The May Revolution was a week of events in Buenos Aires, then the capital of the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, which led to the removal of the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros and the formation of the first local government, the Primera Junta. It was provoked by news that Napoleon's forces had overrun most of Spain and dissolved the Spanish central government, which prompted local leaders to claim the right to govern in the name of the captive king Ferdinand VII. A town council meeting, the cabildo abierto, was decisive. The junta was not a declaration of independence, but it began the process that led to the Argentine declaration of independence in 1816, and the revolution is celebrated as a national holiday.
Before and after
- from 5 February 1810 to 24 August 1812Siege of Cádiz
- from 15 February 1810 to 31 August 1810Invasion of the Spice Islands
- 1 March 1810Birth of Frédéric Chopin
- 2 March 1810Birth of Leo XIII
- 25 May 1810May Revolution
- 8 June 1810Birth of Robert Schumann
- 5 July 1810Birth of P. T. Barnum
- from August 1810 to October 1813Tecumseh's War
- 10 August 1810Birth of Camillo Benso di Cavour
More in Wars, politics & history
- 1790Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
- from 24 June 1812 to 14 December 1812French invasion of Russia
- from 18 March 1839 to 29 August 1842First Opium War
- from 1 August 1894 to 17 April 1895First Sino-Japanese War
- from August 1899 to September 1901Boxer Rebellion
- from 8 October 1912 to 30 May 1913First Balkan War
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.