South America

by W. H. Koebel

In general, the main strife may be said to have been waged between the provinces of the littoral and those of the Far West. Of all the men who fought on either side, the greatest leader was, of course, Juan Manuel Rosas. This astonishing being, as a matter of fact, was by no means one of the first of these tyrannical Dictators. He was, on the contrary, the last, so far as Argentina is concerned, but his deeds continued to savour of an early period to the end.

Although at the time of his advent to power Rosas was merely one of a type, and found himself surrounded by a number of rival leaders, none proved himself a match for his extraordinary astuteness and influence over his neighbours. The Dictator stood out head and shoulders above any other Argentine despot of his kind. Certainly far more has been written concerning Rosas than concerning any other South American ruler of his period—that is to say, so far as Spanish literature is concerned—for, although his rule attracted a very great deal of attention in England and elsewhere in Europe for as long as it lasted, the topic appears to have been allowed to slumber since his banishment and death.

To revert, however, to the first period of the actual independence of Argentina. This was marked by almost continual warfare on the shores of the River Plate. Brazil, taking advantage of the confusion in the territories of her neighbours, had sent her armies to the south, and had occupied Uruguay, thus extending her frontiers to the long-coveted shores of the River Plate. This aggression was followed by war between Buenos Aires and Brazil, while a large section of the Uruguayans, headed by Artigas, whose name is famed as the great patriot of the Banda Oriental, by which name the Republic of Uruguay is still familiarly known, fought desperately against the Portuguese troops.

Notwithstanding the very real perils which the situation held for the Spanish-speaking folk in these districts, it was not long before serious jealousies broke out between the leaders. In the end an open breach occurred between the Argentine army and a section of the Uruguayans. Artigas flung his devoted bands of soldiery alternately against the Brazilians and against the soldiers from Buenos Aires, and the more peaceful inhabitants of Uruguay watched with dismay the advent of a period of chaos.

During this period, as has been said, the Argentine statesman, Rivadavia, was working whole-heartedly towards the intellectual betterment of his country, and in this he was assisted by Alvear and others. But the warlike stress of the period cut short the majority of these endeavours. The Brazilians, anxious to conclude the war, had brought down their entire fleet to the River Plate, and they were blockading the entrance to the river and the port of Buenos Aires. At the sight of the hostile vessels the local differences were for the time being laid aside, and, war vessels being an urgent necessity, public subscriptions were eagerly forthcoming for the purchase of these.

The small Argentine fleet, when completed, was placed under the orders of that gallant Irishman, Admiral Brown, and the naval leader lost no time in forcing his attacks home upon the hostile fleet. Owing to the fury of these, the efficiency of the blockade was destroyed, although the Brazilian vessels continued in the neighbourhood for some while.

General Alvear was now appointed commander of the land force operating against Brazil, and in conjunction with the Uruguayan General, Lavalleja, he assumed the aggressive, defeated the Imperial army, and was in turn about to invade the Brazilian province of Rio Grande, when he found himself obliged to abandon the project owing to the want of horses from which his army suffered.

In 1827 Rivadavia's Government fell, and after a while Manuel Dorrego, a gifted soldier and politician, found himself at the head of the State. Peace was now signed with Brazil, but on terms which the great majority of the Argentines resented bitterly, and the unrest in the Republic rapidly came to a head. Dorrego was opposed by General Lavalle, one of the most famous personalities of the period. Both parties resorted to arms. Dorrego's force was defeated and its leader captured. On this Lavalle, a brilliant and liberal-minded man, committed the gravest error of his career—one, moreover, the nature of which was entirely foreign to his character—for, after capturing Dorrego, he executed his prisoner. Reasons of State were the cause of this political crime, since no personal animosity was involved.

This act was fiercely resented by Dorrego's party in general. It brought upon Lavalle more particularly the enmity of Juan Manuel Rosas, the man of blood and iron, whose fierce star had now begun its definite ascent. An active warfare took place between the two, and although it was interrupted now and again by truces, these were of short duration, and the struggle continued almost without intermission until the death of Lavalle in 1840, when fleeing after his ultimate defeat at the hands of the opposing party. This, however, is to anticipate somewhat, since it was as early as 1829 that Rosas first took charge of the Argentine Government. While this famous leader was in the act of gradually consolidating his power, the country had become divided into two main parties—the Federals and the Unitarians.