Argentina's early independence movement continued to consolidate through 1811 as regional juntas battled for control after the 1810 May Revolution. February saw ongoing struggles between Buenos Aires and provincial forces over the future shape of the fledgling nation, setting patterns of centralist-federalist conflict that would define Argentine politics for decades.
The May Revolution of 1810 had toppled Spanish viceregal authority in Buenos Aires, but by early 1811 the question of what would replace it remained violently unsettled. Provincial caudillos distrusted the capital's ambitions, and the junta itself split into rival factions.
These struggles, playing out through February 1811, established the centralist-versus-federalist fault line that would dominate Argentine politics for the next sixty years, eventually erupting into civil wars. The instability of this period also delayed full independence, which would not be formally declared until 1816.
What makes this moment memorable is how thoroughly improvised it was — men who had been colonial subjects months earlier were now drafting constitutions, raising armies, and inventing a republic from scratch, often disagreeing violently about what that republic should look like.
Key people: Cornelio Saavedra, Mariano Moreno