Coat of arms of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata

The Assembly of Year XIII ( es, Asamblea del Año XIII) was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on October 1812. One of the objectives of the assembly was to define an institutional government system for the republic. Without the presence of representatives from some of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

(such as the

Oriental Province Banda Oriental, or more fully Banda Oriental del Uruguay (Eastern Bank), was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay; the modern state of Ri ...

), it was inaugurated on January 31, 1813 (hence the name). At the same time, it was to proclaim independence from Spain, and write the first

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princi ...

of the young state.

Accomplishments

During the assembly, different interests delayed the declaration of independence, but a number of common points were successfully established: * The

national coat of arms A national coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally co ...

was chosen. * The national anthem was commended. * The

Freedom of Wombs Freedom of wombs ( es, Libertad de vientres, pt, Lei do Ventre Livre), also referred to as free birth or the law of wombs, was a 19th century judicial concept in several Latin American countries, that declared that all wombs bore free children. A ...

(''Libertad de vientres'') law, which put an end to slavery, was passed (it dictated that children born from slaves since the passing of the law were automatically free citizens). * All titles of nobility (from the colonial period) were voided and suppressed. * The creation of the

national currency Fiat money (from la, fiat, "let it be done") is a type of currency that is not backed by any commodity such as gold or silver. It is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender. Throughout history, fiat money was sometime ...

was ordered. * The

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

and the practice of torture were abolished. * A statute was approved that replaced as Executive Power the ''Second Triumvirate'' for a unipersonal ''Supreme Directorship''.

Accomplishments

See also