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The First Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed on 1 October 1777 between
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
. It settled long-running territorial disputes between the two kingdoms' possessions in South America, primarily in the
Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...
region.


Background

For nearly 300 years, differing interpretations of the
Treaty of Tordesillas The Treaty of Tordesillas, ; pt, Tratado de Tordesilhas . signed in Tordesillas, Spain on 7 June 1494, and authenticated in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Em ...
led to border disputes between Spain and Portugal over the
Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...
region. Although Spanish silver mines in
Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...
were far to the west of the disputed area, Portugal constantly tried to annex the silver lode region to its Brazilian colonies. The two countries attempted to resolve their issues in the 1750 Treaty of Madrid but in 1761, it was annulled by the new Spanish monarch
Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...
. In 1762, Spain entered the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
on the side of France, resulting in the so-called Fantastic War of 1762-1763. With British support, the Portuguese repulsed a Franco-Spanish invasion in Europe. In South America, Spain captured the Portuguese port of
Colonia del Sacramento , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = Basilica del Sanctísimo Sacramento.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento , pushpin_map = Uruguay , subdivisio ...
, now in Uruguay and much of the modern day Brazilian state of
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...
. However, the 1763 Treaty of Paris required Spain to return Colonia del Sacramento and by 1777, Portugal had reoccupied Rio Grande do Sul. Much of Spanish South America was controlled by the
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...
which required all trade to pass through
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
on the Pacific. This policy made imports expensive, prevented the economic development of the Atlantic coast and caused increasing dissatisfaction with Spanish rule. Portuguese encroachments in the Río de la Plata allowed their merchants to evade these commercial restrictions;
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
subsequently become a major center for smuggled goods. In an attempt to regain economic and political control, a new Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata was established in 1776, with its capital at Buenos Aires. Despite opposition from Lima, limited free trade was permitted between Buenos Aires,
Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...
and mainland Spain. Between 1775 and 1776, the undeclared war in the region between the two countries grew increasingly bitter, although the Spanish–Portuguese War only formally began in 1776. In February 1777, the new Viceroy of Río de la Plata, Pedro Antonio de Cevallos took command of a Spanish expeditionary force of 116 ships and 19,000 troops. He captured the island of Santa Catarina in February before moving against Colonia del Sacramento which surrendered in July. In August, Cevallos learned
Joseph I of Portugal Dom Joseph I ( pt, José Francisco António Inácio Norberto Agostinho, ; 6 June 1714 – 24 February 1777), known as the Reformer (Portuguese: ''o Reformador''), was King of Portugal from 31 July 1750 until his death in 1777. Among other act ...
had died in February; his daughter,
Maria I , succession = Queen of Portugal , image = Maria I, Queen of Portugal - Giuseppe Troni, atribuído (Turim, 1739-Lisboa, 1810) - Google Cultural Institute.jpg , caption = Portrait attributed to Giuseppe Troni, , reign ...
now sued for peace and offensive operations ceased.


Provisions

Under the Treaty, Portugal ceded Colonia del Sacramento, the associated island of San Gabriel and the Misiones Orientales while Spain acknowledged Portuguese control of Southern Brazil and returned Santa Catarina island. A Boundary Commission was established to delineate colonial borders between the Portuguese and Spanish Empires, which were later confirmed by the 1778 Treaty of El Pardo Portugal agreed to prevent the smuggling of goods and deny use of its ports to military or commercial vessels from nations hostile to Spain. This was aimed at Britain, with whom Spain was at war from 1779 to 1783.


Aftermath

Charles hoped settling the border would help the economic growth of the new Viceroyalty and reduce unrest among its population. While partially successful, development was hampered by the 1779-1783 war with Britain that restricted trade with mainland Spain and led to high tariffs and taxes to pay for it. The smuggling of duty-free goods remained a lucrative occupation, while heavy taxes and 'voluntary' donations caused unrest, such as the 1781 Revolt of the Comuneros in the
Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of New Granada ( es, Virreinato de Nueva Granada, links=no ) also called Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada or Viceroyalty of Santafé was the name given on 27 May 1717, to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in norther ...
. Portugal regained the Misiones Orientales in the
Treaty of Badajoz (1801) The Treaty of Badajoz was signed by Spain and Portugal on 6 June 1801. Portugal ceded the border town of Olivenza to Spain and closed its ports to British military and commercial shipping. On the same day, Portugal signed a separate Treaty of ...
. Spanish participation in the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
and the loss of much of its navy at the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...
in 1805 severed links between the central government and its restive colonies in the Americas. British assaults on Buenos Aires and Montevideo in 1806 and 1807 were repulsed by locally led forces, which gave them the confidence to demand self-rule. The Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata was dissolved during the 1810-1818
Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de Argentina, links=no) was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín ...
. The Misiones Orientales were the location of the Jesuit-mission to the Guarani people and the basis for the 1986
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
film '' The Mission''.


Footnotes


See also

*
List of treaties This list of treaties contains known agreements, pacts, peaces, and major contracts between states, armies, governments, and tribal groups. Before 1200 CE 1200–1299 1300–1399 1400–1499 1500–1599 1600–1699 1700–1799 ...
*
Spanish–Portuguese War (1776–77) Spanish–Portuguese War may refer to one of the following conflicts between Portugal and Spain (or between Portugal and Castile before 1492): * Fernandine Wars (1369–70, 1372–73, 1381–82), when Portugal attempted to claim the Castilian thr ...
*
Treaty of El Pardo (1778) The Treaty of El Pardo signed on 11 March 1778 sought to end conflict between Spain and Portugal in the Río de la Plata region, along the modern boundary between Argentina and Uruguay. It confirmed Spanish ownership of Colonia del Sacramento ...
* Second Treaty of San Ildefonso *
Third Treaty of San Ildefonso The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on 1 October 1800 between the Spanish Empire and the French Republic by which Spain agreed in principle to exchange its North American colony of Louisiana for territories in Tuscany ...


References


Sources

* Moses, Bernard; ''Spain's Declining Power in South America, 1730-1806;'' (Cornell University Library, 2010 (ed); * Marley, David; Wars of the Americas: ''A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere;'' (ABC-Clio, 2008 ed.); * Owens, David; ''Spanish—Portuguese Territorial Rivalry in Colonial Río de la Plata;'' (Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers Yearbook); * Paullin, Charles Oscar, Davenport, Frances Gardiner; ''European Treaties Bearing on the History of the United States and Its Dependencies;'' (Andesite Press, 2017 ed); * Stein, Stanley & Stein, Barbara; ''Apogee of Empire: Spain and New Spain in the Age of Charles III, 1759–1789;'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003);


External links


Brazil-Colombia BoundaryGeographic Map of the Captaincy of Mato Grosso
from 1800 has information about the First Treaty {{Authority control 1777 in Portugal 1777 treaties Treaties involving territorial changes San Ildefonso San Ildefonso Portuguese colonization of the Americas Spanish colonization of the Americas
Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...
1777 in Spain 1777 in South America