The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

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, part of

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

) on July 9, 1816, from the

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Overview

Following the May Revolution of 1810, the Viceroy had been replaced by the Primera Junta. The provinces had been moving towards full independence but royalist forces from the Viceroyalty of Peru have had the upper hand in the Upper Peru and were threatening the revolution. On April 15, 1815, a revolution ended the mandate of Carlos María de Alvear and called a General Congress. Delegate deputies, each representing 15,000 inhabitants, were sent from all the provinces to the sessions that started on March 24, 1816. Nevertheless, some territories that formerly belonged to the Viceroyalty of the River Plate did not take part in the Congress: the delegates from the '' Banda Oriental'' ('Eastern Bank', today

) and other Liga Federal provinces, faithful to the democratic federalist project of

José Gervasio Artigas José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a soldier and statesman who is regarded as a national hero in Uruguay and the father of Uruguayan nationhood. Born in Montevideo, Artigas enlisted in the Spanish ...

were rejected based on formalities;

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had already proclaimed its independence from Spain and remained isolated from the United Provinces politics. Representatives from Upper Peru Provinces (current

) were, however, present. The congress was inaugurated in the house of Francisca Bazán de Laguna, consisted of 33 deputies, and its presidency rotated on a monthly basis. Because the congress had freedom to select the agenda, there were endless discussions. On July 9, it declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America, a name that was intended to appeal and eventually incorporate other Spanish American independentist regions that were not represented at the Congress. At that time, the President of the Congress was Francisco Narciso de Laprida, delegate from San Juan Province. Subsequent discussions centred on the form of government that the young state should have and were the Congress and the executive power should reside. The congress continued its work in Buenos Aires since 1817 and issued a Constitution in 1819, but the Constitution was rejected and the Congress was dissolved in 1820 after the Federal League Provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos defeated a diminished Directorship army at the Battle of Cepeda, that staged the Unitarian (v.g. ''Centralist'') versus Federal conflict on the battlefield. The house where the declaration made was rebuilt and is now a museum and monument. It is known as the " House of Tucumán".

Signatories of the declaration

* Francisco Narciso de Laprida, Deputy for San Juan, President * Mariano Boedo, Deputy for Salta, Vice-president * José Mariano Serrano, Deputy for Charcas (present

), Secretary * Juan José Paso, Deputy for

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Secretary *Dr. Antonio Sáenz, Deputy for

*Dr. José Darragueira, Deputy for

*Friar Cayetano José Rodríguez, Deputy for

*Dr. Pedro Medrano, Deputy for

*Dr. Manuel Antonio Acevedo, Deputy for Catamarca *Dr. José Ignacio de Gorriti, Deputy for Salta *Dr. José Andrés Pacheco de Melo, Deputy for Chichas (present

) *Dr. Teodoro Sánchez de Bustamante, Deputy for Jujuy * Eduardo Pérez Bulnes, Deputy for Córdoba * Tomás Godoy Cruz, Deputy for Mendoza *Dr. Pedro Miguel Aráoz, Deputy for Tucumán *Dr. Esteban Agustín Gazcón, Deputy for

* Pedro Francisco de Uriarte, Deputy for Santiago del Estero * Pedro León Gallo, Deputy for Santiago del Estero * Pedro Ignacio Rivera, Deputy for Mizque (present

) *Dr. Mariano Sánchez de Loria, Deputy for Charcas (present

) *Dr. José Severo Malabia, Deputy for Charcas (present

) *Dr. Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Deputy for La Rioja *Lic. Gerónimo Salguero de Cabrera y Cabrera, Deputy for Córdoba *Dr. José Colombres, Deputy for Catamarca *Dr. José Ignacio Thames, Deputy for Tucumán *Friar Justo de Santa María de Oro, Deputy for San Juan * José Antonio Cabrera, Deputy for Córdoba *Dr. Juan Agustín Maza, Deputy for Mendoza * Tomás Manuel de Anchorena, Deputy for

References

Ministry of Education: Congress of Tucumán
{{DEFAULTSORT:Congress of Tucuman Argentine War of Independence Argentine historical congresses 1816 in Bolivia San Miguel de Tucumán 1816 in Argentina Defunct unicameral legislatures