The

Governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

of the Río de la Plata (1549−1776) (, ) was one of the

governorates of the Spanish Empire After the 1494 territorial division of South America between Spain and Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas, the colonial administration of the continent was divided into Governorates. Caribbean and Tierra Firme * Captaincy General of Santo D ...

. It was created in 1549 by Spain in the area around the Río de la Plata. It was at first simply a renaming of the New Andalusia Governorate and included all of the land between 470 and 670 leagues south of the mouth of the Río Santiago along the Pacific coast. After 1617,

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

was separated under a separate administration (

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

had been the capital of the governorate since Juan de Ayolas.) After the founding of the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

in 1542, the governorate was since its birth under its authority until the formation of the independent Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata in 1776. Similarly, it was under the jurisdiction of the Royal Audience of Charcas until the formation of the independent Royal Audience of Buenos Aires from 1661 to 1671 and after 1783.

Governors of New Andalusia

*'' Adelantado''

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, Captain General, and Chief justice Pedro de Mendoza (1534–1537). First founding of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

; Fort Corpus Christi founded by Juan de Ayolas. Retires and dies mad en route home. *Governor Juan de Ayolas (1537–1539). Resided in Paraguay, where

was founded by Juan de Salazar de Espinoza. Killed by natives. * Lt. Governor Francisco Ruíz Galán (1537–1541). Resided at Buenos Aires, prior to its abandonment. *Governor Domingo Martínez de Irala (1539–1541). Elected by the colonists, disputed the authority of Galán. *''Adelantado'' Governor Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (1541–1544). Victorious campaign against Guarani in 1542. Arrested and returned to Spain for trial.

Governors of the Río de la Plata

*Governor Domingo Martínez de Irala (1544–1556). Encouraged his men to marry and keep concubines from local women. Two '' adelantados'' are unable to arrive from Spain and de Irala confirmed in his post by the king 1552. Died peacefully. *Governor Gonzalo de Mendoza (1556–1558). Ciudad Real de Guayrá founded by Ruy Díaz de Malgarejo in 1557. Died peacefully. *Governor Francisco Ortiz de Vergara (1558–1569). Elected by the colonists. Foundations fail at San Francisco, Sancti Spiritus, and

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

. Arrested and returned to Spain for trial. *Lt. Governor Felipe de Cáceres (1569–1572). Appointed by Royal Audience. Arrested and returned to Spain for trial. *Lt. Governor Martín Suárez de Toledo (1572-1574). Acting *''Adelantado'' Governor Juan Ortiz de Zárate (1574–1576). Sailed to Spain to confirm his election. Foundation of Tucuman. *Lt. Governor Diego Ortiz de Zárate (1576–1578). Juan Ortiz left the administration to his daughter Juana, but others ''de facto'' governed. *Lt. Governor Juan de Garay (1578–1583).

refounded 1580. *Lt. Governor Alonso de Vera y Aragón (1583–1587). And ''de facto'' governor at Asunción until 1592. *''Adelantado'' Governor Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón (1587–1592).

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the Royal Audience, married to Juana Ortiz de Zárate. Last appointed ''adelantado''.

Governors of the Río de la Plata and Paraguay

*Governor Hernando Arias de Saavedra ("Hernandarias") (1592–1594). *Governor Fernando de Zárate (1594–1595). *Governor Juan Ramírez de Velasco (1596–1597). *Governor Hernando Arias de Saavedra (1597–1599). Second time. *Governor Diego Rodríguez de Valdés y de la Banda (1599–1600). *Governor Francés de Beaumont (1600–1602). Appointment formalized 1601. *Governor Hernando Arias de Saavedra (1602–1609). Third time. First Jesuit Reduction established. Slave trade restricted. *Governor Diego Martín de Negrón (1609–1613). *Governor Mateo Leal de Ayala (1613–1615). *Governor Hernando Arias de Saavedra (1615–1617). Fourth time. Guayrá was separated into a separate Governorate of Paraguay in 1617.

Governors of Río de la Plata

*Governor Hernando Arias de Saavedra (1617–1618). *Governor Diego de Góngora (1618–1623). Found guilty ''post mortem'' of corruption, allowing trade in slaves and contraband to flourish. *Governor Alonso Pérez de Salazar (1623–1624). *Governor Francisco de Céspedes (1624–1631). Continued efforts to pacify the Charrua. *Governor Pedro Esteban Dávila (1631–1637). Concepción del Bermejo destroyed by natives. *Governor Mendo de la Cueva y Benavidez (1637–1640). Defense of

improved. Expedition against the Calchaquís. Fort Santa Teresa erected. *Governor Ventura Mojica (or Mujica) (1640–1641). *Governor Andrés de Sandoval (1641). *Governor Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera y Garay (1641–1645). Expulsion of Portuguese attempted in governorate. *Governor Jacinto Lariz (1645–1653). Arrested. *Governor Pedro Baigorrí Ruiz (1653–1660). Three French ships successfully repelled from Buenos Aires. Calchaquís repelled from Santa Fe. *Governor Alonso Mercado y Villacorta (1660–1663). Request to be able to send two trade ships annually denied. Dutch ships permitted to dock in Buenos Aires. *Governor Juan Martínez de Salazar (1663–1674). Continued requests for free commerce. The Royal Audience of Buenos Aires briefly independent of the court at Charcas. *Governor Andrés de Robles (1674–1678). *Governor José de Garro (1678–1682). Portuguese expelled from Colonia de Sacramento in 1680. *Governor José Antonio de Herrera y Sotomayor (1682–1691). Tucuman relocated. *Governor Agustín de Robles (1691–1698). *Governor Manuel de Prado y Maldonado (1698–1704). Visit from Danish squadron in Buenos Aires. *Governor Alonso Juan de Valdés e Inclán (1704–1708). Colonia de Sacramento retaken. *Governor Manuel de Velasco y Tejada (1708–1712). Purchased office for 3000 pesos. Arrested. *Governor Juan José de Muliloa (1712). *Governor Alonso de Arce y Soria (1712–1714). Buys the position for 18,000 pesos. Dies five months later. *Governor José Bermúdez de Castro (1714–1715). *Governor Baltasar García Ros (1715–1717). Colonia del Sacramento returned to the Portuguese. Campaigns against the Charrua, Yaro, and Bohanes. *Governor Bruno Mauricio de Zabala (1717–1734). Repelled Portuguese attack against

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. *Governor Miguel de Salcedo y Sierraalta (1734–1742). Expulsion of foreigners from Buenos Aires ordered. Failed attempt to retake Colonia del Sacramento. *Governor Domingo Ortíz de Rozas (1742–1745). Refortified Montevideo. *Governor José de Andonaegui (1745–1756). First mail delivery opened with

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and Potosí. *Governor Pedro Antonio de Cevallos (or Ceballos) (1756–1766). Colonia del Sacramento retaken. *Governor Francisco de Paula Bucarelli y Ursúa (1766–1770). English expelled from the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

. Mail inaugurated between A Coruña and the Río de la Plata. *Governor Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo (1770–1776). After which, the governorate is replaced by the

Viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * British Raj, India was governed by the Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Vi ...

and Intendancy of Buenos Aires in the Bourbon reforms.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governorate of the Rio de la Plata Rio de la Plata * Spanish colonization of the Americas . Former political divisions related to Argentina 1549 establishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru 1776 disestablishments in the Viceroyalty of Peru 1776 disestablishments in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata States and territories established in 1549 States and territories disestablished in 1776 16th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru 17th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru 18th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru 18th century in Argentina

Governors of New Andalusia

Governors of the Río de la Plata

Governors of the Río de la Plata and Paraguay

Governors of Río de la Plata

See also

References