Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

The **Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata** (Spanish: _Virreinato del Río de la Plata_ or Spanish: _Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata_) was the shortest-lived of the Viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. It was the last to be organized. Its name means "River of the Silver",  It was also called "Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some writings.   The name _"Provincias del Río de la Plata"_ was formally adopted in 1810 during the Cortes of Cádiz to name the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.

## Government

The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created in 1776 by Charles III of Spain. Although it functioned as a Spanish colony, Río de la Plata was technically a personal possession of the King of Spain. This allowed both European Spain and its overseas territories to have their own laws and regulations.
|1|Pedro Antonio de Cevallos|15 October 1777 – 26 June 1778|1 August 1776|Appointed by Charles III of Spain|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2|Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo|26 June 1778 – 7 March 1784|27 October 1777|Appointed by Charles III of Spain; resigned|
|3|Nicolás del Campo|7 March 1784 – 4 December 1789|13 August 1783|Appointed by Charles III of Spain|
|4|Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo|4 December 1789 – 16 March 1795|21 March 1789|Appointed by Charles IV of Spain, resigned|
|5|Pedro Melo de Portugal|16 March 1795 – 15 April 1797|5 February 1794|Appointed by Charles IV of Spain, died in office|
|-|_Real Audiencia of Buenos Aires_|15 April 1797 – 2 May 1797||Interim government until the arrival of a new viceroy|
|6|Antonio Olaguer Feliú|2 May 1797 – 14 May 1799||During his mandate, he had to contend with the presence of British and Portugueseforces in the Río de la Plata region, as well as nascent revolutionary sentiment inspired by the recent French Revolution. He opened the port of Buenos Aires to foreign traffic in a bid to stimulate the commercial activities of the Viceroyalty.|
|7|Gabriel de Avilés, 2nd Marquis of Avilés|14 March 1799 – 20 May 1801|25 October 1797||
|8|Joaquín del Pino y Rozas|20 May 1801 – 11 April 1804|14 July 1800|Appointed by Charles IV of Spain, died in office|
|9|Rafael de Sobremonte|24 April 1804 – 10 February 1807|10 November 1804|During the British invasions of the Río de la PlataBuenos Aires and Montevideofell under British authority for brief periods of time. Sobremonte was forced on 14 August 1806 by an open cabildo to move to Montevideo, delegating in Santiago de Liniers the military authority and in the Audience the other areas of government. He was removed completely as viceroy by a martial court, with Liniers elected as interim viceroy.|
|10|Santiago de Liniers|10 February 1807 – 30 June 1809||Interim viceroy, confirmed in office by Charles IV of Spain, replaced by the Junta of Seville.|
|11|Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros|15 July 1809 – 25 May 1810|11 February 1809|Appointed by the Junta of Seville, ousted from office by the May Revolution, replaced by the Primera Junta.|
|12|Francisco Javier de Elío|19 January 1811 – January 1812|31 August 1810|Governor of Montevideo, self-proclaimed "viceroy", political chief confirmed as such by the Cortes of Cádiz, which also declared Montevideo the new capital of the viceroyalty and Buenos Aires a rebel city.|
|13|Pedro Antonio Olañeta|27 May 1825|1825|In May 1825, King Ferdinand VII of Spainappointed Pedro Antonio de Olañeta as viceroy of the Río de la Plata, unaware that he had died three months earlier at the Battle of Tumusla (Upper Peru).|

## Infobox (country)

- **native name**: or

- **conventional long name**: Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
- **common name**: Virreinato del Río de la Plata
- **status**: Viceroyalty#Spanish Empire, Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire
- **empire**: Spain
- **national motto**:

- **national anthem**: _Marcha Real_

- **common languages**: Castilian Spanish, Spanish ()
List of indigenous languages of Argentina, Indigenous languages
- **religion**: Roman Catholicism
- **event start**: Organized
- **year start**: 1776
- **date start**: 1 August
- **event end**: Formally abolished after the Campaign of Sucre in Upper Peru
- **year end**: 1825
- **date end**: 1 April
- **event1**: British invasions of the Río de la Plata, British invasions
 of the Río de la Plata
- **date event1**: British invasions of the Río de la Plata#First invasion, _1st_ – 2 January 1806
British invasions of the Río de la Plata#Second invasion, _2nd_ – 3 February 1807
- **event2**: May Revolution
- **date event2**: 25 May 1810
- **event3**: Cortes of Cádiz
- **date event3**: 28 September 1810
- **event4**: Fall of Montevideo
- **date event4**: 23 June 1814
- **p1**: Viceroyalty of Peru
- **flag p1**: Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg
- **s1**: United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
- **s2**: Paraguay
- **s3**: Bolivia
- **flag s1**: Flag of Argentina (1861–2010).svg
- **flag s2**: Flag of Paraguay (1813).png
- **flag s3**: Flag of Bolivia (state, 1825-1826).svg
- **image flag**: File:Flag_of_Spain_(1785–1873,_1875–1931).svg
- **flag type**: Flag of Spain
- **symbol type**: Coat of arms of Buenos Aires, Coat of arms
- **image coat**: Arms_of_Buenos_Aires_(Flag).svg
- **image map**: Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (orthographic projection).svg
- **image map caption**: Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and _de jure_ extension (light green)
- **capital**: Buenos Aires

Montevideo

- **government type**: Monarchy
- **title leader**: King of Spain, Monarch
- **leader1**: Charles III of Spain, Charles III (first)
- **year leader1**: 1776–1788
- **leader2**: Ferdinand VII (last)
- **year leader2**: 1813–1825
- **title deputy**: #List of viceroys, Viceroy
- **deputy1**: #List of viceroys, List of Viceroys
- **deputy2**: List of Governors in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, List of Governors
List of _Intendentes_
- **currency**: Spanish colonial real, Spanish real