Conflict
While initially welcoming Portuguese intervention in the rogue Eastern province, the United Provinces of River Plate eventually urged the local populace to rise up against Brazilian authority, giving them political and material support with a view to reestablishing sovereignty over the region.
Rebels led by Fructuoso Rivera and Juan Antonio Lavalleja carried on resistance against Brazilian rule. In 1825, a Congress of delegates from all over the Eastern Bank met in La Florida and declared independence from Brazil, while reaffirming its allegiance to the United Provinces of River Plate. In response, Brazil declared war on the United Provinces.
Brazilian Emperor Pedro I ordered his fleet to block the River Plate and its two main ports, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The Argentina fleet moved south, first to Ensenada and then to distant Carmen de Patagones on the Atlantic Ocean. The Brazilian fleet attempted to take Carmen de Patagones in 1827 and thus tighten its blockade over Argentina, but Brazilian troops were eventually repelled by local civilians.
On land, the Argentine army crossed the River Plate and established its headquarters near the Uruguayan town on Durazno. General Carlos María de Alvear invaded Brazilian territory and a series of skirmishes followed. Emperor Pedro I planned a counteroffensive by late 1826, and managed to gather a small army mainly composed of Southern Brazil voluntaries and European mercenaries. The recruiting effort was hampered by local rebellions throughout Brazil, which forced the Emperor to relinquish direct command of his Army, return to Rio de Janeiro and bestow command of the troops on Felisberto Caldeira Brant, Marquis of Barbacena. The Brazilian counteroffensive was eventually stopped at the inconclusive Battle of Ituzaingó. While Brazilian troops were prevented from marching on to Buenos Aires, Argentine troops no longer managed to operate in Brazilian territory.
Ituzaingó was the only battle of some magnitude in the whole war. A series of smaller clashes ensued, including the Battle of Sarandí, and the naval Battles of Juncal and Monte Santiago. Scarcity of volunteers severely hampered Brazilian response, and by 1828 the war effort had become extremely burdensome and increasingly unpopular in Brazil. That year, Rivera reconquered the territory of the former Eastern Jesuit Missions.
Read more about this topic: Cisplatine War
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