for the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.In 1799, the family moved to...
was convinced to do so, but his army was weakened by desertions, hostility of the villages in the way to Buenos Aires, and the lack of French support, as France had negotiated peace with Rosas by that time. As a result, Lavalle's army retreated to the north in disorder, without attacking Buenos Aires as intended.
Rivera's ambition was to expand the limits of Uruguay, annexing Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, the Argentine Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia, Argentina
La Mesopotamia, Región Mesopotámica is the humid and verdant area of north-east Argentina, comprising the provinces of Misiones, Entre Ríos and Corrientes. The region called Litoral consists of the Mesopotamia and the provinces of Chaco, Formosa and Santa Fe...
and the Riograndense Republic (part of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
, that had declared independence from Brazil and was fighting the War of the Farrapos), into a projected Federation of Uruguay. The Argentine José María Paz
José María Paz
Brigadier General José María Paz y Haedo was an Argentine military figure, notable in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil War.-Childhood:...
, allied with Rivera against Rosas, was against this project. Rivera took control of Paz's forces, but without his superior military training, he was completely defeated by Oribe at the battle of Arroyo Grande
Battle of Arroyo Grande
-Parties to the conflict:At Arroyo Grande, the federal forces, or blancos, of Manuel Oribe defeated the colorados of Fructuoso Rivera, having been in conflict since 1838/1839.-Subsequent siege of Montevideo:...
. Rivera's project never got off the ground, and was forced to stand in Montevideo against Oribe's siege.
Brazil proposed a military alliance to Rosas: Rosas would take Uruguay with Brazilian support, and Brazil would take the Riograndese Republic with Argentine support. Tomás Guido
Tomás Guido
Tomás Guido. was a General in the Argentine War of Independence a diplomat and a politician.-Early life:...
, Argentine representative in Brazil, supported the proposal, but Rosas rejected it. Rosas thought that such treaty would violate the Uruguayan sovereignty, and that it would be null if Oribe was not part of it. Honório Carneiro Leão
Honório Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná
Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná was a Brazilian politician, diplomat, judge, monarchist and co-founder of the Brazilian Conservative Party during the period of the Empire of Brazil . Paraná was born to a family of humble means in São Carlos do Jacuí, in what was then the captaincy...
, representative of Brazil, did not accept Rosas's alternative proposal, and Brazil distanced from Argentina.
International context
Britain did not have great interests at stake in Buenos Aires. The purpose of the war was to foster the Entente cordialeEntente Cordiale
The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente Cordiale marked the end of almost a millennium of intermittent...
with France, so as to make possible later joint military operations elsewhere, such as the Opium War
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
or the protection of the independence of the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
. The British interests in South America grew when Texas was finally annexed by the United States
Texas Annexation
In 1845, United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas and admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas's border dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. captured additional territory , extending the nation's...
. Texas supplied Britain with cotton, and the British calculated that it would be easier to secure cotton sources in South America (such as Paraguay) rather than waging war with the powerful United States. Britain republished many Uruguayan libels against Rosas, such as the Blood tables, so that people supported military action against him. As there was a strong British religious tradition, Rosas was accused of replacing the crosses of churches with his portrait, persecuting religion, and killing priests; and that he may have murdered his wife Encarnación Ezcurra
Encarnación Ezcurra
Encarnación Ezcurra was an Argentine politician, wife of Juan Manuel de Rosas.She was the daughter of Juan Ignacio Ezcurra and Teodora de Arguibel. She married Rosas on March 16, 1813. She became her husband's most faithful follower, helping him in many difficult circumstances...
and had incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous relations with his daughter.
Two influential French politicians of the time were the foreign minister François Guizot
François Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848, a conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, and worked to sustain a constitutional...
and the nationalist Adolphe Thiers
Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French politician and historian. was a prime minister under King Louis-Philippe of France. Following the overthrow of the Second Empire he again came to prominence as the French leader who suppressed the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871...
. Thiers proposed that France should continue the hostilities against Rosas. He explained his opinion with three main reasons and an accessory one: humanity, patriotism, international law and expansion of commerce. He viewed Rosas as a ruthless dictator, to justify the humanitarian reason. Although Montevideo was not a French colony, he referred to it as such due to its high population of French Basques
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
. He considered that Rosas would be in contravention of the 4th article of the Mackau-Arana treaty (in which the Confederation recognized the independence of Uruguay) by attempting to impose an Argentine president on it. The expansion of commerce was not mentioned as a main reason, as Rosist protectionist policy limited but did not forbid French imports. Guizot rejected these ideas. He did not consider that Rosas contravened the Mackau-Arana treaty because the Confederation was not actually at war with Uruguay, but was merely supporting one Uruguayan faction against the other. He did not think that the French economy could be further benefited by taking action in La Plata, nor that it was workable to keep a colony in the zone. In respect to humanitarian reasons, he dismissed the purported Rosist crimes because they were based on reports by the Unitarian Florencio Varela
Florencio Varela (writer)
Florencio Varela was an Argentine writer, poet, journalist and educator.Florencio was born in Buenos Aires on February 23 1808, he was the sixth child of Don Jacobo Adrián Varela and María de la Encarnación Sanjinés, he had a keen interest in the literary arts from a young age...
, who had no reputation as an impartial reporter. However, Guitoz ultimately agreed to the proposal, in order to foster an alliance with Britain and reduce the popular acclaim of Thiers.
Brazilian viscount Miguel Calmon du Pin e Almeida meet the British Lord Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen KG, KT, FRS, PC , styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a Scottish politician, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855.-Early life:Born in Edinburgh on 28 January 1784, he...
, to request that Brazil join Britain and France in the action against Rosas. But Britain did not have good relations with Brazil at that time, so Aberdeen rejected the Brazilian aid. Aberdeen complained that, if Brazil thought that civilization was tied with free trade, Brazil should accept extending their free trade agreement with Britain before imposing it on Rosas, and that if Brazil was concerned with humanitarian reasons they should start by abolishing slavery in their own country. Then he met Guizot, who was not receptive either. Guizot felt forced by circumstances to join a war where he did not expect to earn anything, and was reluctant to involve French troops in it. Britain would not resort to ground troops either, as the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
The British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...
had proved them ineffective. The viscount informed the Brazilian court of the Anglo-French resolution. The public purposes of the war were to protect the Uruguayan independence against Oribe, defend the recently proclaimed independence of Paraguay, and ended the civil wars at La Plata. He also revealed the secret purposes: To turn Montevideo into a "commercial factory", to force the free navigation of the rivers, to turn the Argentine Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia, Argentina
La Mesopotamia, Región Mesopotámica is the humid and verdant area of north-east Argentina, comprising the provinces of Misiones, Entre Ríos and Corrientes. The region called Litoral consists of the Mesopotamia and the provinces of Chaco, Formosa and Santa Fe...
into a new country, to set the borders of Uruguay, Paraguay and the Mesopotamia (without Brazilian intervention), and to help the antirosistas to depose the governor of Buenos Aires and to establish one loyal to the European powers. For the viscount, it was an all-losing situation for Brazil: If the intervention was defeated, they would be helpless against the counter-attack of Rosas, Oribe and perhaps the Farrapos; and if the intervention prevailed, Brazil would have neighbors even more powerful than the Confederation. Thus, he strongly advised against joining it, and restoring good relations with Rosas if possible.
William Brent
William Brent
William Brent may refer to:* William Leigh Brent, , U.S. Representative from Louisiana* William Lee Brent , American civil rights activist* William Brent , played with The Drifters-See also:...
, representative of the United States in Buenos Aires and supporter of the Monroe Doctrine
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is a policy of the United States introduced on December 2, 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention...
, supported Rosas in the dispute with the European powers, and proposed to act as mediator. After the victory at the battle of India Muerta
Battle of India Muerta
The Battle of India Muerta was a battle between the Portuguese forces under Alejandro Queiró in Rocha, modern-day Uruguay. The Portuguese were victorious....
, Oribe was about to enter to Montevideo. Brent proposed that he did so giving an amnesty to the supporters of Rivera, calling to elections in the Legislature, and then the Argentine forces supporting him should leave the country at that point. Oribe accepted, but the British arrived to Montevideo and refused to allow Oribe to enter to the city. Arana, Deffaudis and Ouseley rejected Brent's mediation, and gave an ultimatum: if the army of Oribe and the Argentine navy of William Brown
William Brown
-Academics:*William Jethro Brown , Australian jurist and professor of law*William E. Brown , president of Cedarville University*William Arthur Brown, , academic, Master of Darwin College, Cambridge...
did not leave Uruguay in ten days, they would proceed to block Buenos Aires.
Beginning of armed actions
The same night the ultimatum was issued, still during the ten days period, the British ship Cadmus and the French one D'Assas anchored next to the Argentine ships San Martín and 25 de mayo. William BrownWilliam Brown
-Academics:*William Jethro Brown , Australian jurist and professor of law*William E. Brown , president of Cedarville University*William Arthur Brown, , academic, Master of Darwin College, Cambridge...
requested permission to return to Buenos Aires, which was allowed but with the condition of delivering the British and French sailors. Brown requested permission to do so in Buenos Aires, as most of his crew was Irish, but received no answer. When he finally sailed back to Buenos Aires, he was attacked. The Anglo-French forced boarded
Boarding (attack)
Boarding, in its simplest sense, refers to the insertion on to a ship's deck of individuals. However, when it is classified as an attack, in most contexts, it refers to the forcible insertion of personnel that are not members of the crew by another party without the consent of the captain or crew...
and seized the complete Argentine navy, the ships San Martín, 25 de mayo, General Echagüe, Maipú and 9 de julio. The French raised their flag in the first two, and the British did so in the last three. The Argentine officers were returned to Buenos Aires, and William Brown and all the British sailors were forbidden to sail under the Argentine flag during the remainder of the conflict.
The following day, the Anglo-French forces disembarked in Montevideo, reinforcing the defenses of the city. Since the defeat at India Muerta, the Montevidean defenders were less than 3.500. Rivera thanked these actions, saying that it secured the Uruguayan independence. Many politicians of Buenos Aires criticized them during a meeting in the Junta of Representatives in Buenos Aires.
Rosas learned in 1838 that the Isla Martín García
Isla Martín García
Isla Martín García is an Argentine island off the Río de la Plata coast of Uruguay. The enclave island is within the boundaries of Uruguayan waters; in 1973 both countries reached an agreement establishing Martín García as an Argentine territory and also as a nature reserve.The island of has a...
was difficult to defend, so he removed the forces from it. However, to prevent foreign claims of sovereignty, he left a force of twelve aged crippled soldiers, who would keep the flag of Argentina raised until the end. The only purpose of this army was to assert that the island was not left abandoned, and that the Anglo-French forces would only take it by an invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
. General Lucio Mansilla received the forces and infrastructure of Martín García, to select a point in the Paraná River
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
and fortify it. The west side of the river was preferred, to have easier communications with Buenos Aires. However, the support to the Uruguayan Oribe took priority, and no Argentine forces supporting the siege would be retired from it, not even temporarily. Mansilla prepared the defenses at Obligado, Buenos Aires, near San Pedro.
Declaration of blockade
The blockade was formally declared on September 18, 1845. They cited many reasons. They said that Rosas did not stop the war despite their good intentions, or that the capture of the Argentine navy, invasion of Martín García and reinforcement of Montevideo were described in violent language at Buenos Aires newspapers, which was also found at the meeting of the Junta or in the messages that called the Unitarians savages. A decree of August 27 had forbidden all Argentines to communicate with the Anglo-French navy. They also said that the foreigners in Buenos Aires were abused and drafted into the army, that Oribe made a butchery after the victory at India Muerta, and that the police was headed by the MazorcaSociedad Popular Restauradora
The Sociedad Popular Restauradora was an Argentine security agency that worked for Juan Manuel de Rosas in the mid-nineteenth century. It is known by its armed force, known as the Mazorca....
, which would made several abuses. The tone was closer to that of a declaration of war, and may have been written by Florencio Varela.
To counter those claims, Rosas arranged a meeting with diplomats from the United States, Portugal, Sardinia, Bolivia and France. The British diplomat refused to assist, but the French Mareuil did so. All of them declared unanimously that they had no complains about the treatment to foreigners, that they had no knowledge of foreigners forced by terror into the military or to sign petitions, that they had no knowledge of abuses from the Mazorca, and that the information of alleged butcheries in India Muerta was inexact. Rosas included as well a petition signed by 15,000 British and French living in Buenos Aires, protesting against the blockade. Rosas was confident in that this formal declaration, signed by foreign diplomats, would counter the Montevidean propaganda and turn the international opinion to his side.
Durán de Mareuil, representative of French business in Buenos Aires, was among the signatories. He wrote a document requesting the end of the blockade, which included Rosas's demands. Those demands were the inclusion of Oribe in the negotiations, disarm of Montevideo, return of Colonia, Martín García and the stolen navy, departure from the internal rivers, acknowledgement of the sovereignty of Argentina and an indemnization. As expected, it was rejected in Montevideo, so Mareuil moved to Paris to give it directly to the French government.
Uruguay river
The Anglo-French navy navigated the internal Uruguay river by mid August, led by Lainé and Inglefield. They announced that they would block any ports supporting Oribe, and remove the people in them with gunshots. In response, the ports were closed to any communication with the Anglo-French navy. Lainé and Inglefield moved to Colonia del SacramentoColonia del Sacramento
Colonia del Sacramento is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the oldest town in Uruguay and capital of the departamento of Colonia. It has a population of around 22,000.It is renowned for its historic quarter, a World Heritage Site...
, with Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
and his legion of Italian volunteers. They had a total of 28 ships, whereas Jaime Montoro, colonel defending the city had only 300 soldiers and eight small cannons. The Italian legion disembarked in the city and pillaged it. José Luis Bustamante blamed Garibaldi for it, while Garibaldi would attribute it to a lack of military discipline among his Legion. He would write in his memoirs that "the repression of disorder was difficult, considering that Colonia had plenty of resources, and specially of spirituous liquids that increased the desires of the virtuous pillagers". Even the local church was sacked, and the drunk Italians spent the night in it.
The navy moved then to Martín García, defeating the army stationed there. The flag of Argentina was removed, and replaced with the flag of Uruguay. the Argentine soldiers were removed, and the island was left abandoned.
The ship moved then into the Uruguay river
Uruguay River
The Uruguay River is a river in South America. It flows from north to south and makes boundary with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of the Mesopotamia from the other two countries...
. The pillage of Gualeguaychú
Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos
Gualeguaychú is a city in the , on the left bank of the Gualeguaychú River . It is located on the south-east of the province, approximately 230 km north-west of Buenos Aires...
was even worse than in Colonia, to the point that Bustamante wrote to Rivera worried about Garibaldi, fearing that his actions would discredit the whole operation. Garibaldi described that "The city of Gualeguaychú drove us to conquest by being a real emporium of wealth, capable to dress our ragged soldiers and supply us with harnesses. We acquired many and very good horses in Gualeguaychú, the clothes needed to dress all the people, the harnesses of cavalry and some money distributed among our poor soldiers and sailors, who suffered so much time of misery and privations". Garibaldi's plundering was valued in nearly 30,000 pound sterlings.
Garibaldi was defeated at Paysandú
Paysandú
-Transportation:The city is served by Tydeo Larre Borges International Airport.-Climate:Paysandú has a humid subtropical climate, described by the Köppen climate classification as Cfa. Summers are warm to hot and winters are cool, with the occurrence of frosts and fog...
by colonel Antonio Díaz, and then at Concordia
Concordia, Entre Ríos
San Antonio de Padua de la Concordia is a city in the north-east of the province of Entre Ríos in the Argentine Mesopotamia. It has about 142,000 inhabitants as of the , and is the head town of the department of the same name.Concordia lies on the right-hand shore of the Uruguay River, opposite...
, defended by Juan Antonio Lavalleja
Juan Antonio Lavalleja
Juan Antonio Lavalleja was an Uruguayan revolutionary and political figure. Today's Lavalleja Department is named after him.-Pre-Independence role:...
and an improvised navy. Then, he took control and pillaged Salto
Salto, Uruguay
Salto is the capital city of the Salto Department in northwestern Uruguay and the second largest city of the country. It is located on Route 3, about northwest of Montevideo, and on the east bank of Río Uruguay, across the city Concordia of Argentina...
. By November, the Anglo-French navy had control of all the Uruguay river from Colonia to Salto.
Parana river
Once Montevideo had enough defenses, Ouseley and Defauis prepared a convoy to navigate the Parana riverParaná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
. This way they would reach Corrientes and Paraguay and, once having complete control of Uruguay and both rivers, force the Mesopotamia out of the Confederation. The convoy was composed of three steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s, capable to navigate independently from the winds and a number of heavily armed sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
s. Those ships would protect 90 merchant vessel
Merchant vessel
A merchant vessel is a ship that transports cargo or passengers. The closely related term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire...
s, of diverse nationalities. Arana notified the foreign diplomats that the ships entering the Parana unauthorized would be reputed as pirates
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
, so they informed their respective ships that they would not have protection from their home countries if they got involved in the operation. However, such messages were delayed, and the 90 ships took part of the operation anyway.
The Anglo-French weaponry was the most advanced of the time. They used Peysar rifled
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
cannons, and the French brought the new Paixhans gun
Paixhans gun
The Paixhans gun was the first naval gun designed to fire explosive shells. It was developed by the French general Henri-Joseph Paixhans in 1822-1823.-Background:...
s. The allies also bombarded the Confederation batteries with Congreve rocket
Congreve rocket
The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...
s. This would be the first time such weapons would be used in South America, and they expected their firepower to be devastating.
The convoy stopped at the Paraná Guazú channel to study the situation. Initially, the admirals though that they would navigate unopposed, but found that Lucio Mansilla had prepared many fortifications along the river. As a result, the merchant ships would stay behind, while the combat steams open the way. There were fortifications at Ramada, Tonelero, Acevedo, and San Lorenzo. The most important fortification was located in Obligado, near San Pedro.
Battle of Vuelta de Obligado
In Obligado the Parana is only 700 m. wide, and the turning made sailboat navigation difficult. Mansilla placed 24 boats in succession, holding three thick chains to close the river. The west coast was the only one fortified, with four batteries. The biggest Argentine cannons were of caliber 20, whereas the average in the Anglo-French navy was of 80. The land was defended by the Regiment of Patricians, and the volunteers from the countryside were led by Facundo Quiroga (son of the famed caudillo of the same name). Many artilleries were operated by British sailors from the captured Argentine fleet, who disobeyed the orders of not fighting against their home country. A brig of six cannons was the only Argentine combat vessel.The first steam boats arrived to Obligado on November 18, stopping beyond the range of the cannons. They waited for the stolen San Martín ship, captained by Trehouart, who arrived the following day. The attack was delayed one more day, because the rain did not allow a clear sight of the fortifications. The ships advanced on November 20. Lucio Mansilla arranged the troops saying: There they are! Consider the insult they make to the sovereignty of our nation by navigating, with no more title than force, the waters of a river that flows across the territory of our country. But they won't achieve that unpunished! Let the blue and white banner wave in the Parana, and let's all of us die before seeing it come down from where it waves!.
The first ship to advance was the San Martín. She was about to break the chains when the wind suddenly ended and she got stuck in the place, too far from the other ships, which could not got near because of the lack of wind. The San Martín was hit more than a hundred times, two cannons were destroyed, and two officers and forty sailors died. Finally, the chain of San Martín´s anchor was broken, and she moved down the river. The Dolphin and Pandour had to retreat as well.
When the Republicano ran out of ammunition, the captain blew it to prevent it from being captured. At this point, the steamboats (unaffected by the lack of wind) proceeded to the chains. Their powerful guns outranged the Argentine cannons. The Fulton got to the chains and broke them, and the wind blew again. The ships moved, and the defenses gradually ran out of ammunition as well. By the end of the day, all batteries were destroyed, and the cannons were destroyed or taken as trophies. 250 Argentine soldiers died, and 400 were injured. The Anglo-French fleet stayed 40 days in Obligado, making repairs.
Consequences of Obligado
Word of the actions in Obligado spread around the continent. Most of the press, that so far had repeated the Montevidean libels, turned instead to support Rosas. Brazilian newspapers such as O Brado de Amazonas and O Sentinella da Monarchia referred to Rosas as a great South American hero. Francisco Antonio PintoFrancisco Antonio Pinto
Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente was a Chilean political figure. He was twice President of Chile between 1827 and 1829.-Early life:He was born in Santiago, the son of Joaquín Pinto and Mercedes Díaz de la Puente...
, former president of Chile, declared that the Chilean people was ashamed of the presence in Chile of a pair of newspapers that supported the Anglo-French cause. The president of Bolivia José Ballivián
José Ballivián
José Ballivián was a Bolivian general during the Peruvian-Bolivian War and the 11th president of Bolivia from September 27, 1841 to December 23, 1847.-Biography:...
, who was so far against Rosas, instructed his diplomat Manuel Rodríguez to congratulate Rosas for the action of Obligado and protest with reason of the disloyal and unjust Anglo-French intervention in the Río de la Plata against the rights and interests of the Americas. José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
wrote a supporting mail to Rosas and, despite his old age, offered his military assistance. He also wrote a mail to the British Morning Chronicle, explaining that a military occupation of Buenos Aires by Anglo-French forces would be nearly impossible.
The convoy resumed their navigation after the repairs, but with only 52 of the original 90 commercial ships, as the others returned to Montevideo. Mansilla made new attacks at the batteries in Tonelero and Acevedo, but the ships were not damaged very much. By moving to the east side of the river, they could fire against the batteries and destroy them from a safe distance. Mansilla made a more effective resistance at San Lorenzo, in the same site where José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
fought the battle of San Lorenzo
Battle of San Lorenzo
The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on February 3, 1813 in San Lorenzo, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. A Spanish Royalist army under the command of Antonio Zabala was defeated by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers, under the command of José de San Martín...
. The batteries here were hidden, and attacked the Anglo-French navy by surprise. Many merchant ships collided with others, and the steam ships fired for more than four hours. According to the British report, all ships received shots during the engagement.
The Fulton arrived to Asunción, with the intention to recognize the independence of Paraguay, recruit them against Rosas, and sign a treaty of commerce and friendship. Carlos Antonio López did not agree to the British terms, he expected recognition first, war later, and a treaty for the end; not all things at once. The commerce failed, as Corrientes and Paraguay were not as wealthy as the Anglo-French expected, and they returned with most of their products.
The return seemed difficult, as many sips were damaged and Mansilla was rearming the north of San Lorenzo, so they requested Montevideo to send reinforcements. The Philomel advanced at full speed, not answering fire whenever possible, reaching Montevideo in few days. The British steamboats Lizard and Harpy moved to reunite with the convoy. Those ships, however, stopped at Quebracho and returned fire, and the Lizard was badly damaged as a result.
Mansilla prepared a strong defense in Quebracho, against the returning convoy. He did not prepare chains to close the river this time, as the ships would be moving downstream, rather than upstream. This new attack was very successful. The Argentine cannons attacked the enemy ships at will, and the merchant ships attempted in vain to pass behind the warships. Two merchant ships were sunk, and others had to throw their cargo in the river to reduce their weight. The steam boats were the focus of the attack, the Harpy was disabled and the Gorgon suffered great damages. After three hours of fire, the ships escaped as they could, and four damaged merchant ships were set on fire to avoid Argentine capture.
End of the conflict
After the failure of the expedition to the Parana, Ouseley wrote to his government requesting 10,000 British soldiers, 10,000 French soldiers and an open declaration of war to conclude the conflict. However, unknown to him, Tomás Samuel Hood was already navigating to Buenos Aires with the opposite instructions from the allied countries: negotiate an end to the hostilities, at whatever price Rosas demanded. The repercussion of the battle of Vuelta de Obligado modified the international perception of the conflict in La Plata. Hood had also promoted an end to the conflicts because Rosas had suspended the payment of the Argentine foreign debt to Britain as long as Britain maintained the blockade, and a long conflict would harm the finances of the Baring Brothers bank. Besides, there was an ongoing political scandal in Britain, as The Times had published Ouseley was favoring a personal business with the blockade.Hood arranged with Rosas the conditions for peace, but Ouseley and Deffaudis refused to obey it. Deffaudis argued that he had no instructions from Paris to seek a peaceful resolution, and Ouseley that he had to work together with Deffaudis. Hood returned to Britain with the proposal negotiated with Rosas. The British administration was inclined to leave the conflict, but it was reluctant to accept the Hood bases, as they would mean a capitulation. Britain and France sent two new diplomats, John Hobart Caradoc and Alexandre Florian Joseph Colonna, who would pretend to agree with the Hood bases but surreptitiously change the terms. Rosas realized the trick, and did not accept their new proposal. They moved then to Uruguay, and negotiated an armistice with Oribe. Oribe accepted the British terms, but Rivera did not. This broke the alliance: the British diplomat was convinced that the terms were reasonable, and decided to go on with his original mission of ending the conflict. The French one declared instead that they would keep the blockade, even if it meant doing so alone.
Rosas received new diplomats, Henry Southern and Lepredour, but refused to have an interview with them before being aware of their intentions. Rosas wanted them to agree to the Hood bases, and would not accept anything else. The Southern-Arana treaty with Britain was finally signed on March 3, 1849, in strict conformity with the terms negotiated with Hood. Britain would return the stolen ships, the Martín García island, remove their troops from Uruguay, accept the Argentine sovereignty over its internal waters, and condition the whole treaty to the approval of Oribe. Finally, the British navy would make a 21-gun salute to the flag of Argentina.
Negotiations with France took a longer time. There was a strong nationalism in France by that time, and a second defeat with Argentina would hurt the national pride. The parliament was divided in two proposals: to send Lepredour with a very powerful navy, to make a treaty favourable to the French terms by intimidating Rosas, or to openly declare war. The first proposal was accepted by 338 votes over 300. Rosas refused to negotiate unless the threatening navy was removed from Uruguay, and refused to acknowledge Lepredour as a diplomat. Lepredour made up an excuse for the navy, and negotiated for nearly five months. Rosas finally agreed on August 31, 1850, to a pair of small concessions that did not actually modify the important points of the treaty: Rosas would remove the Argentine troops from Montevideo at the same time that France removed theirs, but keeping a portion of them during the first months of Oribe's rule to prevent anarchy; and Argentina would refer to Oribe in the document as "President of the Republic" whole France would do so as "Brigadier General". Before leaving the city, the French vessel transporting Lepredour would also make a 21-gun salute to the flag of Argentina.
Historical perspectives
The historical significance of the conflict is disputed between Argentine historians. Revisionist authors consider it a key event in the history of Argentina, next to the Argentine War of IndependenceArgentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
, while traditional historians do not share that perspective. A recent example of this conflicting viewpoints took place in November 18, 2010, before the first celebration of the Day of National Sovereignty
Day of National Sovereignty
The Day of National Sovereignty is a national public holiday of Argentina, celebrated during November 20. It commemorates the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado, when a small Argentine army stood against an Anglo-French navy that broke into the Paraná River, against the will of the Argentine Confederation...
(in commemoration of the main battle of the conflict, the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado
Battle of Vuelta de Obligado
The naval Battle of Vuelta de Obligado took place on the waters of the Paraná River on November 20, 1845, between the Argentine Confederation, under the leadership of Juan Manuel de Rosas, and an Anglo-French fleet.- Background :...
) as a national holiday. The newspaper La Nación
La Nación
La Nación is an Argentine daily newspaper. The country's leading conservative paper, the centrist Clarín is its main competitor. It is the only newspaper in Argentina still published in broadsheet format.-Overview:...
interviewed revisionist historian Pacho O'Donnell
Pacho O'Donnell
Mario O'Donnell , best known as Pacho O'Donnell, is an Argentine writer, politician and physician who specializes in psychoanalysis....
, traditional historian Luis Alberto Romero
Luis Alberto Romero
Luis Alberto Romero Alconchel , known as Luis Alberto, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Sevilla FC as a forward.-Football career:...
and British historian David Rock
David Rock (historian)
David Rock is a Latin Americanist historian, who specializes in the history of Argentina. He has been described as a "leading scholar in the field" of 19th century Argentine political history...
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Luis Alberto Romero considers that the importance of the battle is overrated because it was a defeat: the Anglo-French navy destroyed the artilleries and proceed to the north, as they wanted to do. The end of the blockade in favourable terms to the Confederation was more the result of a change of policy by the Foreign Office after the appointment of Lord Palmerston than a success of Rosas' diplomacy. Pacho O'Donnell considers that, even though the navy could force its way, it ultimately failed in its main purposes: they could not turn the Argentine mesopotamia into a new country, nor gain total control of the Parana River, nor establish their presence in the zone. David Rock concurs, but considers that it is exaggerated to treat the battle as an epic. He points that the number of casualties in it may be high in the context of the military history of Argentina, but not on a global scale, as it was nowhere near the 1916 Battle of the Somme, with more than 60,000 deaths in just half an hour.
Pacho O'Donnell considers as well that traditional historiography had concealed the battle of Vuelta de Obligado. Romero considers instead that, despite not giving it the higher importance, the battle is properly referenced at all the books about the time period.