This is one of the most important battles to defend the territory against the advance of foreign powers.
Each November 20 is celebrated in the Argentine Republic as the Day of National Sovereigntyin honor of the patriotic feat devised by Juan Manuel de Rosas and led by Lucio Norberto Mansilla, in 1845. By then, both France and England did not recognize Rosas’ authority in the territory’s foreign trade and wanted to enter the rivers to trade with the provinces opposed to the regime.
However, upon learning of the situation, both Rosas and Mansilla devised a plan to face, in inferior conditions, one of the most imposing fleets in the world, and still emerge victorious, despite the number of casualties. And finally, the countries recognized Argentine sovereignty over their waters.
Return of obligatory
Why the battle of the Vuelta de Obligado occurred
Faced with the need to assert their right to regulate the navigation of the rivers, and the advance of the English and French vessels, on the morning of November 20, when the invaders advanced along the Paraná River, the Argentine forces organized themselves at the bend of the river known as “Return of obligation”near San Pedro.
The confrontation was extremely unequal, the invading fleet had 22 warships and 92 merchant ships, with 418 cannons and 880 soldiers. Argentina had only six merchant ships, a brig and 60 small caliber cannons. But the leaders didn’t care.
Fundamental aspects of the battle of the Vuelta de Obligado
Faced with this adversity, the defense that Rosas put in place was precarious but ingenious: Three enormous chains crossed the imposing Paraná from coast to coast supported by 24 small boats, ten of them loaded with explosives. And behind that device, was a national schooner, waiting for the most powerful fleet in the world.
The fighting lasted several hours and the Anglo-French fleet managed to cut the chains and continue the journey north. The losses for the national forces were 400 dead and several wounded. For the English and French, 40 soldiers died and 150 were wounded. Despite the numbers, it was a victory for the country, because both powers recognized, in the following years, Argentina’s sovereignty over its rivers and around 1850, relations between the 3 countries were normalized.
In 1974, the historian José María Rosa proposed commemorating that date as an emblematic event of Argentine sovereignty. This idea was approved by the National Congress and promulgated by President María Estela Martínez de Perón in the same year. In 2010, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner converted this date into a national holiday.
Source: Ambito
