Thirty-Three Orientals

The Thirty-Three Orientals (Spanish: Los Treinta y Tres Orientales) was a group of freedom fighters led by Juan Antonio Lavallejas, 1825 a rebellion from what is now Argentina started. The goal was the independence of the eastern provinces ( the area now Uruguay and part of today's Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul ), who were at that time under the dominion of Brazil.

The history

Between 1816 and 1820 the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve invaded and occupied the Oriental province. The Brazilian armed forces defeated the soldiers of José Gervasio Artigas, who gave up the province after his defeat in 1820 and went into exile in Paraguay.

1822-1823 a separatist movement under the direction of followers of different United Provinces of the Río de la Plata was subjected to by the Brazilians. The goal of the movement was the union of the Oriental province with the United Provinces.

In February 1824, the Oriental province was again annexed to the independent Brazil under the name Cisplatina. She had the same name at the time under the former Portuguese colonial government.

The organization

One of the military leaders of the group was Juan Antonio Lavalleja, who had fought José Gervasio Artigas already against the Portuguese and Brazilians. He organized from the province of Buenos Aires, a military expedition with the aim to drive the Brazilians and the Brazilian province of East to join with the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, as it had already been the endeavor of the movement of 1822 and 1823.

The expedition had the support of ranchers and some Saladeros ( Pökeleien ) in the province of Buenos Aires, by the Brazilians saw a threat to their interests in the occupation of the province Cisplatina. The ranchers feared the competition from their neighbors from Rio Grande del Sul, who were supplied with beef from Cisplatina. Juan Manuel de Rosas, one of the most important representatives of this group, was a major financier of the anti -Brazilian movement.

The landing

Juan Spikerman According to a first group under Manuel Oribe broke on April 1 in San Isidro, and then encamped on the island Brazo Largo at the Rio Parana. The second group Lavalleja was stopped by a violent storm and found himself so only on 15 April at the island one. On April 18, 1825, the men embarked on the island, and navigated at night carefully through the islands of the Parana Delta, to avoid being discovered by the Brazilian fleet. They crossed the Río Uruguay in two boats, and landed on the morning of April 19 on the Agraciada - shore, also known as " Arenal Grande ", in the department of Soriano. She unfolded the flag of three horizontal stripes in blue, white and red, colors that have been traditionally used since the time of Artigas ', not only in the eastern province but also in other areas of the La Plata region. Later, in 1877, the event of the painter Juan Manuel Blanes was shown.

The action and its consequences

The expedition of Treinta y Tres should win the inhabitants of the country for the cause of independence by the Brazilians. The group made their way to Montevideo, where she arrived on 20 May 1825. On June 14, a provisional government was installed in the municipality of La Florida, which in turn led to elections. From the House of Representatives, was better known as the Florida meeting. The aim of the meeting was to rewrite the laws of the Province Oriental.

On August 25, the Assembly declared the independence of Oriental Province of Brazil, and its alliance with the United Provinces of Río de la Plata. The United Provinces then recognized the inclusion of the Oriental province on 24 October 1825. This led to a declaration of war by the Empire of Brazil in December of the same year. The Argentine -Brazilian War had begun.

How many and who were the Thirty-Three Orientals

The actual number of participants in the expedition of 1825 has been the subject of controversy since 1825-1832 several different lists of members were published. While the number is thirty-three officially accepted, the names might differ from one list to another. One of the reasons for this is that some participants were later defected and efforts were made to erase their names.

Not all participants were from the contested area; there were also several Argentines from the islands of the Paraná and Paraguay's even there. On the list are performed:

Juan Antonio Lavalleja, Manuel Oribe, Atanasio Sierra, Paul Zufriategui, Simón del Pino, Manuel Freire, Manuel Lavalleja, Jacinto Trápani, Pantaleon Artigas Manuel Meléndez, Gregorio Sanabria Santiago Gadea, Juan Spikerman, Andrés Spikerman, Ignacio Núñez, Juan Acosta, Felipe Carapé, Juan Rosas, Celedonio Rojas Avelino Miranda, Agustín Velázquez, Santiago Nieves, Ignacio Medina, Luciano Romero, Juan Ortiz, Ramon Ortiz, Basilio Araujo, Carmelo Colman, Andrés Cheveste, Francisco Lavalleja, Tiburcio Gomez, Joaquin Artigas and Dionisio Oribe.

Honor

Today Uruguayan department of Treinta y Tres is just as his capital to the group of the 19 de Abril place named after its landing date.

Marie Title

Since the 19th century, the " Virgen de los Treinta y Tres " is revered in Uruguay.