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The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argentina and Uruguay. The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, War of the Third Coalition at a time when Spain was an ally of Napoleonic France.
Lore & Background
In Argentine historiography, the two successive defeats of the British expeditionary forces are known collectively as the Reconquista and the Defensa, respectively. 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 capitulate and withdraw from Montevideo two months later. 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 Audiencia of Buenos Aires deposed the viceroy Rafael de Sobremonte and designated instead the local 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.
Reader's Guide
The British took Quilmes, near Buenos Aires, on 25 June 1806, and reached and occupied Buenos Aires on 27 June. The Spanish Viceroy, Marquis Rafael de Sobremonte, had asked the Spanish Crown for reinforcements many times, but only received a shipment of several thousand muskets and instructions to form a militia. Buenos Aires was then a large settlement housing approximately 45,000, but the Viceroy was reluctant to give weapons to the Creole population. The best troops had been dispatched to Upper Peru, present-day Bolivia, to guard the frontiers from Túpac Amaru II's revolt, and when Sobremonte learned of the British presence in the area he dispatched the remaining troops to Montevideo, considering that the attack would be in that city. Thus, the British found Buenos Aires almost defenseless.
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