Thirty-Three Orientals
Encyclopedia
The Treinta y Tres Orientales (English: thirty-three orientals or thirty-three easterners) was a militant
revolutionary group led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja
against the Empire of Brazil. Their actions culminated in the foundation of modern Uruguay
. They became famous by the name of the Treinta y Tres Orientales when, in 1825, they began an insurrection for the independence of Oriental Province
, a historical territory encompassing modern Uruguay and part of modern Brazil
ian Rio Grande do Sul
State, from Brazilian control.
. These Luso-Brazilian forces easily defeated the resistance of the forces of José Gervasio Artigas
who, when routed, had to abandon the province in 1820, and went into self-exile in Paraguay
.
In February 1824 Oriental Province was annexed under the name Cisplatina Province by newly independent Brazil. It had held the same name under the former Portuguese colonial
administration. Previously, a separatist movement (1822-1823) directed by various partisans of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, had been subdued by the Brazilians. The goal of the doomed movement had been the unification of Cisplatina with the United Provinces.
against the Portuguese and Brazilians, organized a new military expedition, from Buenos Aires Province
to Cisplatina Province. The goal was again to expel the Brazilians and unite Cisplatina Province with the United Provinces of Río de la Plata.
The expedition relied on the help of some ranchers and beef-curers from Buenos Aires Province who saw the Brazilian occupation of Cisplatina Province as a danger to their interests. The beef-curers had seen their regional markets impaired through competition with their neighbors at Rio Grande do Sul
, who were supplied with cattle from Cisplatina. Juan Manuel de Rosas
, a characteristic member of this group, became an important financier of the anti-Brazilian movement.
, a Buenos Aires
neighborhood on the banks of the Río de la Plata
at the northwest outskirts of the city. They advanced carefully among the isles of the Paraná Delta
, evading the vigil of the Brazilian flotilla
. After nightfall they crossed the Río Uruguay in two boats and disembarked at Agraciada Beach
in the dawn of April 19. There they planted what would become known as the Bandera de los Treinta y Tres Orientales (Flag of the Thirty-Three Easterners
), a flag of blue, white, and red horizontal bars. These colors had been traditional since the times of Artigas, not only in Oriental Province but also in others of the Río de la Plata region.
Long afterwards, in 1877, the event would be portrayed by the painter Juan Manuel Blanes, in El Juramento de los Treinta y Tres Orientales (Oath of the Thirty-Three Easterners, pictured on the right) one of the images most deeply inscribed in the historical memory of Uruguayans. Blanes often addressed historical themes in his works, and in this case achieved detailed renderings of the protagonists faces, interviewing some survivors and taking extensive notes.
, where they arrived on May 20, 1825. On June 14, in the town of La Florida
they installed a provisional government
which in turn held an election
of representatives. This was known as Representatives' Hall, or more commonly as the Florida Assembly. The goal of the assembly was to rewrite the laws of Oriental Province.
On August 25 the assembly declared the independence of Oriental Province from Brazil, and its alleigiance to the United Provinces of Río de la Plata. The United Provinces recognized the incorporation of Oriental Province on October 24, 1825. This instigated a declaration of war by the Empire of Brazil in December of the same year. The Argentina-Brazil War
had begun.
This conflict extended until August 1828. After mediation by Viscount Ponsonby, a British
diplomat, Oriental Province was established as a state
independent of both the United Provinces and the Brazilian Empire. This accord was the foundation of modern Uruguay
. Known as the Preliminary Peace Convention, it was affirmed on August 27, 1828.
Although called Orientales, not everyone was from Oriental Province. Among them were various Argentines
from the isles of Paraná
, as well as Paraguay
ans.
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
revolutionary group led 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:...
against the Empire of Brazil. Their actions culminated in the foundation of modern 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...
. They became famous by the name of the Treinta y Tres Orientales when, in 1825, they began an insurrection for the independence of Oriental Province
Banda Oriental
The Banda Oriental del Uruguay was the South American territory east of the Uruguay River and north of the Río de la Plata, coinciding approximately with the modern nation of Uruguay, the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul and some parts of Santa Catarina...
, a historical territory encompassing modern Uruguay and part of modern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian 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...
State, from Brazilian control.
Background
Between 1816 and 1820, the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves invaded and occupied Oriental ProvinceBanda Oriental
The Banda Oriental del Uruguay was the South American territory east of the Uruguay River and north of the Río de la Plata, coinciding approximately with the modern nation of Uruguay, the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul and some parts of Santa Catarina...
. These Luso-Brazilian forces easily defeated the resistance of the forces of José Gervasio Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas is a national hero of Uruguay, sometimes called "the father of Uruguayan nationhood".-Early life:Artigas was born in Montevideo on June 19, 1764...
who, when routed, had to abandon the province in 1820, and went into self-exile in 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...
.
In February 1824 Oriental Province was annexed under the name Cisplatina Province by newly independent Brazil. It had held the same name under the former Portuguese colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
administration. Previously, a separatist movement (1822-1823) directed by various partisans of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, had been subdued by the Brazilians. The goal of the doomed movement had been the unification of Cisplatina with the United Provinces.
Organization
One of the military leaders of the partisans, Lavalleja, who had fought together with ArtigasJosé Gervasio Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas is a national hero of Uruguay, sometimes called "the father of Uruguayan nationhood".-Early life:Artigas was born in Montevideo on June 19, 1764...
against the Portuguese and Brazilians, organized a new military expedition, from Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
to Cisplatina Province. The goal was again to expel the Brazilians and unite Cisplatina Province with the United Provinces of Río de la Plata.
The expedition relied on the help of some ranchers and beef-curers from Buenos Aires Province who saw the Brazilian occupation of Cisplatina Province as a danger to their interests. The beef-curers had seen their regional markets impaired through competition with their neighbors at 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...
, who were supplied with cattle from Cisplatina. 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...
, a characteristic member of this group, became an important financier of the anti-Brazilian movement.
Landing
April 15, 1825, Lavalleja and his men took ship from San IsidroSan Isidro, Buenos Aires
San Isidro, Buenos Aires is a municipality in Greater Buenos Aires and one of the most affluent municipalities in Argentina. It is located in San Isidro Partido in the Buenos Aires Province....
, a 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...
neighborhood on the banks of the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
at the northwest outskirts of the city. They advanced carefully among the isles of the Paraná Delta
Paraná Delta
The Paraná Delta is the delta of the Paraná River in Argentina. The Paraná flows north–south and becomes an alluvial basin between the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe, then emptying into the Río de la Plata....
, evading the vigil of the Brazilian flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
. After nightfall they crossed the Río Uruguay in two boats and disembarked at Agraciada Beach
Agraciada Beach
-Location:It is situated on the eastern bank of the Uruguay River, within the Soriano Department, on the Uruguayan side of the river, opposite territory in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos.-Historical association:...
in the dawn of April 19. There they planted what would become known as the Bandera de los Treinta y Tres Orientales (Flag of the Thirty-Three Easterners
Flag of the Treinta y Tres
The Flag of the Treinta y Tres is an official flag in use in Uruguay.-Historical background:It pays homage to the disembarkation of the Thirty-Three Orientals at Agraciada Beach, on April 19, 1825.-Features:...
), a flag of blue, white, and red horizontal bars. These colors had been traditional since the times of Artigas, not only in Oriental Province but also in others of the Río de la Plata region.
Long afterwards, in 1877, the event would be portrayed by the painter Juan Manuel Blanes, in El Juramento de los Treinta y Tres Orientales (Oath of the Thirty-Three Easterners, pictured on the right) one of the images most deeply inscribed in the historical memory of Uruguayans. Blanes often addressed historical themes in his works, and in this case achieved detailed renderings of the protagonists faces, interviewing some survivors and taking extensive notes.
Campaign
The military expedition of the Treinta y Tres proceeded to attract countryside inhabitants to the cause of freedom from the Brazilians, and made way to MontevideoMontevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, where they arrived on May 20, 1825. On June 14, in the town of La Florida
Florida, Uruguay
Florida is the capital of Florida Department of Uruguay. It is located on Route 5, around north of Montevideo. The stream Arroyo Santa Lucía Chico flows along the east and south limits of the city...
they installed a provisional government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
which in turn held an election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
of representatives. This was known as Representatives' Hall, or more commonly as the Florida Assembly. The goal of the assembly was to rewrite the laws of Oriental Province.
On August 25 the assembly declared the independence of Oriental Province from Brazil, and its alleigiance to the United Provinces of Río de la Plata. The United Provinces recognized the incorporation of Oriental Province on October 24, 1825. This instigated a declaration of war by the Empire of Brazil in December of the same year. The Argentina-Brazil 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...
had begun.
This conflict extended until August 1828. After mediation by Viscount Ponsonby, a British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
diplomat, Oriental Province was established as a state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
independent of both the United Provinces and the Brazilian Empire. This accord was the foundation of modern 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...
. Known as the Preliminary Peace Convention, it was affirmed on August 27, 1828.
Number and identities of the Treinta y Tres Orientales
The true number of the group has been the object of controversy, based on the existence of various lists of members, published between 1825 and 1832. Albeit thirty-three is the officially accepted number, the names differ from list to list; it is unclear whether these differing names may be nicknames of the true members. According to Jacinto Carranza, who compared extant lists for his 1946 book ¿Cuántos eran los Treinta y Tres? (How Many Were the Thirty-Three?), Santiago Gadea is a name appearing in every list.Although called Orientales, not everyone was from Oriental Province. Among them were various Argentines
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...
from the isles of Paraná
Paraná Delta
The Paraná Delta is the delta of the Paraná River in Argentina. The Paraná flows north–south and becomes an alluvial basin between the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe, then emptying into the Río de la Plata....
, as well as 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...
ans.
See also
- Flag of the Treinta y Tres#Historical background
- Agraciada Beach#Historical association
- Argentina-Brazil WarArgentina-Brazil WarThe 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...
- José Gervasio ArtigasJosé Gervasio ArtigasJosé Gervasio Artigas is a national hero of Uruguay, sometimes called "the father of Uruguayan nationhood".-Early life:Artigas was born in Montevideo on June 19, 1764...
- Flag of ArtigasFlag of ArtigasThe Flag of Artigas pays homage to José Gervasio Artigas, national hero of Uruguay. It has three horizontal stripes, the top and bottom being blue, and the central one white...
- Empire of Brazil
- Juan Antonio LavallejaJuan Antonio LavallejaJuan Antonio Lavalleja was an Uruguayan revolutionary and political figure. Today's Lavalleja Department is named after him.-Pre-Independence role:...
- History of UruguayHistory of UruguayThis is about the history of Uruguay.-Pre-Columbian times and colonization:The only documented inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were the Charrua, a small tribe driven south by the Guaraní of Paraguay...