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The battle of Paraguarí took place on January 19, 1811, in Paraguarí (Paraguay), between the patriot army led by Manuel Belgrano and the Royalist army located in Paraguay. The battle would end with a Paraguayan victory; but it boosted confidence in the local population to declare themselves independent from both Buenos Aires patriots and royalists months later. ==Antecedents== At the outbreak of the May Revolution in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, the government emerged from it, called Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata a nombre del señor don Fernando VII, invited other cities and provinces of the same to join the Revolution. The invitation, in fact, left no room for refusal, and every gesture in the sense of preserving the pre-revolutionary government was interpreted as hostile. The main threats came from Cordoba, Upper Peru, Montevideo and Asuncion. The first two were defeated with relative ease, but Montevideo would stand firm in their opposition for four years. Paraguayan governor, Bernardo de Velasco, refused to recognize the authority of the Board, as a result of an open cabildo in Asuncion that decided to keep the loyalty to the Regency Counsel of Spain. Unaware of this, and assuming that the Paraguayan patriots were stronger than they were, the Junta sent a small military expedition, commanded by one of its members, Manuel Belgrano, to unite the territory governed by Paraguay, through negotiations or through force. The issue was raised as it passed through Santa Fe, but the invitation to recognize the authority of the Junta was rejected. Belgrano entered into Paraguayan territory, overcoming slight resistance in the battle of Campichuelo. Belgrano crossed the Tebicuary River on 11 Jan., finding abandoned villages since Velasco evacuated them with his retreat.〔(Instituto Nacional Belgraniano )〕 During the night of January 15, Belgrano sent a vanguard of 200 men and 2 guns to surprise the Paraguayans, but the attack never took place. The next morning, the Argentine general was positioned himself on a hill, from where he watched the Paraguayan camp. Although the enemy force at least exceeded theirs by a ratio of ten to one, decided to attack without exhausting the possibilities to negotiate. Although Belgrano had sent several proclamations to the Paraguayans, inviting them to act by the revolution, Velasco banned all such pamphlets. Belgrano considered if he succeeded, it would open the entrance to Asuncion. And if he was defeated, at least his army was farenough inside enemy territory to avoid being completely expelled. On the other hand, it is possible that he and his officers despised the combat capability of Paraguayans and overestimated the possibility of inspiring patriotic enthusiasm. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Paraguarí」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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