The Assembly of Year XIII was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate

Second Triumvirate (Argentina)

The Second Triumvirate was the governing body of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata that followed the First Triumvirate in 1812, shortly after the May Revolution, and lasted 2 years....

 governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (today's Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, part of Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

) on October 1812.

One of the objectives of the assembly was to define an institutional government system for the republic. Without the presence of representatives from some of the provinces

Provinces of Argentina

Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...

, it was inaugurated on January 31, 1813 (whence the name). At the same time, it was to proclaim independence from Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and redact the first constitution

Constitution of Argentina

The constitution of Argentina is one of the primary sources of existing law in Argentina. Its first version was written in 1853 by a Constitutional Assembly gathered in Santa Fe, and the doctrinal basis was taken in part from the United States Constitution...

 of the young state.

Accomplishments

During the assembly, different interests delayed the declaration of independence

Argentine Declaration of Independence

What today is commonly referred as the Independence of Argentina was declared on July 9, 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán. In reality, the congressmen that were assembled in Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America, which is still today one of the legal names of the...

, but a number of common points were successfully established:

• The national coat of arms
  Coat of arms of Argentina
  The coat of arms of Argentina was established in its current form in 1944, but has its origins in the seal of the General Constituent Assembly of 1813. It is supposed that it was chosen quickly because of the existence of a decree signed on February 22 sealed with the symbol...
  
   was chosen.
• The national anthem
  Argentine National Anthem
  The Argentine National Anthem is the national anthem of Argentina. The name of the song originally was Marcha Patriótica , and was later renamed Canción Patriótica Nacional and finally Canción Patriótica . A copy published in 1847 called it Himno Nacional Argentino and the name has remained ever...
  
   was commended.
• The Freedom of Wombs
  Freedom of wombs
  Freedom of wombs was a judicial principle applied in several countries in South America in the 19th century which automatically freed slaves' children at their birth, rather than becoming the property of the parents' owners.-By country:A movement for American freedom from Spain grew in the...
  
   (Libertad de vientres) law, which put an end to slavery, was passed (it dictated that children born from slaves since the passing of the law were automatically free citizens).
• All titles of nobility (from the colonial period) were voided and suppressed.
• The creation of the national currency
  Argentine real
  The real was the currency of Argentina until 1881. From 1822, it was subdivided into 10 decimos. The sol was also issued during this period and was equal to the real, whilst the peso was worth 8 reales and the escudo was worth 16 reales....
  
   was ordered.
• The Spanish Inquisition
  Spanish Inquisition
  The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
  
   and the practice of torture
  Torture
  Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
  
   were abolished.
• A statute was approved that replaced as Executive Power the Second Triumvirate for a unipersonal Supreme Directorship
  Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
  The Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata , was a title given to the executive officers of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, according to the form of government established in 1814 by the Asamblea del Año XIII...
  
  

See also

• Argentine War of Independence
  Argentine 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...
  
  
• United Provinces of the Río de la Plata