1828 Treaty of Montevideo
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The Preliminary Peace Convention was a bilateral treaty signed on 27 August 1828 between the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, after
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
mediation, that put an end to the
Cisplatine War The Cisplatine War (), also known as the Argentine-Brazilian War () or, in Argentine and Uruguayan historiography, as the Brazil War (''Guerra del Brasil''), the War against the Empire of Brazil (''Guerra contra el Imperio del Brasil'') or t ...
and recognized the independence of Uruguay. Called the Preliminary Peace Convention as a result of the meetings held by representatives from the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces — the predecessor state for
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
— between 11 and 27 August 1828 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This convention, or treaty, accorded independence to Uruguay in respect to Brazil and Argentina. Uruguay's independence would be definitively sealed on 4 October of the same year when, in Montevideo, the signing nations ratified the treaty.


Purpose

By 1828 the
Cisplatine War The Cisplatine War (), also known as the Argentine-Brazilian War () or, in Argentine and Uruguayan historiography, as the Brazil War (''Guerra del Brasil''), the War against the Empire of Brazil (''Guerra contra el Imperio del Brasil'') or t ...
had been fought to a stalemate with Argentina's land forces unable to capture any major cities, and Brazil forces pinned down and with severe lack of manpower for a full-scale offensive against Argentine forces. The heavy burden of the war and the increasing unlikelihood of any positive outcome led to heavy public pressure in Brazil to end the war through diplomacy. In this context, on 20 February 1828 Brazil and Argentina decided to begin peace talks with mediation by Great Britain, who also had an interest in a peaceful resolution of the war due to the severe trade impediments the blockade of Buenos Aires had brought to the Plata region. Lord John Ponsonby was chosen as mediator for the talks and was immediately faced with Argentina's unwillingness to allow Brazil to retain its sovereignty over Uruguay and by Brazil's demands to keep its sovereignty over the Missões Orientais, to free navigation in the Plata River and refusal to allow Argentina to annex any area of the Cisplatine Province. With these considerations in mind, Posonby made a proposal for an independent Uruguay to placate both Brazil and Argentina in order to reestablish peace on La Plata, and conceded to the Brazilian demands regarding its sovereignty over the Missões Orientais and the right to freely navigate in the Plata River. Although faced with initial Argentine opposition, the diplomat managed to convince Argentina that it was no longer viable to spend money on a war for the Eastern Province and managed to strike a deal on August 27, 1828.


British interests

The British Empire's true interests are made clear in a letter that Lord Ponsonby sent to London:
The interests and the security of British commerce will be greatly promoted in a state in which the governors cultivate a friendship with England. The Eastern Strip contains the key to La Plata and to South America; we must perpetuate a geographical division of states that benefits England. For a long time the easterners will not have a port and will not have the opportunity to impede English trade.
From that scopus, the British believed that Uruguayan independence would consolidate English commerce and serve to contain the ambitions of both Brazil and Argentina.


Form of Declaration of Independence

The first and second articles of the treaty declare the independence of the Eastern Province from the
United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil wi ...
or its immediate successor, the Empire of Brazil, and from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.


Character of Independence: Definitive or Temporary

The tenth article of the convention established that if five years after the approval of the constitution the interior tranquility and security was perturbed by a civil war, they (the signers) would give the legal government the necessary assistance to maintain and sustain itself. After that time all protection would cease and the province would be considered to be in a state of perfect and absolute independence. The right to intervene in assistance of the "legal government" was established by the contracting parties without need of express request on the part of the new state.


Control of the Constitution

The seventh article establishes that the Representatives will be occupied with forming the political constitution of the province and before being judged (approved), the constitution would be examined by commissioners of the contracting governments for the sole purpose of seeing if it contained any articles in opposition to the security of their respective states.


Free navigation

One additional article guaranteed to the two nations (Argentina and Brazil) free navigation of the Río de la Plata and of all others that feed into it, for the period of fifteen years.


Historiography

Uruguayan historians have two main visions about the treaty and the birth of Uruguay as an independent nation. The first group considers that an idea of Uruguayan nationhood existed before the treaty, and cites the rivalry of Montevideo with Buenos Aires, the weak links that united the
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called "Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in ...
, and the strong rejection of
José Gervasio Artigas José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a political leader, military general, statesman and national hero of Uruguay and the broader Río de la Plata region. He fought in the Latin American wars of ind ...
of the centralism of Buenos Aires. This vision is held by
Francisco Bauzá Francisco Bauzá (1849–1899) was a Uruguayan political figure and historian. Background He was the son of Uruguayan independence fighter Rufino Bauzá. He was married with María Schiaffino. He was associated with the Uruguayan Colorado Part ...
,
Juan Zorrilla de San Martín Juan Zorrilla de San Martín (28 December 1855 – 3 November 1931) was a Uruguayan epic poet and political figure. He is referred to as the "National Poet of Uruguay". Well-known poems Two of Zorrilla's best-known poems are '' Tabaré'' ( ...
,
Pablo Blanco Acevedo Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer *Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer *Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist * Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer *Pablo Brenes ...
, Mario Falcao Espalter and
Juan Pivel Devoto ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...
. The second group considers instead that the Uruguayans still wanted to be part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, pointing that Artigas was against centralism but never held actual separatist ideas. They attribute the Uruguayan independence to foreign factors, mainly the British influence. This vision is held by
Eduardo Acevedo Vásquez Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footba ...
,
Ariosto González Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...
,
Eugenio Petit Muñoz Eugenio is an Italian and Spanish masculine given name deriving from the Greek ' Eugene'. The name is Eugénio in Portuguese and Eugênio in Brazilian Portuguese. The name's translated literal meaning is well born, or of noble status. Similar de ...
,
Washington Reyes Abadie Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
,
Alberto Methol Ferré Alberto René Methol Ferré (Montevideo, 31 March 1929 – 15 November 2009) was a Uruguayan thinker, writer, journalist, teacher, historian and theologian. He has been described as one of Latin America's most fertile and original thinkers. Bi ...
and
Oscar Bruschera Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
.Nahum, p. 29 Historian Leonardo Borges argues that Independence Day, celebrated on August 25, does not reflect the actual birth of the nation. When the independence of the
Brazilian Empire The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...
and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata was signed on August 25, 1825, Uruguay remained part of Argentina, the
Banda Oriental Banda Oriental, or more fully Banda Oriental del Uruguay (Eastern Bank), was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay; the modern state of Rio Gr ...
. Borges says that " seems like nonsense" to establish August 25 as Independence Day. Ana Ribeiro, Undersecretary of Education and Culture, argues that all such dates are arbitrary, and points out that
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
does not celebrate the determining date of the French Revolution.


See also

*
Constitution of Uruguay of 1830 The first Constitution of Uruguay dates back to 1830. Drafted by the Constituent Assembly, summoned in the Church of La Aguada in 1829, it was sworn by the citizens on 18 July 1830. This political constitution was in force until 1918, when it ...


References


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:1828 Treaty Of Montevideo History of Uruguay Treaties of the Empire of Brazil Treaties of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata Treaty Of Montevideo, 1828 1828 in Uruguay Argentina–Brazil relations Argentina–Uruguay relations Brazil–Uruguay relations Argentina–United Kingdom relations Brazil–United Kingdom relations United Kingdom–Uruguay relations 1828 in the Empire of Brazil August 1828 events 19th century in Montevideo Events in Montevideo