ENGLISH INVASIONS: ANTECEDENTS, CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2024

The English invasions were two attempts to conquer the viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, then in the hands of the Spanish Crown. Both expeditions, which took place in 1806 and 1807 respectively, ended in failure. The two military actions were encompassed within the framework of the conflicts that were taking place in Europe.

The Napoleonic wars were pitting France against most of the continent's countries, including the British Empire. Due to various circumstances, Spain supported the French, entering the war against England. In this context, economic factors were very influential.

The Industrial Revolution caused England to start producing vastly more, so finding new markets was essential. The independence of the United States affected its global position, so its gaze turned to Latin America.

In this way, it would not only find new areas to expand economically, but it would also weaken one of its great rivals: Spain.

The negative result for the English of the two attempts, brought important consequences. Among these, a change in the thinking of the Creoles who inhabited the viceroyalty.

They had had to defend themselves against Spanish weakness and that created a conscience considered a precedent of subsequent independence movements.

Background

The first decade of the 19th century in Europe was marked by wars between Napoleon-led France and the rest of the continental powers. This conflict also extended to South America, at that time belonging to the Spanish Crown.

Treaty of Utrecht

The most distant antecedent of the English invasions was the Treaty of Utrecht, signed in April 1713. Through this agreement, which closed the War of the Spanish Succession, the areas of influence in the world were distributed.

One of the articles of the treaty granted England the right to send a merchant ship each year to the Spanish dominions in America.

The British began to conduct this trade at the hands of the South Seas Company. One of the most important routes ended in Buenos Aíres, which became one of the most powerful markets in the area.

Today the Argentine capital was the destination of many ships that transported slaves. Besides, the Europeans were supplied with many products from the area, exchanging them for their own manufactures.

The Seven Years' War placed the English and the Spanish on opposite sides and led to the first British military expedition to the River Plate region. In 1763 an Anglo-Portuguese coalition tried to conquer the Río de la Plata, but was rejected by the Spanish.

Conflict in europe

A new conflict in Europe broke out in the early years of the 19th century. Napoleon Bonaparte launched his campaign of conquests throughout the continent, facing the monarchical powers of the time.

One of the objectives pursued by the French was the invasion of England. For that purpose he planned an attack from the English Channel.

However, the English reacted and surprised the French fleet at Trafalgar. There, in a famous battle, they sank a large number of French ships and their Spanish allies.

The consequence was the British dominion of the Atlantic to the detriment of the Spanish Crown. They immediately thought of taking advantage of that circumstance by sending an expedition to the Cape of Good Hope. Her claim was to take over the Dutch colonies in the area.

Once achieved, and before the Spanish weakness, the English fleet headed towards the Río de la Plata, seeking its conquest.

First English invasion

Rumors of a possible British attack were already running through the streets of Buenos Aires at the end of 1805. At that time the city was one of the richest ports on the entire continent, but the indigenous uprising led by Túpac Amaru II had caused that was properly protected.

Faced with the possibility that the English would arrive, the city administrators requested reinforcements, but the only response obtained was that they hand over arms to the people to defend themselves. However, the viceroy did not want to arm the creoles, who were already beginning to show independence ambitions.

English attack

Finally, an English squad with 1,600 soldiers reached the Montevideo Bay in June 1806. The city had impressive fortifications that made it a very difficult objective. Given that, Commodore Popham -who was leading the expedition- decided to head to Buenos Aires.

At the end of that month, on June 25, the British sailors landed in Quilmes, near the Buenos Aires capital.

"The inept viceroy Sobremonte"

Upon learning of the arrival of the British, the viceroy of Río de la Plata, the Marquis of Sobremonte, decided to flee from Buenos Aires to Córdoba.

In addition, with him he took the Treasury reserves. From that fact the population began to call him "the inept viceroy Sobremonte", a nickname with which he has gone down in history.

Faced with the defection of the president, it was the neighbors who took the initiative. They forced the viceroy to pass the command of the military government to Santiago de Liniers. Despite the initial negative, the Marquis had to give in and went to Montevideo with the money from the Treasury.

With the sole resistance of its armed citizens, the conquest of Buenos Aires did not present many difficulties for the British.

Thus, on June 27 the leaders of the viceroyalty surrendered the city to the invaders. They displayed the flag of the United Kingdom, which remained there for another 46 days.

Counterattack

Precisely, the today capital of Uruguay played a fundamental role in the reconquest of Buenos Aires. When this last city fell into English hands, the inhabitants of Montevideo began to plan how to expel the invaders.

Without the help of the Spanish authorities, they organized to send a reconquest expedition. Santiago de Liniers, who had assembled an army of 1500 men, joined the forces of Montevideo.

Liniers himself arrived north of Buenos Aires with his troops on August 4. Meanwhile, the army that sought the reconquest was growing in men. A few days later, on August 12, the attack on the city began.

The British stood up, but they fell back until they had to take refuge in the fort. Liniers besieged the fortress and demanded its surrender. Faced with the superiority of the attackers, the British had to accept.

Second english invasion

After that first failed invasion attempt, both sides prepared for an imminent second attempt. The British decided to send two more fleets, which reinforced the contingent that was already in the area. With these reinforcements, the army reached 12,000 men.

For his part, Liniers proceeded to distribute weapons to his population. In a document dated September 6, 1806, he called for organized militias to be created in the face of a new attack.

Attack on Montevideo

This time the offensive of the Europeans began in Montevideo. A powerful naval attack sought to surrender the resistance of the city that, at first, got the British to retreat to Maldonado while waiting for more reinforcements.

On January 15, 1807 there was a new attempt. About 100 English ships anchored in front of the city, while the troops landed in its vicinity. This caused Montevideo to be besieged by land and sea, suffering bombardments for two weeks.

Attempts to defend the city were in vain, and again, the Marquis of Sobremonte starred in another episode that unnerved the population by withdrawing from the fight.

Buenos Aires tried to send aid but the soldiers did not arrive on time. On February 3 the invaders managed to breach the walls, entering the city. Governor Ruiz Huidobro was forced to sign the surrender.

Buenos Aires

When news of the fall of Montevideo reached Buenos Aires, the council met to organize resistance. The first thing they did was remove Sobremonte as viceroy and appoint Liniers in his place.

Meanwhile, the British requested more reinforcements for the final attack on Buenos Aires. When the new contingents arrived in America, the English army doubled its strength.

The first movement was made at the end of June 1807. British troops landed near Buenos Aires and began to advance towards the city. Liniers, commanding an army, went out to meet him.

The battle was very confusing and went through several stages. Finally, even though they were on the verge of being defeated, the defenders managed to defeat the attackers. The British surrender was signed on July 6, 1807.

River Plate victory

Although at first it seemed that the Buenos Aires people were going to settle for the withdrawal of the British from the surroundings of the city, later they demanded that they also liberate Montevideo.

In this way the British rule over the Uruguayan capital ended, definitively withdrawing in September of that same year.

Causes

Industrial Revolution

England lived through a great change in the economic paradigm throughout the eighteenth century that had implications in all social fields. The appearance of machinery and better production techniques led to a large increase in production and a greater need for raw materials.

A direct consequence of this was the need to seek new markets, taking into account that, in addition, the country lost its American colony, the United States.

On the other hand, the war with France lasted almost 20 years, with the consequent economic consequences. Napoleon imposed a commercial blockade, which affected the arrival of raw materials to the islands.

All of this forced the United Kingdom to seek to expand its colonial territories, setting its sights on America. In addition, it was a good way to weaken another traditional enemy: Spain.

Napoleonic wars

Napoleon's attempt to dominate the European continent provoked the reaction of the monarchical powers of the continent. Among these was England, whose invasion was one of the great objectives of the French.

Faced with the difficulty of military intervention - aggravated by the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar - Napoleon opted for economic warfare. Thus, by means of the Berlin Decree of 1806 he declared a commercial blockade to the United Kingdom.

This, as discussed above, caused the British to find a way to maintain their economy by looking elsewhere outside of Europe.

Consequences

Organization of the Creoles

One of the most important consequences of the English invasions was to promote a first step in the awareness of the Creoles. These were forced to organize the defense of the Río de la Plata by themselves, since Spain was unable to send aid.

In fact, something as unusual happened as citizens removing and replacing a viceroy for his dishonorable behavior.

In this way, the Creoles began to participate in political and military decisions. It is usually pointed out that the militias formed for the defense of Buenos Aires are the most direct antecedent of what the armed wing would be during the Revolution.

On the other hand, when the British began to publish the newspaper La Estrella del Sur in Montevideo, for the first time the inhabitants had the opportunity to come into contact with a world and ideas that they did not know.

Rivalry between Buenos Aires and Montevideo

Curiously, despite having helped each other during the invasions, the conflict increased the traditional rivalry between the two cities.

On the one hand, Montevideo had been converted by the invaders into a fairly prosperous port and had favored the merchants. Upon being expelled, it seems that they left behind a large quantity of merchandise and Buenos Aires, as the leading city, imposed a 52% tax on those items.

This provoked the protest of the Montevideo merchants, who considered themselves aggrieved by the decision.

Another anecdotal fact contributed to that tension. The people of Buenos Aires took as an offense the fact that Montevideo proclaimed itself "Very faithful and reconquered."

In the end, these divergences were creating an environment of differentiation. National sentiments began to be accentuated, which had its repercussions during the search for independence.

Relations with England

Great Britain had suffered two major defeats in its attempt to conquer the Río de la Plata. This led him to adopt another strategy to take advantage of the economic opportunities that the area offered.

From his failure he began to use diplomacy to gain influence. This new method gave him quite a few good results, especially with the Banda Oriental.

In this way, it was able to take advantage of the independence movements by supporting them at times to obtain benefits in its commercial policy.

References

1. The guide 2000. Why did the English invasions occur? Obtained from laguia2000.com
2. Always history. English invasions of the Río de la Plata. (1806/1807). Role of the Cabildo. Chronology of the events. Obtained from siemprehistoria.com.ar
3. Perriere, Hernán. The English Invasions: when Buenos Aires was a British colony. Obtained from laizquierdadiario.com
4. Preservepedia. Second British Invasion of Buenos Aires (1807). Obtained from conserpedia.com
5. Bridger, Gordon. Britain and the Making of Argentina. Retrieved from britishempire.co.uk
6. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Retrieved from britannica.com
7. New World Encyclopedia. Silver river. Retrieved from newworldencyclopedia.org