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The Paraguay campaign (1810–11) of the
Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de Argentina, links=no) was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín a ...
was the attempt by a
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...
-sponsored
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
, commanded by
Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...
, to win the
royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
Intendency of Paraguay for the cause of
May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...
. In Paraguay it is considered as their War of Independence. The first battles fought were the Battle of Campichuelo and Battle of Campo Maracana, in which the Argentinians claimed victory. However, they were completely vanquished in the subsequent Battle of Paraguarí and Battle of Tacuarí. The campaign ended in a military failure and Paraguay broke its links with the Spanish crown just two months after Belgrano's withdrawal, starting its course towards full independence.


Actions of "la Primera Junta"

Three months after the creation of the
Primera Junta The Primera Junta ( en, First Junta) or ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' (''Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata''), is the most common name given to the first government of ...
,
Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...
was appointed Chief Commander of an army destined to gather support at
Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...
, Santa Fe,
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to ...
and the
Banda Oriental 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 Rio Gr ...
territories. A few days later his goal was made more specific: he must aim for Paraguay. The junta had been informed that the patriotic party was strong there, and a small army would suffice to take control.Luna, p. 60 Trusting such information, Belgrano moved towards Paraguay with two possible goals—to guarantee loyalty for the junta in Paraguay or promote a new government that would stay on friendly terms with Buenos Aires. Belgrano headed north with nearly 200 men, expecting to gather more soldiers on his way to the
Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...
. Soldiers from the Blandengues regiments of San Nicolás and Santa Fe did join him ''en route'', and later the junta sent reinforcements of another 200 soldiers. The army was welcomed by most of the population they encountered along the way, receiving donations and new recruits in most villages. Finally the small army grew to nearly 950 men, consisting of infantry and cavalry, divided into four divisions with one piece of artillery each.


The Paraguayan Congress of July 24th, 1810

Paraguay was a rather isolated region of the
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called "Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in ...
, which made the ideas of regional independence stronger than in other provinces of the Viceroyalty. The road to Paraguayan independence began at the Congress of July 24, 1810, which was called by the last colonial governor to express the province's loyalty to the Spanish crown. Paraguayans indeed refused to pledge themselves to the
Primera Junta The Primera Junta ( en, First Junta) or ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' (''Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata''), is the most common name given to the first government of ...
of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...
and agreed to remain loyal to the King of Spain—yet the process of independence started here, as many Paraguayans, led by
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco () (6 January 1766 – 20 September 1840) was a Paraguayan lawyer and politician, and the first dictator (1814–1840) of Paraguay following its 1811 independence from the Spanish Viceroyalty of ...
and other patriots, took control of the situation and started working to obtain independence, both from the
United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Cong ...
and the
Kingdom of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. Belgrano ignored all this when he invaded Paraguay, believing that he would find a favorable political situation. There were three main political tendencies in Paraguay: those who supported the Spanish Regency Council, those who supported the Junta of Buenos Aires and those who supported independence.


The campaign

By the end of October Belgrano's army stopped at
Curuzú Cuatiá Curuzú Cuatiá is a city in the south of the province of Corrientes in the Argentine Mesopotamia. It had about 34,000 inhabitants at the , and is the head town of the Curuzú Cuatiá Department. The area has an undulated terrain, with many sma ...
, where an old border conflict between
Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...
and Yapeyu was solved. He set the territories that would belong to Curuzu Cuatiá and Mandisoví, and organized their urban layout around the chapel and the school. By November 1810 the army reached the
Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...
near Apipé island, and there Belgrano took measures to benefit the natives that were living in missions. With his authority as representative of the junta he gave them full civil and political rights, granted lands, authorized commerce with the United Provinces and lifted the inability to take public or religious office. However, the junta later requested that he seek authorization for such changes in the future. From that point the army moved to Candelaria, which was used as a stronghold for the attack on Paraguay. The terrain gave a clear advantage to Velazco's Paraguayan troops, who confronted Belgrano: the Paraná River, nearly 1,000 m. wide, was an effective natural barrier; once it was crossed the Argentine army would have to move for a long distance across a land without supplies. Swamps, hills, rivers and lakes would also force the army to march slowly, making a possible retreat difficult. The Parana was crossed with several boats on December 19, and a force of 54 Paraguayan soldiers was forced to flee during the battle of Campichuelo. Belgrano saw Velazco's army from the Mbaé hill, and despite being greatly outnumbered he ordered the attack anyway, trusting in the moral strength of his soldiers. When the battle of Paraguarí started, Belgrano's troops had an initial advantage, but eventually Velazco's numerical superiority prevailed, thanks to the intervention of the Paraguayan patriots, around 3,500 men, resulting in the combined Paraguayan forces vastly outnumbering the Argentines. Even with casualties of ten dead and 120 taken prisoner, Belgrano wanted to keep on fighting, but his officers convinced him to retreat. His intent to continue was actually based on sound military tactics: while the Paraguayan forces outnumbered his, he knew that they were barely armed, while his troops had full equipment and supplies. The army left for Tacuarí, being closely watched by the combined armies of Fulgencio Yegros and Manuel Atanasio Cabañas. Those two armies consisted of nearly 3000 troops, while Belgrano was left with barely 400. They were attacked from many sides during the Battle of Tacuarí on March 9. Greatly outnumbered and losing an unequal fight, Belgrano was requested to surrender, but refused to do so. He reorganized his remaining 235 men and ordered his secretary to burn all his documents and personal papers to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. He arranged for the troops and artillery to fire constantly, forcing the Paraguayan troops to disperse. When the fire stopped he requested an armistice, telling Cabañas that he had arrived in Paraguay to aid and not to conquer, but considering the open hostility he had found, he would leave the province. Cabañas accepted, on the condition that they left Paraguay within a day.Luna, p. 72


Aftermath

The Paraguay campaign was a complete defeat for the Primera Junta from a military point of view. For the Paraguayans, the defeat of Belgrano resulted in independence from the rule of Buenos Aires and was the launching pad for their liberty from the yoke of Spain. That's why both Paraguayans and Argentines consider that, despite the victory of Paraguay and the independence of the ''Intendencia del Paraguay'' from Buenos Aires, the actions of Belgrano were very important for the decisive Paraguayan independence from Spain. However, in doing so they also broke up with Buenos Aires: they maintained good relations, but were no longer part of the same political entity.


See also

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Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...
*
Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de Argentina, links=no) was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín a ...
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History of Paraguay The history of Paraguay begins with the interaction between the early Spanish colonists and the indigenous people. The agricultural Guaraní lived in eastern Paraguay and neighboring countries and the nomadic Guaycuruan tribes lived in wes ...


Bibliography

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References

{{Authority control Campaigns of the Argentine War of Independence Wars involving Paraguay Conflicts in 1811 Argentina–Paraguay relations