The Second Banda Oriental campaign was a military campaign of the
Argentine War of Independence, that besieged and captured 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 Gra ...
'' (present-day Uruguay) with joint operations against
Montevideo by
José Rondeau
José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra (March 4, 1773 – November 18, 1844) was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century.
Life and Politics
He was born in Buenos Aires but soon after his birth, the family moved t ...
on land and
William Brown on water.
Background
The first campaign against the Banda Oriental ended with a peace treaty negotiated between the
First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic: Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The constitution of the Roman republic had many ve ...
of Buenos Aires and
Javier de Elío of Montevideo. Buenos Aires had a weak military outlook after the defeat of the
Paraguay campaign
The Paraguay campaign (1810–11) of the Argentine War of Independence was the attempt by a Buenos Aires-sponsored militia, commanded by Manuel Belgrano, to win the royalist Intendency of Paraguay for the cause of May Revolution. In Paraguay ...
and the
First Upper Peru campaign
The first Upper Peru campaign was a military campaign of the Argentine War of Independence, which took place in 1810. It was headed by Juan José Castelli, and attempted to expand the influence of the Buenos Aires May Revolution in Upper Peru (mo ...
. Elío feared that the reinforcements he requested 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 ...
would actually attempt to invade the Banda Oriental instead of reinforcing him.
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 in ...
felt betrayed by the Triumvirate, and led his people out of the zone during the ''
Oriental exodus''. The troops from Buenos Aires left as well, leaving Elío alone against the Portuguese. The Portuguese military left after the intervention of the British Lord Strangford.
Hostilities were renewed shortly afterwards, when the Triumvirate failed to take action against
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 in ...
and demanded the departure of the Portuguese armies called by Elío. When they were gone, Buenos Aires renewed hostilities against the Banda Oriental, but Artigas did not take part in the military action.
Manuel de Sarratea
Manuel de Sarratea, (Buenos Aires, 11 August 1774 – Limoges, France, 21 September 1849), was an Argentine diplomat, politician and soldier. He was the son of Martin de Sarratea (1743–1813), of the richest merchant of Buenos-Aires and Tom ...
had declared him a traitor. However, the
Revolution of October 8, 1812 deposed the Triumvirate and replaced it with the
Second Triumvirate. The new governors replaced Sarratea with the Oriental
José Rondeau
José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra (March 4, 1773 – November 18, 1844) was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century.
Life and Politics
He was born in Buenos Aires but soon after his birth, the family moved t ...
, who had good relations with Artigas. Artigas joined the
siege of Montevideo and sent deputies to the
Assembly of the Year XIII
The Assembly of Year XIII ( es, Asamblea del Año XIII) was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on October 181 ...
. When those deputies were rejected, Artigas left the siege.
Military Conflict
Manuel de Sarratea
Manuel de Sarratea, (Buenos Aires, 11 August 1774 – Limoges, France, 21 September 1849), was an Argentine diplomat, politician and soldier. He was the son of Martin de Sarratea (1743–1813), of the richest merchant of Buenos-Aires and Tom ...
led an army to the Banda Oriental, but he was soon replaced by
José Rondeau
José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra (March 4, 1773 – November 18, 1844) was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century.
Life and Politics
He was born in Buenos Aires but soon after his birth, the family moved t ...
, who began the siege of Montevideo.
Gaspar de Vigodet sought to break the siege, but he was defeated by Rondeau at the
Battle of Cerrito
The Battle of Cerrito (outskirts of Montevideo, 31 December 1812), was a battle for the War of Independence of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, between the royalist forces who had control of the city of Montevideo and the rebel forces of ...
.
[Camogli, p. 168] The Montevidean navy sought to evade the land blockade by raiding nearby populations, but the attempt to raid
San Lorenzo led to a defeat at the hands of
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...
during the
Battle of San Lorenzo
The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on 3 February 1813 in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, San Lorenzo, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. The royalist troops, were composed of militiamen recruited in Montevideo und ...
.
The land blockade would be useless unless the Montevidean navy was defeated as well.
Juan Larrea bought several ships and organized a navy, led by the Irish
William Brown. The
Battle of Martín García secured strategic
Martín García Island
Martín García Island ( es, Isla Martín García) is an island in the Río de la Plata. The island is in Uruguayan waters but in 1973 Uruguay and Argentina reached an agreement establishing Martín García as Argentine territory and a nature r ...
. Brown sent
Tomás Nother to pursue the remaining ships across the
Uruguay River
The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La M ...
, but he was defeated at the
Battle of Arroyo de la China.
Jacinto de Romarate had more military resources than expected, which allowed his victory, but the source of the resources is unclear.
[Ratto, pp. 47-48] The royalist victory did not have consequences over the campaign. The navy set a naval blockade to Montevideo, and the
battle of Buceo was the final royalist defeat in the campaign.
Carlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear (October 25, 1789 in Santo Ángel, Rio Grande do Sul – November 3, 1852 in New York), was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815.
Early life
H ...
seized the city on June 23, 1814, ending the royalist presence in the Banda Oriental.
References
Bibliography
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{{Argentine War of Independence
Campaigns of the Argentine War of Independence
Maritime history of Argentina