Kingdom of Argentina
History
Argentina initially declared its independence from Spain in 1816 after the latter's conquest by Napoleon. Initially a confederation, the Argentine government under Jose de San Martin wished to invite a European noble to be king. Their candidate, Charles, Duke of Parma, was blocked by Spanish King Ferdinand VII as Charles was Ferdinand's cousin.
Following Argentina's defeat in the Cisplatine War against Brazil in 1826, Argentina agreed to cede the region in exchange for international support for the proclamation of an Argentine monarchy. Brazil agreed, and with the help of America, placed significant pressure on Spain to allow for the ascension. Spain eventually relented, and Charles took the throne in 1828.
During the early part of his reign, Charles remained aloof, preferring to travel the country and make appearances than to govern. Instead, the Argentine congress did much of the governing. He successfully gained the nitrate rich lands during the Partition of Charcas in 1846.
Charles also gave refuge to Italian nobles fleeing the ensuing civil war, offering land and titles corresponding to their Italian ranks. Italian became the lingua franca of the Argentine nobility, as well as a second official language of the country along with Spanish.
When he came of age, Prince Charles attempted to rule in his father's place as regent. However, the prince attempted to rule as an autocrat, and was pressed out of government. Prince Charles returned to Italy, where he was assassinated by Italian revolutionaries in 1854. King Charles, out of depression and anger, broke the Continental Ordinance and sent the Argentine military to Italy, angering not only the new world powers, but also the Argentine people.
In 1864, King Robert I joined Brazil in their war against Paraguay after the small republic illegally crossed through Argentina's borders. Argentina gained the military intelligence of Giuseppe Garibaldi and grew victorious in a deadly victory in 1870.
In 1869, Robert I officially bound the Italian nobility to the identity of Argentina when he married the sister of the deposed King of the Two Sicilies, Maria Pia, who had been granted asylum along with his court.
In 1884, Chile declared war on Argentina over the Atacama Desert and the nitrate rich lands that were gained in the Partition of Charcas. Argentina received an embarrassing defeat after their Peruvian allies refused to join the war, and that Argentina was incapable of adequately supplying the area.
Following the war, Argentina turned their attention south and began to conquer the lands of Patagonia from the natives. This caused a land race between Chile and Argentina as the two pressed to the southern tip of the continent. By 1893, Argentina had doubled in size.
After much of the newly acquired lands went to Italian nobles, the Sicilian culture became much more prominent in the Argentine government. This culminated in legislation requiring the teaching of Sicilian in schools alongside Spanish. In the rivalry, much of the governing was neglected, and the Argentine citizenry suffered for it. The following Argentine Revolution in 1905 saw a shift in Argentine society away from the power of the nobility and more to the people, who had grown tired of the noble infighting. The new King Elias I was forced to make considerable concessions to the people in order to maintain cohesion. While Spanish and Sicilian remained co-official languages of the country, much more of the power became rested in the average citizen.
With the onset of the Great War, Elias initially landed on the side of neutrality during the Congress of Columbia, believing the Argentine people were not united enough to fight a cohesive war as well as public opinion being split. Many of the war-hawks in government wished to enter the war on the side of Germany in order to obtain the Falkland Islands from Great Britain. Consensus was split if this move would break the obligations within the Continental Ordinance, with many believing the situation would be fighting against European colonialism. Ultimately, the Argentine government voted to declare war, and invaded the Falkland Islands.
Having been on the victorious side of the Great War, Argentina successfully gained the territories of the Falkland and South Georgia Islands. These islands were established as naval forward naval bases, and the British citizens of the islands were forced to relocate. However, internationally, Argentina received backlash from neighboring nations. Many allies argued Argentina broke the conditions of the Continental Ordinance again, while nations like Gran Colombia opposed the move as well. Argentina had been a major supplier to Great Britain prior to the war, and the conflict contributed significantly to Britain's economic strains. This had effects on all of Britain's neutral trading partners, including Gran Colombia.
Founding Date
1816
Alternative Names
Argentina
Demonym
Argentine
Leader Title
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Comments