Creation of the Viceroyalty of RÍO de la PLATA: causes and consequences

The viceroyalties were the main territorial system of the colonies on American soil, serving to create large areas governed by the figures of the viceroys, and thus make it easier to manage from mainland Spain. To talk about one of the most important viceroyalties and to know the reasons for its existence, in this lesson from a Professor we must talk about the creation of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata: causes and consequences.

The call Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was one of the viceroyalties of America that created the Crown of Spain over its American colonies during the last years of management of these great lands. Its existence was partly due to the rise of the Bourbon reforms, since they created mechanisms to better manage the colonies, one of them being the viceroyalties.

Until 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de Plata did not exist, being a part of the viceroyalty of Peru that included practically all the territories of Spanish America, except Venezuela that counted on another division. This area was too large to manage, so

From that moment, the so-called Virreinato del Río de la Plata was born, encompassing the areas of Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and some regions of Brazil and Chile.

After its creation, the region needed a capital and the Spanish and colonial rulers decided that this city should be Buenos Aires, for its important port overlooking the Atlantic. For this reason, it was decided to enable the port, creating one of the most important in the world and serving to create a stream of direct trade with Spain.

The Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata was not one of the first organs of the region, but was one of the latest and, therefore, We must explain the causes that led to its creation, since although at first it was not at the head of the government Spanish. Here we leave you the three main causes of the creation of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata.

Government problems

The Viceroyalty of Peru was extremely extensive, Therefore, the bureaucratic management of the region was very complex as it was difficult to cover so many different regions. From Spain they realized that the region needed a change if they wanted the administrative control of the region to be better and more efficient. For all this the peninsular Spaniards decided to divide the Viceroyalty of Peru in two, to facilitate the management of everything and formed the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.

Problems with other European nations

A constant in the history of the Spanish American colonies were the confrontations against other European powers for the management of the area; and the case of the Río de la Plata area was no different. French, English and Dutch were always on the lookout to attack and take part of the region, especially Patagonia, so that a more uniform local defense was needed so that the reaction to an attack would be faster and immediate.

On the other hand, Portugal constantly tightened the entire border area of ​​the colony, making it necessary for local governments to be closer to possible attacks. All this was linked to enormous corruption and illegal trade that gave resources to other powers, so Spain needed a new administrative system less corrupt to keep the region from her.

The importance of the Atlantic trade route

The Atlantic trade route had been an important part of colonial Spain since the government of Felipe II, serving as two roads between America and Spain so that trade would be faster and, thus, obtain more Benefits. For some years, corruption made these routes more complicated and, therefore, the Spanish monarchy considered necessary the creation of the viceroyalty so that the new government had more control and end these problems.

Image: elarcondelahistoria.com/

To conclude this lesson on the causes and consequences of the creation of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata, we must talk about the main elements that changed after the emergence of this region and the great importance it had. Therefore the main consequences of the creation of the viceroyalty were the following.

• The viceroyalty arises with the greater economic powerSince the end of corruption together with having the best trade routes and great resources, led to the emergence of a perfect region.
• Buenos Aires became one of the most powerful cities of the colonies, with great advances such as the first printing press.
• The corruption so common in the region it was almost exterminated, so for the Spanish government it was one of the most beloved regions of its colonies.

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