MAY REVOLUTION CHRONOLOGY

1805
Battle of Trafalgar. The Spanish monarchy, allied with Napoleon's France, faced
Great Britain in a famous naval battle that resulted in the Spanish defeat and the
destruction of the fleet. This caused difficulties in communications with the
colonies and opened the door to invasions.

1806.
■ First English invasion of the Río de la Plata. The British, commanded by Carl
Beresford, occupy Buenos Aires and Viceroy Sobremonte abandons the city.
Creole forces prepare the reconquest, led by Santiago de Liniers and Juan Martin
de Pueyrredón. The Creole militias were made up of countrymen gathered in the
city and in the countryside. In August of that year they managed to reconquer the
city and evict the English. The Open Council of August 14, 1806 designated
Santiago de Liniers as interim governor, excluding Sobremonte from command.

1807.
■ Second English invasion of the Río de la Plata. In July, the confrontation between
the English and Creole forces took place, led on this occasion by Liniers, Martín
de Álzaga and Cornelio Saavedra. The English surrender again and abandon
Buenos Aires.

1808
■ Spain: Napoleon Bonaparte invades Spain. Charles IV (king of Spain) and
Ferdinand VII (his heir) abdicate the throne in favor of Napoleon, who appoints
his brother Joseph Bonaparte as the new king of Spain. The Spanish royal family
remains prisoner of Napoleon.
■ Spain: The uprising of the Spanish people against the French invasion takes place.
In Spanish cities, Government Juntas are appointed, which exercise authority on
behalf of the prisoner king, Ferdinand VII. The Central Government Board is
installed in the city of Seville.

1809
■ Martín de Álzaga leads a mutiny in Buenos Aires to remove Viceroy Liniers and
replace him with a Board of Peninsulars. The Central Board appoints Baltasar
Hidalgo de Cisneros as the new Viceroy of the Río de la Plata to replace the
questioned Liniers.
■ In Upper Peru (Bolivia, which at that time was part of the Viceroyalty) popular
uprisings occurred in the cities of La Paz and Chuquisaca; these uprisings were
repressed by the Spanish authorities.
■ Viceroy Cisneros grants free trade to the port of Buenos Aires, given the advance
of smuggling.

1810.
■ Spain: French troops take the south of the country and the Central Junta of Seville
is dissolved. A Regency Council is formed in the city of Cádiz.
 ■ In several cities in America, revolutionary movements took place to replace the
colonial authorities, since in fact Spain could not fulfill its obligations as a
metropolis, such as supplying the colonial authorities, providing their defense
against foreign attacks and directing the political organization.
The revolutions of 1810 occurred in:
> April 19: Board Formation in CARACAS
> May 25: Board Formation in BUENOS AIRES
> July 20: Board Formation in BOGOTA
> August 19: Board Formation in QUITO
> September 16: popular uprising “Grito de Dolores” in Mexico >
September 18: Formation of the Board in SANTIAGO DE CHILE

WEEK OF MAY
- May 18: news arrives of the fall of the Central Board of Seville
- may 19:
- May 20: through a proclamation, Viceroy Cisneros confirms the rumors
about the fall of the Central Board and asks for loyalty to King Fernando VII.
The revolutionary Creoles ask the viceroy to call an Open Town Hall, an
institutional formula for the city's residents to speak out.
- May 21th:
- May 22: Open Town Council meeting, debate about the continuity of
the Spanish authorities in the Río de la Plata. The debate was prolonged and was
due to conclude the next day
- May 23: The votes of the Open Council are counted: 155, about
more than 250 participants, resulted from the cessation of the viceroy and
- May 24: The Cabildo proceeded to form a Board made up of Cisneros
as president, Saavedra, de Solá, Castelli and Incháurregui as members. In the
Plaza de la Victoria (current Plaza de Mayo), when the news spread, tension
grew, a situation that triggered the resignation of Castelli and Saavedra from this
board.
- May 25: the Cabildo insists on supporting the meeting appointed on the 24th,
thinking
which had the support of the military forces. However, the military leaders
denied their support and the revolutionary side took the opportunity to impose a
petition with the names proposed for a new governing Board, thus the First
Board was established. The Board then sends a circular to the cities of the
interior to achieve their adherence to the revolution and the appointment of
deputies to join the Board. A government regulation is made.
■ The former viceroy Cisneros and the members of the Royal Court swear
obedience, in secret, to the Regency Council. They are expelled from the
territory and sent to Europe. The members of the Buenos Aires Cabildo
are replaced. There is strong resistance to the authority of the Junta in
Córdoba, Alto Perú, Paraguay and Montevideo.
■ Incorporation of the deputies of the Interior (December) and formation of
the Junta Grande . Resignation of Mariano Moreno.
■ The war of independence against the Spanish forces begins. Military
expeditions to Paraguay, Alto Perú and the Eastern Band.

181
1
 ■ “Grito de Asencio”: popular uprising in the Banda Oriental
(present-day Uruguay) in support of the revolution, led by
Artigas.
■ War of independence: defeat of Huaqui, in Upper Peru and
blockade of the port of Buenos Aires by Spanish forces of the
Eastern Band
■ Political crisis in the Junta Grande (military defeats are added
in the expeditions into the interior) Creation of the First
Triumvirate (as executive power). The organic regulation or
Division of Powers is dictated, then the Board is dissolved and
the Royal Court (legislative power) is abolished, replaced by a
Chamber of Appeals.
■ A growing rejection of the centralist policy of the Triumvirate
and the delays in the meeting of an assembly that would
declare independence and sanction a constitution arises in the
cities of the Interior.

1812.
■ Manuel Belgrano creates the national flag (February 27, 1812).
■ Some soldiers trained in Spain arrive in the Río de la Plata,
seeking to join the revolution: San Martín, Alvear. They form
the Lautaro Lodge
■ The Patriotic Society is created in Buenos Aires, whose motto
is “Independence, Constitution, democracy”, together with the
Lautaro Lodge, they form a political group that presses for the
replacement of the Triumvirate and the radicalization of the
revolution.
■ End of the First Triumvirate, which is replaced by the Second
Triumvirate , whose objective is to convene an assembly of
representatives of the peoples of the Río de la Plata.
1813

■ Meeting of the Constituent Assembly, known as “ Assembly

of the Year XIII ”, which declares itself “repository of the
exercise of the sovereignty of the United Provinces”. It
displays great legislative activity, although the declaration of
independence and the sanction of a constitution is postponed.
Among the main laws sanctioned are: the suppression of titles
of nobility, the freedom of wombs and the suspension of the
entry of new slaves; creation of the first national currency, the
national coat of arms and the anthem.
■ The Assembly rejects the deputies of the Eastern Band, who
had precise instructions from Artigas regarding independence
and a confederal constitution.
■ The Assembly creates a single-person executive power: the
Board of Directors.
■ Creation of the province of Cuyo.
1814.
■ Ferdinand VII returns to the Spanish throne, the reconquest of
the rebellious colonies is proposed from Spain and expeditions
are sent to Venezuela and Mexico, achieving the repression of
the revolutions in those regions.
■ The first Supreme Director, Gervasio Posadas, takes office
■ Diplomatic efforts begin in Europe related to monarchical
projects to crown a European heir in the Río de la Plata.
■ The civil war begins on the Litoral between the forces of the
Directory and the troops led by Artigas, who group together
the Banda Oriental, Entre Ríos, Corrientes, Santa Fe and who
support the confederal form of government.
■ Creation of the provinces of Montevideo, Tucumán and Salta.

1815.

■ Carlos María de Alvear is elected as Supreme Director, but the

political crisis generated by the conflict with the Litoral and
the advance of the monarchical restoration in Europe, make
Alvear leave the government.
■ The confrontation between the Board of Directors and the
artistic forces deepens
■ Call for a general Congress of the provinces in Tucumán.
■ Final defeat of the patriot armies in Upper Peru (Sipe-Sipe),
Güemes resists the royalist advance on the northern border.
1816
■ The sessions of Congress open in Tucumán , which elects
Juan Martín de Pueyrredón as Supreme Director
■ July 9, declaration of independence of the United Provinces of
the Río de la Plata
■ Discussions about the form of government that the new state
would adopt: there were some monarchical projects and also
republican projects, between which the centralist (or unitary)
and the federal (represented by the League of Free Peoples, of
Artigas) faced each other.
1817
■ The Army of the Andes, commanded by General José de San
Martín, crosses the Andes Mountains and defeats the royalists
in Chile.
■ The Congress moved to Buenos Aires to face, together with
Director Pueyrredón, new threats to the revolution: the
Portuguese invaded the Banda Oriental; The royalists
continued to advance in Upper Peru and the northern border
defended by Güemes and many provinces of the Interior
reacted against the monarchical projects.
1818
■ The civil war expands to the Coast
1819

■ Congress sanctions the Constitution of 1819, which

established a single-person executive power, a legislative
power with a chamber of representatives elected
proportionally to the population and a Senate with
representatives of corporations (councils, the Church, the
army, universities, etc). It is rejected by the provinces for its
marked centralism. This forced Pueyrredón to resign.
■ Rondeau takes over as Director.
■ Santa Fe sanctions its first constitutional statute, its governor
is Estanislao López.
■ Francisco Ramírez, lieutenant of Artigas and later governor of
Entre Ríos, joins his forces with those of López and advances
on Buenos Aires.
■ San Martín disobeys the orders of the Supreme Director
(“genius disobedience”) and keeps his troops in Chile without
participating in the civil war.
1820

■ The Northern Army revolts against the Directorate

■ Battle of Cepeda between the directorial and federal forces.
■ Fall of the Board of Directors
■ Beginning of provincial autonomies: The provinces declare
themselves autonomous entities of public law, which in the
absence of a central government, are united through pacts.