Republic of Tucumán
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The Republic of Tucumán (''República de Tucumán'') was a short-lived state centered on the town of
San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentina, ...
in today's
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 ...
that was formed after the collapse of central authority in 1820, and that broke up the next year. The "Republic" remained a political unit within the
United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Co ...
.


Background

In 1810 news arrived of the
May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...
in
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 ...
, capital of 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, i ...
. The council of Santiago del Estero reacted cautiously at first, but when it was clear that the nearby Salta Province was supporting the revolution, Santiago del Estero also joined. On 8 October 1814 the Supreme Director Gervasio Antonio de Posadas issued a decree saying the jurisdictions of
Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...
,
Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...
, Oran,
Tarija Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is the largest city and capital and municipality within the Tarija Department, with an airport ( Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport, (TJA)) off ...
and Santa Maria should be combined into the Salta Province with capital in the town of Salta. The remainder of the former Intendencia de Salta del Tucumán would become the new
Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neigh ...
, consisting of Tucumán, Santiago del Estero and Catamarca. This decree stirred up the traditional rivalry between Tucumán and Santiago del Estero. On 4 September 1815, separatists in Santiago led by Francisco Borges launched the first bid for independence, but it was suppressed by governor Bernabé Aráoz. On 20 April 1816 the Santiago del Estero deputies Pedro León Gallo and
Pedro Francisco de Uriarte Pedro Francisco Uriarte (June 29, 1758 – August 30, 1839) was an Argentine statesman and priest. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina. Uriarte was born in Santiago ...
joined the
Congress of Tucumán 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, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, fro ...
, where the independence of the
United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Co ...
was declared. In November 1816 the Congress authorized the first version of the provisional regulations, changing the method of electing governors and deputy governors and making the appointments subject to the approval of the Supreme Director. On 10 December 1816, a second revolutionary movement was launched in Santiago del Estero, again led by Borges.
Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...
suppressed the uprising and Borges was shot on 1 January 1817. Towns at that time were small. As late as 1841, the towns of Catamarca and Santiago del Estero each had about 4,000 inhabitants, while Tucumán had 8,000 inhabitants.


Creation of the republic

After the Battle of Cepeda on 1 February 1820 the central government was dissolved. Governor Aráoz declared the Republic of Tucumán, made up of the provinces of Tucumán, Catamarca and Santiago del Estero. This republic, and others formed at the time such as the Republic of Entre Ríos, were set up in the expectation that they would soon be united into a larger political grouping, perhaps even a confederacy uniting the provinces of the former Spanish Viceroyalties of Río de la Plata, Chile, and Peru. A constitution was needed for the republic, and a council of leaders of the former provinces was called to define how it would be organized. On 6 September 1820, the council sanctioned the Republic's constitution, which abolished the council and made its members ministers. A First Court of Justice was established. Aráoz was named Supreme President. The constitution set up a
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
legislature and an executive branch headed by the President. It was influenced by the national constitution of 1819 and was unitarian and centralized in nature. This alienated the province of Catamarca as well as Santiago del Estero, both of which moved towards separation.


Secession of Santiago del Estero

The people of Santiago del Estero were inclined to autonomy. Aráoz sent Juan Bautista Paz to arrange the election of deputies, with a military force led by Juan Francisco Echauri. One of Echauri's first actions was to change the members of the municipality to people in favor of Tucumán. Next he tried to control the election of deputies for the Congress that would meet on 20 March 1820 in Tucumán. The people of Santiago del Estero rebelled, supported by armed forces from the Fuerte de Abipones led by Juan Felipe Ibarra, who defeated Echauri in an engagement on 31 March 1820 and forced him to retreat to Tucumán. Ibarra was appointed the first governor of the province of Santiago del Estero, and on 27 April 1820 issued a manifesto that declared the province's autonomy. Eventually peace was settled between Tucumán and Santiago with a treaty of 5 June 1821. The government of the province of Tucumán was unstable, and in 1822 descended into chaos. A new legislature chaired by the Dominican friar Manuel Perez took control in 1823. General
Bernabé Araoz Bernabé may refer to: People As a given name * Bernabé Ballester (born 1982), Spanish footballer * Bernabé Barragán (born 1993), Spanish footballer * Bernabé Cobo, (1582–1657), Spanish Jesuit missionary and writer * Bernabé Ferreyra (1909 ...
was executed in 1824. His remains lie in the San Miguel de Tucumán church.


References

Citations Sources * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Republic of Tucuman Former political divisions related to Argentina Argentine Civil War Tucuman States and territories established in 1820 Tucumán Province