Rosas stood as the chief of the Federal party, while Lavalle and his colleagues represented the Unitarians. After a while it became evident that, so far as the capital was concerned, the influence of Rosas was supreme, and it was not long before Buenos Aires began to feel the weight of that grim personage's hand. Very soon a reign of terror commenced. The alarmed citizens discovered that all personal security was now at an end, and that the laws of the Constitution were replaced by the enactments and degrees made at the will of Rosas. All this time the latter was strengthening his position, and when the dreaded leader succeeded in establishing himself firmly in the Dictator's chair, the severity of his rule increased still more. He laid down laws, not only concerning public affairs, but also affecting the intimate private life of the citizens. Red being the Dictator's favourite colour, it followed in his mind that the nation must mould itself upon his tastes completely. Thus every citizen of Buenos Aires, in order to show his loyalty to the autocratic Governor, was obliged to wear a rosette or band of red.
This wearing of the red naturally became the custom. It was the result of no special decree, but the unwritten law was not to be denied. Indeed, did any rash inhabitant of Buenos Aires refrain from obeying it, the result of his independence was that he betrayed himself an open enemy of the Dictator, and he met with the inevitable punishment for this, which was in any case imprisonment, and possibly death. The blood-like hue, moreover, was encouraged not only in dress, but in general decorations, and even in the walls of houses, and every other object in which it could be employed.
The executions during the twenty and odd years which Rosas held office amounted to many thousands. The melancholy total, indeed, would assuredly have been still further increased had not the majority of the more intellectual and of the more important colonial families fled across the frontiers and taken refuge either in Chile or in Uruguay.
The character of Rosas was strangely complex. It must not be supposed that he was nothing beyond a mere brigand and tyrant, who busied himself with executions and plunder, to the exclusion of all other occupations. He was, indeed, in many respects a man experienced in the ways of the broader world, and was able, after his particular fashion, to hold his own with European diplomats and others of the kind.
The great naturalist, Darwin, for instance, when on his visit to the Argentine Provinces, was brought into contact with Rosas, and admits that he was very struck with the personality of the leader, who in conversation was "enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His gravity," he continues, "is carried to a high pitch." General Rosas, as a matter of fact, appears to have possessed the happy knack of impressing favourably almost everyone whom he met, and the explanation of his policy, when recorded from his own lips, was wont to ring very differently from that given by his opponents. It is probable enough that in many respects his views were truly patriotic. His methods, on the other hand, were callous to an altogether inhuman point. It is, in any case, quite certain that the value he placed on life was altogether infinitesimal.
As time went on the power of Rosas steadily increased, and the rival chieftains one by one withdrew from the contest or met with their death in one of the wars of the age. Garibaldi himself had broken a lance in the cause of the Unitarians. Rivera and other progressive leaders had fought against him in vain. There were others of the type of Quiroga, who, brought up in the same school as Rosas, although of lesser birth—for the family of the Dictator was patrician—joined him for a while in a species of tentative alliance, and then broke away—usually to their cost.
This Quiroga was one of the most noted chieftains of the interior of the distraught Republic. He had swept the western provinces with fire and sword, executing, burning, and plundering wherever he went. Had he not fallen foul of Rosas, he might have continued his grim career unchecked for years. As it was, he came in contact with a master-mind, and, as was inevitable, perished.
There are many Argentines even to-day who claim that, for all the tyranny of the Dictator, the country was none the worse for his rule, and that the régime which he introduced, however bloodthirsty and horrible, was at all events one of discipline such as the distracted collection of provinces had never known since the days of the Spanish rule. There is no doubt whatever concerning the existence of this discipline. So severe was the phase, and so vague was the slender amount of liberty left to the private citizens, that many of these latter lived at periods immured within their houses, lest by sallying forth into the street they should unwittingly offend the powers and pay the penalty.
The relations of Rosas with the foreign Powers soon grew strained. He fell foul of the French and British nations, and as a result the allied fleets arrived off the mouth of the River Plate and blockaded Buenos Aires. The outcome of this, however, was purely negative. Although the Republic suffered inconvenience from the cessation of trade, the community was self-supporting, while it was impossible, of course, for the European forces to attempt to carry on land operations. Thus, after a prolonged stay in the waters of the River Plate, the blockade was raised, and the French and British fleets sailed away, having to all intents and purposes failed to achieve their object.
The extraordinary force of Rosas's character is best instanced by the length of his rule. This, as has been said, continued for over twenty years, until the year 1852. That a Dictator should have continued to hold the reins of power for this length of time in the face of the opposition and hatred which, although smothered, were rampant on every side of him was undoubtedly a most amazing feat. His political end, when it came, was a rapid one. After having humbled every aspirant who strove to challenge his power, he was confronted by General Urquiza, who had for years dominated the province of Entre Rios.