Robert I
King Robert
Roberto Carlo Luigi Maria was King of Argentina following the abdication of his grandfather, Charles I. During his reign, he secured a greater relationship with Brazil and Emperor Pedro II during the Paraguayan War. During the war, he invited Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi to lead the Argentine forces in return for a pardon.
His grandfather 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. This included Francis II of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, whose sister, Maria Pia, Robert married in 1869.
Robert attempted to quell the border dispute with Chile, but was incapable of escasping war. During the conflict, Argentina was defeated, and Chile annexed the nitrate rich Atacama Desert. Robert attempted to gain support from Peru against Chile. However, Peru had signed a peaceful agreement suring the previous Chinca Islands War against Spain, as well as political strife from Argentina's involvement in European affairs in contradiction to the Continental Ordinance. Robert's efforts for a peaceful resolution failed, and Chilean forces invaded and occupied the Atacama Desert. Having no easy way to reinforce, Robert capitulated, and the land was ceded to Chile in 1884.
In a response, Robert authorized Argentine generals to head south, conguering more land from the natives. Though Argentina had settlements along the coast of Patagonia, the expedition coencided with Chilean efforts to expand south. Robert authorized Argentine forces to expand southwards against the native tribes. By 1893, Argentina had conquered the south lands east of the Andes Mountains to the southern point of the continent.
Robert supported Brazil's restoration in 1878, going as far as granting asylum to the deposed Imperial Family. In order to gain the required troops from Argentina needed to restore the monarchy, Emperor Pedro II negotiated a marriage between the eldest daughter of Rboert, @Maria, and one of Pedro's grandsons. The idea was for Maria to marry Dom Pedro as he was the heir presumptive, but his mental temperament scared away marriage prospects. Maria was instead wed to Dom Augusto when theey became of age.
The people of Argentina had also grown tired of the Italian elite of the nation as well as the squabbling between them and the Spanish oligarchs in government. Though Sicilian had been declared as a joint national language alongside Spanish, the language had been the one used primarily among the aristocracy and even in many forms of the government until 1899. This was when legislaiton forced the Sicilian language to also be taught in public schools. Most of the arable land had been granted to Italian exiled nobles under the government at the time in order to maintain an Italian majority in the government. A civilian uprising began to unfold as the citizenry began feeling disenfranchised. In 1906, Robert was forced to make substantial concesions to the civilian population.
Upon his death, a number of his sons garnered support for inheritance. However, his third son, Elias, eventually succeeded him as king.
Social
Reign
1864 - 1907
Family Ties
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Previously Held Ranks & Titles
Life
1848
1907
59 years old
Family
Spouses
Maria Pia
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Comments