page_title: Military history of South America
section_title: Río de la Plata and the region
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of South America / Wars of Independence, 19th century / Río de la Plata and the region
caption_attribution_description: Español: Encuentro de San Martín y Belgrano en la Posta de Yatasto English: Meeting of San Martín and Belgrano at the Yatasto relay
context_page_description: The military history of South America can be divided into two major periods - pre- and post-Columbian - divided by the entrance of European forces to the region. The sudden introduction of steel, gunpowder weapons and horses into the Americas would revolutionize warfare. Within the post-Columbian period, the events of the early 19th century, when almost all of South America was marked by wars of independence, also forms a natural historical juncture. Throughout its history, South America has had distinct military features: it has been geographically separated from many major military powers by large oceans; its unique terrain has imposed major logistical challenges, and privileged naval lines of communications.
context_section_description: In 1809, Upper Peru, modern Bolivia, saw the creation of two juntas in response to the situation in Spain; a rapid response by the viceroys of Lima and Buenos Aires crushed the revolt, and Upper Peru came under the control of the Viceroyalty of Peru which defended it vigorously. The following year, Buenos Aires itself formed a junta which removed the local Viceroy from power. The junta, presided by Cornelio Saavedra expanded to include deputies from the other provinces and became the known as the Junta Grande, or the "Big Junta". Two campaigns were ordered by the Junta Grande in order to gain support for the revolutionary ideas of Buenos Aires. The first of these was an attempt to conquer Upper Peru. An initial victory at the Battle of Suipacha led to reversals and the royalist victory at the Battle of Huaqui. The second campaign focused on Asunción in neighbouring Paraguay. Buenos Aires sent 1,100 troops under General Manuel Belgrano to Asunción, expecting to be welcomed as liberators; instead, they were defeated at Paraguarí and Tacuarí by local Paraguayan forces. The royalist governor in Asunción then became concerned about the loyalty of his men, and demobilised the victorious units. Discontent spread, and in May 1811 an uprising overthrew the governor, with Paraguayan independence being declared shortly afterwards.
  Internal disagreements led to the fall of the Junta, and a sequence of campaigns between 1811 and 1815, in which commanders such as General Manuel Belgrano fought royalist armies from Upper Peru in a harsh, but chaotic sequence of campaigns, hampered by the governmental instability in Buenos Aires. The result was an effective stalemate. Meanwhile, Uruguay had shrugged off royalist rule several years before. In 1811, the royalist headquarters for the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata had retreated to Montevideo. José Gervasio Artigas invaded from Buenos Aires with 180 men, defeating the Spanish in April at the battle of Las Piedras and assuming control of the "Orientals", or modern Uruguay. By 1816 in Europe, King Ferdinand had been returned to in power, and an urgent decision was needed regarding independence. An assembly of representatives from most of modern-day Argentina, alongside those of present-day Uruguay, met at the Congress of Tucumán declaring full independence from the Spanish Crown as the United Provinces of South America. San Martín, who had distinguished himself in recent years, took military command and rejected yet another direct invasion in favour of a new strategy that would use Chile as an indirect means of liberating Upper Peru.
caption: Meeting of José de San Martín and Manuel Belgrano at Yatasto.
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