Inca plan
Encyclopedia
The Inca plan was a proposal formulated in 1816 by Manuel Belgrano
to the Congress of Tucumán
, aiming to crown an Inca. After the Declaration of Independence
of the United Provinces of South America
(modern Argentina
), the Congress discussed the form of government
that should be used. Belgrano proposed that the country be ruled by a Constitutional monarchy
headed by an ethnic Inca
. The proposal was supported by José de San Martín
, Martín Miguel de Güemes
and the northern provinces, but found strong resistance from Buenos Aires
. The Congress would ultimately reject it, creating instead a Republican government.
. The Spanish overseas colonies, like the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
, found themselves with a power vacuum
. At the same time, the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment
and the French Revolution
were spreading, and as the captive king had overthrown his absolutist
father Charles IV
shortly before, it was thought that he shared the new ideas. This led to many riots and rebellions, and the Viceroyalty engaged in the Argentine War of Independence
. However, Ferdinand VII was restored in the throne of Spain in 1816, and started the Absolutist Restauration. The patriots
, who were so far fighting to replace the absolutist form of government with one closer to the new ideas, became fully Independentist by this point.
Contemporary to the War of Independence, the Argentine Civil War
confronted Buenos Aires with provincial caudillo
s. Buenos Aires had been the capital of the viceroyalty and intended to keep exerting that power, but in the lack of a king and its vertical authority, the provinces felt themselves equally capable to rule themselves. Caudillos manifested the strong anti-Buenos Aires sentiment present at many provinces.
The Inca Empire
had been conquered
by the Spanish centuries ago, and the last Sapa Inca, Atahualpa
, was executed in 1533. Nevertheless, the Incan heritage was still strong among the indigenous populations of the Upper Peru
and Inca nobility was by now way extinct.
and Bernardino Rivadavia
were sent to Europe in a diplomatic mission, seeking support for the local governments. They couldn't get it, but Belgrano realized that, unlike previous years, the republic
an form of government was not highly esteemed, and monarchies
were preferred again. He also pointed out that the European superpower
s looked favorably to the Revolution, until it led to anarchy. This led him to propose that the provinces were led by an Inca monarch. He reasoned that if the country was ruled by a monarchy, the European powers would be more likely to recognize their independence. And by restoring the Inca monarchy the independentist movement would gather support from the northern provinces and the indigenous populations. The proposal included as well to designate the city of Cuzco, former capital of the Inca Empire, as the capital
of the country, replacing Buenos Aires as such. The idea, however, was not a new one: as early as 1790 Francisco de Miranda
had plans for an Empire where a descendant of the Inca Emperors would reign. His proposal was a constitutional monarchy with a Legislative branch divided in a lower house and an upper house - the latter with lifelong members taken from local cacique
s.
A possible candidate to be crowned after this proposal was Dionisio Inca Yupanqui, colonel in Spain and deputee at the Courts of Cadiz in 1812, mentioned in a mail from Chamberlain to Castlereagh. He had a high social position, and by representing Peru at Cadiz he was already politically notable. Another possible candidate was Juan Bautista Tupamaro, also known as Túpac Amaru. As well as his brother Túpac Amaru II
, he claimed to be a descendent of the former Inca ruler Túpac Amaru
.
Belgrano's proposal was discussed again on July 12, being raised by Manuel Antonio de Acevedo, representative of the Catamarca Province
. There was a strong support from the representatives of the provinces of the Upper Peru
and the north west, the ones from Cuyo were divided, and the ones from Buenos Aires were against it. The representatives of Buenos Aires - who disliked the idea of losing power and being governed by a distant central government in Cusco - proposed instead as a monarch the young Prince Don Sebastián
. Sebastián was a member of the Spanish Royal House (the Bourbons) but lived in Rio de Janeiro with his maternal grandparent, the Portuguese King Dom João VI
. A few years before, in 1808, Hispanic-American patriots tried to convince Sebastián's father, Prince Don Pedro Carlos
, to accept the regency under the name of then-captive Spanish king. His mother-in-law and aunt Dona Carlota Joaquina (herself a Spanish Bourbon and wife of João VI) eagerly supported the plan hoping that she could rule the former Spanish colonies through her nephew.
João VI saw the ambitious plan as a threat to Portugal and Brazil and convinced his nephew to refuse the proposal. Nonetheless Carlota was adamant on leaving Rio de Janeiro to establish herself as regent (in what would later be known as Carlotism
) with her younger son Miguel as her heir. In May 1809 her husband managed to destroy her project by sending away Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford
, the British Admiral who supported her would take her to Buenos Aires on his fleet. In 1810 the Buenos Aires junta, in conflict with the government of Cádiz, proposed Carlota as constitutional queen of the United Provinces (nowadays Argentina). She wanted to rule as an absolutist monarch which led to Buenos Aires to withdraw its proposal.
The discussion was extended during July, and by August 6 Tomás de Anchorena
stated his rejection to the proposal. He considered that there were conflicting perspectives between the peoples at the North and at the Pampas, with the later opposing the monarchic form of government. However, Anchorena would explain years later to Juan Manuel de Rosas
, in a mail that was kept, that he supported the constitutional monarchy as a form of government but rejected the idea of crowning an Inca.
Belgrano told in a mail to Rivadavia that the project achieved complete consensus. Martín Miguel de Güemes
also supported it. José de San Martín
manifested his support as well, but requested that there was a single head of state
and not a government body composed of many people, such as the Juntas
or the triumvirates that had ruled the United Provinces a short time ago.
Incapable to force the rejection of the Inca plan, the representatives of Buenos Aires forced its delay, while promoting that the Congress was moved to Buenos Aires, which would allow a stronger influence over its development. Belgrano and Güemes wanted to keep it in Tucuman, and San Martín accepted the move, but conditioned that the seat of government of the Supreme Director was moved to the city of Córdoba. Buenos Aires prevailed and the Congress moved to the city in March, 1817. The Inca Plan was forgotten, and the Congress enacted instead an aristocratic Constitution. It would create a monarchy as well, but the king would not be an Inca. It would be a Frenchman, the prince De Luca. The crowing of De Luca was frustrated by the defeat of Buenos Aires during the battle of Cepeda
, which ended the authority of the Supreme Directors and started a period of anarchy
.
The Duke of Lucca (Charles II, Duke of Parma
) was not only proposed as an Argentine monarch but the idea was to propose a marriage between him and one of the Brazilian princessess, whose dowry
would include Cisplatina, then a Brazilian province. The United Provinces was at war
with the Empire of Brazil over Cisplatina. The plan (both the Duke of Lucca and the marriage to a Brazilian princess) which had been approved by the United Porvinces' parliament, came to nothing after the king of Spain - once again - refused to allow any member of his family as a monarch in one of his former colonies.
of Belgrano and San Martín has been critizised by their biographer, Bartolomé Mitre
. In his book Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana
, he considered that they did not comprehend the needs of the time and failed to represent the dominant popular opinions regarding the form of government. Even so, their works and military victories would have helped the country to become a democratic republic. Mitre considered the Inca plan an inconsistent project, without political or military foundation, which San Martín supported merely in order to strengthen the government and gather allies.
Juan Bautista Alberdi
considered that it was a mistake to judge the monarchism of San Martín or Bolívar by judging monarchy
and republic
anism as abstract concepts. Historian Milcíades Peña also pointed that monarchy became obsolete when society became strong enough to face more advanced forms of government, but it was instrumental at earlier stages of the European historical development to turn isolated fiefs and cities into countries with strong centralized governments. From this perspective, they would have promoted monarchism because the social development of Hispanic South America was closer to feudal Europe
than to its Early modern period
.
According to Alberdi, the real dispute was not really between the monarchic or republican form of government, but about the relations between Buenos Aires and the other provinces. The supporters of the Inca plan aimed to create a strong centralized government uniting all the Hispanic South America, whereas Buenos Aires attempted to keep its regional hegemony
intact. He described them as "Two countries, two causes, two interests, two debts, two credits, two treasuries, two patriotisms, under the external colours of a sole country. Buenos Aires colonizes the provinces in the name of freedom, it has taken them under its yoke in the name of independy".
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...
to the Congress of Tucumán
Congress of Tucumán
The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America on July 9, 1816, from the Spanish Empire....
, aiming to crown an Inca. After 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...
of the United Provinces of South America
United Provinces of South America
The United Provinces of South America was the original name of the state that emerged from the May Revolution and the early developments of the Argentine War of Independence...
(modern 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...
), the Congress discussed the form of government
Form of government
A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
that should be used. Belgrano proposed that the country be ruled by a Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
headed by an ethnic Inca
Inca civilization
The Andean civilizations made up a loose patchwork of different cultures that developed from the highlands of Colombia to the Atacama Desert. The Andean civilizations are mainly based on the cultures of Ancient Peru and some others such as Tiahuanaco. The Inca Empire was the last sovereign...
. The proposal was supported by 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...
, Martín Miguel de Güemes
Martín Miguel de Güemes
Martín Miguel de Güemes was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish during the Argentine War of Independence.-Biography:...
and the northern provinces, but found strong resistance from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. The Congress would ultimately reject it, creating instead a Republican government.
Context
The king Ferdinand VII of Spain was overthrown by French armies during the Peninsular WarPeninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. The Spanish overseas colonies, like the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
, found themselves with a power vacuum
Power vacuum
A power vacuum is, in its broadest sense, an expression for a condition that exists when someone has lost control of something and no one has replaced them. It is usually used to refer to a political situation that can occur when a government has no identifiable central authority...
. At the same time, the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
and the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
were spreading, and as the captive king had overthrown his absolutist
Absolutism (European history)
Absolutism or The Age of Absolutism is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites...
father Charles IV
Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...
shortly before, it was thought that he shared the new ideas. This led to many riots and rebellions, and the Viceroyalty engaged in the 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...
. However, Ferdinand VII was restored in the throne of Spain in 1816, and started the Absolutist Restauration. The patriots
Patriot (Spanish American Revolution)
Patriots was the name the peoples of the Spanish America, who rebelled against Spanish control during the Spanish American wars of independence, called themselves. They supported the principles of the Age of Enlightenment and sought to replace the existing governing structures with Juntas...
, who were so far fighting to replace the absolutist form of government with one closer to the new ideas, became fully Independentist by this point.
Contemporary to the War of Independence, the Argentine Civil War
Argentine Civil War
The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of internecine wars that took place in Argentina from 1814 to 1876. These conflicts were separate from the Argentine War of Independence , though they first arose during this period....
confronted Buenos Aires with provincial caudillo
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
s. Buenos Aires had been the capital of the viceroyalty and intended to keep exerting that power, but in the lack of a king and its vertical authority, the provinces felt themselves equally capable to rule themselves. Caudillos manifested the strong anti-Buenos Aires sentiment present at many provinces.
The Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
had been conquered
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. This historic process of military conquest was made by Spanish conquistadores and their native allies....
by the Spanish centuries ago, and the last Sapa Inca, Atahualpa
Atahualpa
Atahualpa, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, or Atawallpa , was the last Sapa Inca or sovereign emperor of the Tahuantinsuyu, or the Inca Empire, prior to the Spanish conquest of Peru...
, was executed in 1533. Nevertheless, the Incan heritage was still strong among the indigenous populations of the Upper Peru
Upper Peru
Upper Peru was the region in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and after 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, comprising the governorships of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Los Chiquitos, Moxos and Charcas...
and Inca nobility was by now way extinct.
Development
After the return of Ferdinand VII to the Spanish throne, Manuel BelgranoManuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...
and Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino de la Trinidad Gónzalez Rivadavia y Rivadavia was the first president of Argentina, from February 8, 1826 to July 7, 1827 . He was a politician of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Argentina today...
were sent to Europe in a diplomatic mission, seeking support for the local governments. They couldn't get it, but Belgrano realized that, unlike previous years, the republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an form of government was not highly esteemed, and monarchies
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
were preferred again. He also pointed out that the European superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
s looked favorably to the Revolution, until it led to anarchy. This led him to propose that the provinces were led by an Inca monarch. He reasoned that if the country was ruled by a monarchy, the European powers would be more likely to recognize their independence. And by restoring the Inca monarchy the independentist movement would gather support from the northern provinces and the indigenous populations. The proposal included as well to designate the city of Cuzco, former capital of the Inca Empire, as the capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the country, replacing Buenos Aires as such. The idea, however, was not a new one: as early as 1790 Francisco de Miranda
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Ravelo y Rodríguez de Espinoza , commonly known as Francisco de Miranda , was a Venezuelan revolutionary...
had plans for an Empire where a descendant of the Inca Emperors would reign. His proposal was a constitutional monarchy with a Legislative branch divided in a lower house and an upper house - the latter with lifelong members taken from local cacique
Cacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
s.
A possible candidate to be crowned after this proposal was Dionisio Inca Yupanqui, colonel in Spain and deputee at the Courts of Cadiz in 1812, mentioned in a mail from Chamberlain to Castlereagh. He had a high social position, and by representing Peru at Cadiz he was already politically notable. Another possible candidate was Juan Bautista Tupamaro, also known as Túpac Amaru. As well as his brother Túpac Amaru II
Túpac Amaru II
Túpac Amaru II was a leader of an indigenous uprising in 1780 against the Spanish in Peru...
, he claimed to be a descendent of the former Inca ruler Túpac Amaru
Túpac Amaru
Túpac Amaru, also called Thupa Amaro , was the last indigenous leader of the Inca state in Peru.-Accession:...
.
Belgrano's proposal was discussed again on July 12, being raised by Manuel Antonio de Acevedo, representative of the Catamarca Province
Catamarca Province
Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are : Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja...
. There was a strong support from the representatives of the provinces of the Upper Peru
Upper Peru
Upper Peru was the region in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and after 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, comprising the governorships of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Los Chiquitos, Moxos and Charcas...
and the north west, the ones from Cuyo were divided, and the ones from Buenos Aires were against it. The representatives of Buenos Aires - who disliked the idea of losing power and being governed by a distant central government in Cusco - proposed instead as a monarch the young Prince Don Sebastián
Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain
Sebastian Gabriel de Borbon y de Braganza, Infante of Portugal and Spain, was a royal of the 19th century, progenitor of the ducal lines of Hernani, Ansola, Durcal and Marchena, and Carlist army commander in the First Carlist War.- Family :He was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1811 as the only child of...
. Sebastián was a member of the Spanish Royal House (the Bourbons) but lived in Rio de Janeiro with his maternal grandparent, the Portuguese King Dom João VI
John VI of Portugal
John VI John VI John VI (full name: João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael; (13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826) was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (later changed to just King of Portugal and the Algarves, after Brazil was recognized...
. A few years before, in 1808, Hispanic-American patriots tried to convince Sebastián's father, Prince Don Pedro Carlos
Infante Pedro Carlos of Spain and Portugal
Pedro Carlos de Borbón y Braganza was an Infante of Spain and Portugal.-Family:...
, to accept the regency under the name of then-captive Spanish king. His mother-in-law and aunt Dona Carlota Joaquina (herself a Spanish Bourbon and wife of João VI) eagerly supported the plan hoping that she could rule the former Spanish colonies through her nephew.
João VI saw the ambitious plan as a threat to Portugal and Brazil and convinced his nephew to refuse the proposal. Nonetheless Carlota was adamant on leaving Rio de Janeiro to establish herself as regent (in what would later be known as Carlotism
Carlotism
Carlotism was a political movement that took place in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata between 1808 and 1812; it intended to make Carlota Joaquina of Spain its queen. After Napoleon's invasion of Spain, Fernando VII was forced to abdicate and give the throne to Joseph Bonaparte...
) with her younger son Miguel as her heir. In May 1809 her husband managed to destroy her project by sending away Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford
Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford
Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford, GCB, GCH was an Anglo-Irish diplomat.-Personal life:He was the son of Lionel Smythe, 5th Viscount Strangford and Mary Eliza Philipse....
, the British Admiral who supported her would take her to Buenos Aires on his fleet. In 1810 the Buenos Aires junta, in conflict with the government of Cádiz, proposed Carlota as constitutional queen of the United Provinces (nowadays Argentina). She wanted to rule as an absolutist monarch which led to Buenos Aires to withdraw its proposal.
Tomás de Anchorena
Tomás Manuel de Anchorena was an Argentine statesman and lawyer. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina....
stated his rejection to the proposal. He considered that there were conflicting perspectives between the peoples at the North and at the Pampas, with the later opposing the monarchic form of government. However, Anchorena would explain years later to 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...
, in a mail that was kept, that he supported the constitutional monarchy as a form of government but rejected the idea of crowning an Inca.
Belgrano told in a mail to Rivadavia that the project achieved complete consensus. Martín Miguel de Güemes
Martín Miguel de Güemes
Martín Miguel de Güemes was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish during the Argentine War of Independence.-Biography:...
also supported it. 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...
manifested his support as well, but requested that there was a single head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and not a government body composed of many people, such as the Juntas
Junta (Peninsular War)
In the Napoleonic era, junta was the name chosen by several local administrations formed in Spain during the Peninsular War as a patriotic alternative to the official administration toppled by the French invaders...
or the triumvirates that had ruled the United Provinces a short time ago.
Incapable to force the rejection of the Inca plan, the representatives of Buenos Aires forced its delay, while promoting that the Congress was moved to Buenos Aires, which would allow a stronger influence over its development. Belgrano and Güemes wanted to keep it in Tucuman, and San Martín accepted the move, but conditioned that the seat of government of the Supreme Director was moved to the city of Córdoba. Buenos Aires prevailed and the Congress moved to the city in March, 1817. The Inca Plan was forgotten, and the Congress enacted instead an aristocratic Constitution. It would create a monarchy as well, but the king would not be an Inca. It would be a Frenchman, the prince De Luca. The crowing of De Luca was frustrated by the defeat of Buenos Aires during the battle of Cepeda
Battle of Cepeda (1820)
The Battle of Cepeda of 1820 took place on February 1 in Cañada de Cepeda, Santa Fe, Argentina.It was the first major battle that saw Unitarians and Federals as two constituted sides. Federal League Provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos joined forces to topple the 1819 centralist Constitution, and...
, which ended the authority of the Supreme Directors and started a period of anarchy
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
.
The Duke of Lucca (Charles II, Duke of Parma
Charles II, Duke of Parma
Charles Louis of Bourbon-Parma was King of Etruria , Duke of Lucca , and Duke of Parma .-Early life and marriage:...
) was not only proposed as an Argentine monarch but the idea was to propose a marriage between him and one of the Brazilian princessess, whose dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
would include Cisplatina, then a Brazilian province. The United Provinces was at war
Argentina-Brazil War
The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...
with the Empire of Brazil over Cisplatina. The plan (both the Duke of Lucca and the marriage to a Brazilian princess) which had been approved by the United Porvinces' parliament, came to nothing after the king of Spain - once again - refused to allow any member of his family as a monarch in one of his former colonies.
Historical disputes
The monarchismMonarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
of Belgrano and San Martín has been critizised by their biographer, Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...
. In his book Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana
Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana
Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana is a biography of José de San Martín, written by Bartolomé Mitre in 1869. Along with his biography of Manuel Belgrano, it is one of the earliest major works of the historiography of Argentina....
, he considered that they did not comprehend the needs of the time and failed to represent the dominant popular opinions regarding the form of government. Even so, their works and military victories would have helped the country to become a democratic republic. Mitre considered the Inca plan an inconsistent project, without political or military foundation, which San Martín supported merely in order to strengthen the government and gather allies.
Juan Bautista Alberdi
Juan Bautista Alberdi
Juan Bautista Alberdi was an Argentine political theorist and diplomat. Although he lived most of his life in exile in Montevideo and Chile, he was one of the most influential Argentine liberals of his age.-Biography:...
considered that it was a mistake to judge the monarchism of San Martín or Bolívar by judging monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
and republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
anism as abstract concepts. Historian Milcíades Peña also pointed that monarchy became obsolete when society became strong enough to face more advanced forms of government, but it was instrumental at earlier stages of the European historical development to turn isolated fiefs and cities into countries with strong centralized governments. From this perspective, they would have promoted monarchism because the social development of Hispanic South America was closer to feudal Europe
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
than to its Early modern period
Early modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
.
According to Alberdi, the real dispute was not really between the monarchic or republican form of government, but about the relations between Buenos Aires and the other provinces. The supporters of the Inca plan aimed to create a strong centralized government uniting all the Hispanic South America, whereas Buenos Aires attempted to keep its regional hegemony
Regional hegemony
Regional hegemony is a concept in international relations which refers to the influence exercised over neighboring countries by an independently powerful nation, the regional hegemon...
intact. He described them as "Two countries, two causes, two interests, two debts, two credits, two treasuries, two patriotisms, under the external colours of a sole country. Buenos Aires colonizes the provinces in the name of freedom, it has taken them under its yoke in the name of independy".