Battle of Cepeda (1859)
The 1859 Battle of Cepeda took place on October 23rd in Cañada de Cepeda , Santa Fe , Argentina . The army of the Confederación Argentina (Argentine Confederation), led by Justo José de Urquiza , defeated the soldiers of the Province of Buenos Aires that day , led by the Unitarian Bartolomé Miter .
backgrounds
Before the Republican Constitution of 1853 came into force and in the aftermath of the Battle of Caseros , the Province of Buenos Aires broke away from the Argentine Confederation to form its own independent state. However, the confederation relied on the port of the city of Buenos Aires for its foreign trade. Urquiza's policy of fine words towards the province of Buenos Aires failed, however, and the province also elected the radical and Unitarian Valentín Alsina as governor in 1857.
On April 1, 1859, following the assassination of the former governor of San Juan Province , Nazareno Benavídez , by an alleged agent of the Province of Buenos Aires, the Confederation Congress passed a law allowing President de Urquiza to establish the “breakaway Province of Buenos Aires to reintegrate peacefully ”. If this was not possible, he had permission to use the army.
The government of Buenos Aires viewed this law as a declaration of war. In May 1859, the Parliament of Buenos Aires approved the governor to fend off any military aggression with the provincial army. Bartolomé Miter , the leader of the Buenos Aires troops, was ordered to attack the Santa Fe province while the navy was to block the Confederate capital, Paraná . With the threat of conflict looming, Brazil, Paraguay, the United States and Great Britain attempted a diplomatic solution. Paraguay sent the young Francisco Solano López to mediate. The mediation attempts had to fail, however, because Buenos Aires insisted on the resignation of Urquiza, which the confederation did not want to get involved.
The Confederate Army met the Buenos Aires troops at Cañada de Cepeda , north of Pergamino . After a few tactical maneuvers, the troops met on the afternoon of October 23rd. At sunset, Miter realized that his soldiers had been defeated. The Bonaerens withdrew to San Nicolás de los Arroyos , from where they returned to Buenos Aires.
Consequences
Urquiza did not take the city of Buenos Aires, but instead camped in neighboring San José de Flores, today's Flores district , to conduct the negotiations. Governor Alsina was forced to resign by his own allies because of his stance on returning to the Confederation.
On November 11th, following the mediation of Francisco Solano López, Buenos Aires and the Confederation signed the San José de Flores Pact , through which Buenos Aires de iure became a member of the Confederation again. The province was granted certain privileges that later led to the Battle of Pavón and established the supremacy of the Province of Buenos Aires in Argentina.
See also
literature
- Páez de la Torre, Carlos (h): El derrumbe de la Confederación. Memorial de la Patria, Volume XI, Ed. La Bastilla, Bs. As., 1984. ISBN 950-508-093-X
- Scobie, James: La lucha por la organización de la Nación Argentina, Ed. Hachette, Bs. As., 1965
- Sáenz Quesada, María: La República dividida. Memorial de la Patria, Volume X, Ed. La Bastilla, Bs. As., 1984
- Ruiz Moreno, Isidoro J .: El misterio de Pavón, Ed. Claridad, Bs. As., 2005. ISBN 950-620-172-2
- Ruiz Moreno, Isidoro J .: Campañas militares argentinas, Volume III, Ed. Emecé, Bs. As., 2008. ISBN 978-950-620-245-3
- Zinny, Antonio: Historia de los gobernadores de las Provincias Argentinas, Ed, Hyspamérica, 1987. ISBN 950-614-685-3
- O'Donell, Pacho, García Hamilton, Enrique y Pigna, Felipe: Historia confidencial, Ed. Booket, Bs. As., 2005. ISBN 987-580-008-2
- Bosch, Beatriz: Historia de Entre Ríos, Ed. Plus Ultra, Bs. As., 1991. ISBN 950-21-0108-1
- Bosch, Beatriz: Urquiza y su tiempo, Centro Editor de América Latina, Bs. As., 1984