The May Revolution of 1810 removed Spanish colonial authority in Buenos Aires and initiated the process that led to Argentine independence in 1816.
Key Facts
- Duration
- 18–25 May 1810 (one week)
- Viceroy removed
- Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
- Government established
- Primera Junta (First Junta)
- Trigger event
- French troops took Seville on 1 February 1810
- Independence declared
- 9 July 1816, Congress of Tucumán
- Viceroyalty territory
- Modern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, parts of Brazil
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Napoleon's 1808 invasion of Spain forced King Ferdinand VII to abdicate in favour of Joseph Bonaparte. The Supreme Central Junta resisting French rule eventually collapsed, and on 1 February 1810 French forces seized Seville. News of Spain's political disintegration reached Buenos Aires on 18 May 1810, carried by British ships, destabilising the authority of Viceroy Cisneros and prompting criollo leaders to act.
Between 18 and 25 May 1810, criollo lawyers and military officials in Buenos Aires organised an open cabildo on 22 May to debate the Viceroyalty's future. Viceroy Cisneros was initially made president of a new junta, but popular pressure forced his resignation. On 25 May the Primera Junta was formally established, composed solely of Buenos Aires representatives, governing nominally in the name of Ferdinand VII.
The Primera Junta's refusal to recognise the Council of Regency in Spain was declared insurgent by Spanish authorities, sparking a civil war between regions loyal to Spain and those accepting the new government. The May Revolution launched the Argentine War of Independence, which culminated in a formal declaration of independence at the Congress of Tucumán on 9 July 1816, and is regarded as one of the earliest events of the broader Spanish American wars of independence.