Regiment of Blandengues of the Frontier of Buenos Aires (''Spanish: Cuerpo de Blandengues de la Frontera de Buenos Aires'') was a military unit of the Spanish Empire.

History

This military unit was created during the reign of

Ferdinand VI of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Savoy , birth_date = 23 September 1713 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Villavi ...

, and had as main objective the defense of the borders of the

Province of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

against the indigenous incursions. It were composed of military professionals, landowners and Creole militiamen, who were armed with carbines, pistols and spears as general weaponry. In 1752, several companies of the Corps of Blandegues were formed for the persecution of the

Malón ''Malón'' (from the Mapudungun ''maleu,'' to inflict damage to the enemy) is the name given to plunder raids carried out by Mapuche warriors, who rode horses into Spanish, Chilean and Argentine territories from the 17th to the 19th centuries, a ...

, among them was "La Valerosa", commanded by the Captain of the Fort of Buenos Aires, Don Juan Miguel de Esparza, and the "La Atrevida", led by Don Juan de Lezica y Torrezuri. This military unit took an active part during the

Guaraní War The Guarani War ( es, link=no, Guerra Guaranítica, pt, Guerra Guaranítica) of 1756, also called the War of the Seven Reductions, took place between the Guaraní tribes of seven Jesuit Reductions and joint Spanish- Portuguese forces. It was a ...

, and in the expeditions of

Pedro de Cevallos Pedro Antonio de Cevallos Cortés y Calderón, also spelled Ceballos (29 June 1715 – 26 December 1778), was a Spanish military Governor of Buenos Aires between 1757 and 1766, and the first Viceroy of the Río de la Plata in 1776. Biography ...

in 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 ...

. The Blandengues Regiment of Buenos Aires had an active participation in the construction of the Fortines of the Province of Buenos Aires. In 1777, Lt. Casimiro Alegre led a caravan, destined to supply the elements for the construction of the Fort of

San Miguel del Monte San Miguel del Monte (also known as Monte) is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the Administrative centre, county seat of Monte Partido, and was established in 1864. External links Municipal websiteMilitary history of Argentina Regiments of Argentina Río de la Plata