|
The British invasions of the River Plate were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the Platine Basin in South America (today part of Argentina and Uruguay). The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of France. The invasions occurred in two phases. A detachment from the British army occupied Buenos Aires for 46 days in 1806 before being expelled. In 1807, a second force stormed and occupied Montevideo, remaining for several months, and a third force made a second attempt to take Buenos Aires. After several days of street-fighting against the local militia and Spanish colonial army, in which half of the British forces were killed or wounded, the British were forced to withdraw. The social effects of the invasions are among the causes of the May Revolution. The criollos, who had so far been denied important positions, could get political strength through military roles. The successful resistance with little help from Spain fostered the desire for self-determination. An open cabildo and the Royal Audience of Buenos Aires deposed the viceroy Rafael de Sobremonte and designated instead the French popular hero Santiago de Liniers, which was a completely unprecedented action: before that, the viceroy was only subject to the King of Spain himself, and no one from the colonies had authority over him. ==Background== Pedro de Mendoza founded the ''Ciudad de Nuestra Señora del Buen Ayre'' (''Our Lady of the Fair Winds'') on 2 February 1536 as a Spanish settlement. The site was abandoned in 1541, but re-established in 1580 by Juan de Garay with the name ''Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Ayre'', and the city became one of the largest in the Americas. A Portuguese colony was founded nearby at Colonia del Sacramento in 1680. To deter Portuguese expansion, the Spanish founded Montevideo in 1726, and Colonia was finally ceded to Spain under the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777, one year after the creation of the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, the forerunner of modern Argentina. The South Sea Company was granted trading concessions in South America in the time of Queen Anne, under the Treaty of Utrecht. The British had long harboured ambitions in South America, considering the estuary of the Río de la Plata as the most favourable location for a British colony. The Napoleonic Wars played a key role in the Rio de la Plata conflict and since the beginning of the conquest of the Americas, England had been interested in the riches of the region. The Peace of Basel in 1795 ended the war between Spain and France. In 1796, by the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain joined France in its war with Britain, thus giving Britain cause for military action against Spanish colonies. Britain judged it the right moment after the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. This battle forced Spain to reduce to a minimum its naval communications with its American colonies. Historically, Buenos Aires had been relatively neglected by Spain, which sent most of its ships to the more economically important city of Lima. The last time when a significant Spanish military force had arrived in Buenos Aires was in 1784.〔 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「British invasions of the River Plate」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|