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Argentinian Independence | 3 Minute History

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A short summary of this would be that Italy was trying to grow so they fought battles and slowly, different countries joined into what is now Italy.

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People living in Bolivia got tired of the rules and over threw the dictatorship in order to get their rights, thus starting their own evolution.

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Jose de san Martin plays a major role in Argentina's independence. Today, a lot of cities there have statues of him. Before the country gained its freedom, though, things were difficult and many of the indigenous groups were captured by the Spanish.

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When the Spanish first arrived in Argentina in the early 1500s, the area was populated by many different indigenous groups, each with their own language and culture. In the northwest of Argentina, the local populations had been conquered by Inca armies and incorporated into their empire around 1480, only a few decades earlier.

After the Spanish conquest, the American territory was divided into two viceroyalties that directly represented the Spanish king: The Viceroyalty of New Spain (first established after the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521), which at its peak included the Spanish colonies of North America, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and most of Central America, and the Viceroyalty of Peru, founded after the fall of the Inca Empire in 1534, which included Panama and almost all of South America (the Portuguese gained control of present-day Brazil). The area we now know as Argentina formed part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which had its capital in Lima.

In the 18th century, the Spanish split the Viceroyalty of Peru into two new viceroyalties: New Granada and Río de la Plata. The Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata, established in 1776 with Buenos Aires as its capital, encompassed modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and part of Brazil.

In the political structure imposed by Spain, most of the people the monarchy chose to occupy important positions were , people born in Spain, which angered the , Europeans born in Latin America. This rivalry, along with the ideas of the American and French revolutions and the prohibition on trade with other nations and foreign colonies, fueled the fire of the criollos' desire for social change.

They got a chance to act in 1806, when a British fleet attacked and captured Buenos Aires. The Spanish viceroy, a peninsular named Rafael de Sobremonte, fled the city with the public treasury during the battle, following a 1778 law stating that treasuries must be kept safe and viceroys must avoid capture during an invasion so they cannot be forced to sign an official surrender. Despite this law, Sobremonte was widely seen as a coward. In his absence, Santiago de Liniers managed to liberate Buenos Aires from the British in 1806 using criollo militias. The Audiencia of Buenos Aires barred Sobremonte from returning and named Liniers an interim viceroy. Fearing subsequent invasions, the population of Buenos Aires, including criollos and slaves, was armed and arranged into military bodies. When the British attacked again in 1807, the militias forced them to surrender.

After the two military victories, Liniers was a revolutionary hero. However, his situation soon changed. Back in Europe, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain in 1808, with Spanish King Ferdinand VII abdicating the throne on May 6 of the same year. Although he had served with the Spanish military for many years, Liniers was a Frenchman (in fact, his birth name was Jacques de Liniers, although he is better known by the Spanish version of his name). Some people in the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata thought that with Napoleon's invasion of Spain, a Frenchman had no place as a viceroy of a Spanish territory. The peninsular Martín de Álzaga led a mutiny and tried to force Liniers out of office in an open cabildo (a special type of assembly). Most of those who supported the mutiny were peninsulares, but a small number of criollos also joined. However, the criollo militias led by Cornelio Saavedra surrounded the plaza where the cabildo was and forced the rebels to disperse. As a price for the failed mutiny, the rebel peninsular militias were disarmed, thus increasing the power of the criollos.

In part to calm the rising tensions between the peninsulares and the criollos, the Junta of Seville, formed in Spain after Napoleon's invasion, sent peninsular Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros to replace Liniers as Viceroy of Río de la Plata in 1809. General Manuel Belgrano encouraged Liniers to fight the appointment, but he decided not to put up any resistance.

As time went on, French troops gained more and more control of Spain, finally taking Seville on February 1, 1810. The Junta of Seville moved to Cadiz and dissolved itself, though the Council of Regency of Spain and the Indies was created to replace it. The news that the Junta of Seville was no more reached Buenos Aires on May 18, sparking the May Revolution, lasting from May 18 to May 25, 1810.

In Buenos Aires, group of criollo lawyers and military officials quickly organized an open cabildo on May 22 to discuss the future of the viceroyalty. The delegates agreed that Cisneros had no right to govern since the government he had been appointed by no longer existed. In his place, a junta was formed to govern the viceroyalty. Initially, Cisneros was appointed president of the Junta, but this was met with so much popular resistance by the angry crowds that formed outside the cabildo (in what is known today as the Plaza de Mayo) that he was forced to resign. On May 25, 1810 Argentina's first independent government, the Primera Junta (First Assembly), was formed. The stated role of the Primera Junta was to rule the viceroyalty in name of the deposed Spanish King Ferdinand VII, but Spain would never regain control of the region. Today, May 25 is a public holiday in Argentina that honors the Primer gobierno patrio or the First National Government.

The Primera Junta was formed by representatives from Buenos Aires, who sent word to other cities in the viceroyalty and asked them to send deputies. However, the other main cities refused to acknowledge the new Junta and armed conflict between the new government and those loyal to the Spanish crown began in 1810.

After years of many battles on multiple fronts, on July 9, 1816, the Congress of Tucumán formally declared the independence of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata from Spain. Today, this is the day Argentina celebrates Independence Day, although the Argentinian War of Independence did not officially conclude until 1818.

Important Figures in the Argentinian War of Independence

José de San Martín (1778-1850)
A national hero in both Argentina and Peru, in 1811 San Martín resigned from his military career fighting for Spain in Europe and Africa and returned to his home country of Argentina to join the revolutionary movement. San Martín was an important war general and helped Argentina, Peru, and Chile gain independence. Today, most Argentinian cities have a statue of San Martín, and in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral there is an eternal flame, lit in 1947 and burning ever since, in tribute to General San Martín and the Unknown Soldier of the War of Independence.

Manuel Belgrano (1770-1820)
Another one of Argentina's libertadores, Belgrano was an important criollo in Buenos Aires who fought against the two British invasions (1806 and 1807), supported the May Revolution and served in the Primera Junta, fought in the Argentinian war of independence, and created the flag of Argentina in 1812. He also played a role in the independence of Bolivia and Paraguay.

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Around the turn of the 18th century, enlightenment ideas, social rivalries, and prohibitions on trade fueled the desire for social change. Learn more about the

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It took Bolivia centuries to gain their independence from Spain and this took many hard fought battles. But in the end, they would be freed. The name of this country unironically came from Simon Bolivar, the man that changed the whole course of South America.

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Bolivian Independence, achieved after centuries of Spanish colonial rule, was a process that spanned more than 15 years, from 1809 to 1825, and involved numerous battles and countless deaths. The struggle for independence started locally and later Simon Bolivar and Antonio Jose de Sucre gave cohesiveness to a fragmented and unorganized cause.

Ultimately, this new and independent country, Bolivia, would get its name from the Simon Bolivar, the military and political leader that changed the course of Colonial South America. Bolivia during the 18th century was known as Upper Peru and as was an autonomous region dependant on the Viceroyalty of Peru. Local government was the responsibility of the Royal Audience directed by a President.

This Audience was known as the Audiencia de Charcas. As was the case in other places, the Spanish overseers were widely ignorant of the situation of the people and considered themselves superior to the indigenous people. It was not uncommon for these Oidores to make the people bow to them. In 1776 a reorganization of territories was ordered by Spain and Upper Peru joined the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata against the wishes of the Viceroyalty of Peru-which would stand to lose valuable natural resources and the money that would come with them.

This would bitterly divide the relationship between these two regions. Further dividing the bases of power was the implementation of the intendancy system that subdivided the power of Viceroy and created internal power struggles between Intendants and Viceroys. At the start of the 19th century, a perfect storm of circumstances came together to fan the flames of independence in South America.

In 1807, Napoleon invaded Spain in a quest to increase his empire. This created an enormous vacuum of power and oversight in South America permitting the independence movements to begin their fight in earnest while the Spanish Monarchy was distracted with its own problems back home.The first wave of nationalist uprisings in Bolivia occurred in 1809 when the government juntas of Charcas and La Paz were formed as a reaction to the events in Spain-the chaotic, almost anarchic, situation in Spain was duplicating itself in Bolivia.

The junta in Charcas was created by the removal of the President, Ramon Garcia Leon de Pizarro, by the Audience because the Spanish Oidores suspected him of wanting to join with Portugal. The representatives of the Monarchy decided to convert Upper Peru into a junta that would remain loyal to Spain in spirit while isolating itself politically from the other surrounding regions including the Viceroyalty of Peru. In La Paz, the junta there was an effort to break free from Spanish rule altogether and wanting complete independence from any European power. These juntas ended up being short-lived, however, and soon fell back under Spanish control thanks to the intervention of the Viceroy of Peru and the better equipped Royalists easily defeated the nationalists, who were lacking in money, resources and military experience.The defeat of the juntas did not mark the end of the independence movement; they constituted an important part of the history of Bolivia. The juntas were able to promote and encourage the independence movement which was kept alive by a six guerrilla armies that formed away from the cities and took control of various regions of Bolivia.

In 1810, these six breakaway regions would come to be known as republiquetas (little republics) and each were headed by a caudillo (military leader or dictator). These regions had little or no influence in the surrounding areas but were strong enough to withstand any interference by the royalist forces for more than 15 years.With the American war of independence still fresh in the mind of the world; especially in South America which was subject to Colonial Spanish rule, people began to question the legitimacy of colonial occupation. In 1807, a South American aristocrat and liberal thinker had just returned from his travels in Europe.

In Venezuela, this man, Simon Bolivar was beginning a revolution of South American independence from Spain. His struggle would take him all over South America and his cause gained followers every day that passed. After having liberated Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, Bolivar was now close to liberating Peru in 1821. In Upper Peru, following 1817, there was relative calm with the power of the caudillos and the Viceroy of Peru reaching a point of equilibrium. In 1820 this equilibrium was broken with the conservative general, Pedro Antonio de Olañeta, refusing to recognize the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and breaking away from the Viceroyalty of Peru. He also refused to join the rebel armies of Bolivar that were beginning to approach Upper Peru as he considered himself "the only defender of the throne and altar" in the region. With the fall of Peru to Bolivar, the next he set his sights on was Upper Peru.

In the latter half of 1823 the forces of Bolivar crossed Bolivia and on December 9, 1824, the rebel forces under the command of Antonio Jose de Sucre defeated the royalist army in the Battle of Ayacucho.The remaining royalist forces were easily defeated at El Callao but there remained one last military obstacle: General Olañeta. As the last holdout, he attempted to surrender Upper Peru to Brazil in the last ditch effort to maintain Spanish control in the area but to no avail. In one final battle on April 9, 1825, Olañeta and Sucre met on the battlefield. Olañeta's troops now knowing that defeat would be their destiny murdered Olañeta on the battlefield and surrendered to the rebel army.

Spain's last outpost in South America was now lost forever. A constitutional congress was summoned and on August 6, 1825, to create a new Magna Carta as well as a name to this newly independent country Bolivia in honor of the aristocrat turned liberator, Simon Bolivar. From August 12 to December 29, 1825, Bolivar led Bolivia on the path to democracy and independence and after he stepped down fellow war hero, Antonio Jose de Sucre would continue in the presidency.

Today, Bolivia's Independence Day is now celebrated every year on 6th August. Celebrations are held throughout the country and it is a common sight to see schoolchildren parading through the streets in their school uniforms while proudly carrying the Bolivian flag.

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Bolivian Independence - History of Bolivia - don Quijote

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Bolivian Independence. From August 12 to December 29, 1825, Simon Bolivar led Bolivia on the path to democracy and independence.

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Italy really became unified through many invasions and the downfall of Napoleon. This would all take years but in the end, we have the Italy that we see today.

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Summary

For many centuries, the Italian peninsula was a politically fragmented conglomeration of states. This was the case when the United States announced its independence from Great Britain in 1776. When war broke out between Austria and the Revolutionary French Government in 1792, the French invaded the Italian peninsula, consolidated many of the Italian states, and established them as republics. In 1799 the Austrian and Russian armies pushed the French out of the Italian peninsula, which led to the demise of the fledgling republics.

After Napoleon's rise to power, the Italian peninsula was once again conquered by the French. Under Napoleon, the peninsula was divided into three entities: the northern parts which were annexed to the French Empire (Piedmont, Liguria, Parma, Piacenza, Tuscany, and Rome), the newly created Kingdom of Italy (Lombardy, Venice, Reggio, Modena, Romagna, and the Marshes) ruled by Napoleon himself, and the Kingdom of Naples, which was first ruled by Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte, but then passed to Napoleon's brother-in-law Joachim Murat.

The period of French invasion and occupation was important in many ways. It introduced revolutionary ideas about government and society, resulting in an overthrow of the old established ruling orders and the destruction of the last vestiges of feudalism. The ideals of freedom and equality were very influential. Also of consequence, the concept of nationalism was introduced, thus sowing the seeds of Italian nationalism throughout most parts of the northern and central Italian peninsula.

With the downfall of Napoleon in 1814 and the redistribution of territory by the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), most of the Italian states were reconstituted: the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (often referred to as Sardinia), the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Parma, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (fused together from the old Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily). These were largely conservative regimes, presided over by the old social orders.

Although the Italian peninsula remained fragmented through the mid-1800s, the concept of a united Italy began to take root. Secret societies formed to oppose the conservative regimes. Several of these societies also promoted Italian nationalism and the idea of a unified Italian political state. One such society was the group Young Italy, founded in 1831 by Guiseppe Mazzini. Mazzini was an ardent advocate of the necessity for Italian unification through the desires and actions of the Italian people. Thus, the movement of Italian unification, a process referred to as the Risorgimento (resurgence) proliferated by mid-century.

The revolutions of 1848 ignited nationalist sentiment throughout the Italian peninsula. There were widespread uprisings in several Italian cities that year, mostly by the professional classes (such as doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers) as well as students. Lombardy-Venetia and Milan tried to rise up against Austrian rule. Although the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia sent troops to aid the revolt, it was crushed by the Austrians at Custoza in July 1848. The Italian uprisings were unsuccessful and by 1849 the old regimes were once again in place.

Yet, the idea of the Risorgimento continued to gain adherents after 1848. The final push for Italian unification came in 1859, led by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (then the wealthiest and most liberal of the Italian states), and orchestrated by Piedmont-Sardinia's Prime Minister, Count Camillo di Cavour. A skilled diplomat, Cavour secured an alliance with France. The Franco-Austrian War of 1859 was the agent that began the physical process of Italian unification. The Austrians were defeated by the French and Piedmontese at Magenta and Solferino, and thus relinquished Lombardy. By the end of the year Lombardy was added to the holdings of Piedmont-Sardinia.

The northern Italian states held elections in 1859 and 1860 and voted to join the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, a major step towards unification, while Piedmont-Sardinia ceded Savoy and Nice to France. Giuseppi Garibaldi, a native of Piedmont-Sardinia, was instrumental in bringing the southern Italian states into the unification process. In 1860, Garibaldi cobbled together an army (referred to as the "Thousand") to march into the southern part of the peninsula. Landing first in Sicily and then moving onwards into Naples, Garibaldi and his men overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and turned over the southern territories to Victor Emmanuel II, King of Piedmont-Sardinia. In early 1861 a national parliament convened and proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy, with Victor Emmanuel II as its king. At this point, there were only two major territories outside of the parameters of the new Kingdom of Italy: Rome and Venetia.

In 1866 Italy joined Prussia in a campaign against Austria (the 1866 Austro-Prussian War) and thus won Venetia. In 1870, taking advantage of the fact that France (the country responsible at the time for guarding the Papal States) was distracted by involvement in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), the Italian army entered Rome. That year, Rome and the Papal States were incorporated into Italy and the Risorgimento completed. During the summer of 1871, the Italian capital moved to Rome from Florence (it was moved from Turin to Florence in 1865).

Major Events

Overall Impact upon U.S. Foreign Policy

The history of recognitions (and the establishment of relations, where applicable) between the United States and the Italian states impacted several different areas of U.S. policy, including:

Trade and Commerce. The industrialization process that swept through the northern United States in the early nineteenth century spread through the northern and central Italian states in the mid-nineteenth century. As a result, the Italian states (and after 1861, the Kingdom of Italy) and the United States both sought to cultivate trade and commercial ties for mutual benefit.

Immigration and Citizenship. By the 1870s Italian immigration to the New World (both to the United States as well as to Argentina, amongst other South American countries) began to increase. Indeed, some of the "fathers" of modern Italy spent time in the United States. Garibaldi spent enough time in the U.S. to gain a U.S. passport, and was offered a commission in the U.S. Army during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War. The unification of the Italian states impacted the foreign policy of the United States in numerous ways. Perhaps the issue that had the most immediate impact upon U.S. foreign policy in the early 1860s was over the question of recognition of the U.S. Confederacy. The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed just as the U.S. Civil War began. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln wanted to ensure that the new Italian state did not recognize the U.S. Confederacy. Washington also worried that, with Italy's long coastline, Confederate ships might seek shelter in Italian waters. With this in mind, the Italian government gave "strong assurances that no Confederate ship would be admitted to Italian ports unless it was a question of adverse weather conditions or other vis major."

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Unification of Italian States - Countries - Office of the Historian

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What this article is basically saying is that it took Germany a long time to be united because they never really were. They have been divided into many different states for a long time. But finally, they are beginning to come together as a country.