''The Southern Star'', also known in Spanish as ''La Estrella del Sur'' (both English and Spanish names were used in conjunction) was a weekly

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

British

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

newspaper edited in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, 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 . M ...

, Uruguay, in 1807. It was the first newspaper edited in the city, but it only lasted for a couple of months, while Montevideo was under British occupation during the second

British invasions of the Río de la Plata The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of areas in the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata that were located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in p ...

. The newspaper, a private business sponsored by the British Army, was used to promote

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

and loyalty to the British Crown. The chief editor was, according to most authors, General

John Whitelocke John Whitelocke (1757 – 23 October 1833) was a British Army officer. Military career Educated at Marlborough Grammar School and at Lewis Lochée's military academy in Chelsea, Whitelocke entered the army in 1778 and served in Jamaica and in S ...

's aide

Thomas Bradford General (United Kingdom), General Sir Thomas Bradford (1 December 1777 – 28 November 1853) was a British Army officer. Military career Bradford was commissioned as an ensign (rank), ensign in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), 4th (Th ...

. The translator was Manuel Aniceto Padilla, a journalist from

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

and sibling-in-law of future female guerrilla leader of the Independence War, Juana Azurduy. Padilla fled to Britain after the British debacle. Padilla came back to Buenos Aires after 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 ...

. The Real Audiencia of Buenos Aires forbade the distribution or possession of those newspapers in the city of

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 ...

, with the unauthorized possession charged as

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

against the King and the State. The lawyer

Mariano Moreno Mariano Moreno (; September 23, 1778March 4, 1811) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution. Moreno was b ...

was requested to write

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

s countering the opinions held by the newspaper. However, Moreno refused to do so because, even while he remained loyal to the Spanish crown, he still thought that some of the criticism of the Spanish colonial government by the newspaper were right. The newspaper was closed after the defeat and withdrawal of the British troops, and the printing machines were confiscated and sent to Buenos Aires, where the local government donated them to funding the ''Casa de Niños Expósitos'', then the main public

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

in the city and today's Hospital Pedro de Elizalde. The machines were also used to teach the art of printing to the pupils.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Star, The Bilingual newspapers British invasions of the River Plate British propaganda organisations Defunct newspapers published in Uruguay English-language newspapers published in South America Mass media in Montevideo Newspapers established in 1807 Publications disestablished in 1807 Spanish-language newspapers Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

See also

References