On This Day

Buenos Aires captured by British

The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in...

The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argentina and Uruguay. The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, War of the Third Coalition at a time when Spain was an ally of Napoleonic France. In Argentine historiography, the two successive defeats of the British expeditionary forces are known collectively as the Reconquista and the Defensa, respectively.

Historical Significance

The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argentina and Uruguay.

Events Before

  1. Lady Caroline Ponsonby (19) marries future Prime Minister William Lamb, Lord Melbourne (26) in London, until her death i

    Lady Caroline Ponsonby (19) marries future Prime Minister William Lamb, Lord Melbourne (26) in London, until her death in 1928

  2. Battle of Trafalgar: British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats the combined French and Spanish fleet. Nelson is shot and ki

    Battle of Trafalgar: British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats the combined French and Spanish fleet. Nelson is shot and killed during the battle.

  3. Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reaches the Pacific Ocean, the first European Ame

    Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reaches the Pacific Ocean, the first European Americans to cross the West

  4. Ludwig van Beethoven's "Fidelio", his only opera, premieres at Vienna's Theater an der Wien

    Fidelio, originally titled Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe (Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love), Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

  5. Harmony Society officially forms

    Harmony Society officially forms

Events After

  1. Curaçao is taken by the English during the Napoleonic Wars until March 1816

    The Spanish American wars of independence (Spanish: Guerras de Independencia Hispanoamericanas) were a series of conflicts fought across Spanish America during the early 19th century.

  2. London's Pall Mall becomes the first street lit by gaslight

    London's Pall Mall becomes the first street lit by gaslight

  3. Battle of Eylau ends inconclusively between Napoleon's forces and the Russian Empire, first battle Napoleon isn't victor

    Battle of Eylau ends inconclusively between Napoleon's forces and the Russian Empire, first battle Napoleon isn't victorious

  4. US President Martin Van Buren (24) weds high school sweetheart Hannah Hoes (23) in Catskill, New York

    US President Martin Van Buren (24) weds high school sweetheart Hannah Hoes (23) in Catskill, New York

  5. US Congress bans the slave trade within the US, effective January 1, 1808

    The internal slave trade in the United States, also known as the domestic slave trade, the Second Middle Passage and the interregional slave trade, was the mercantile trade of enslaved people within…

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Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on June 27, 1806?
The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argentina and Uruguay. The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, War of the Third Coalition at a time when Spain was an ally of Napoleonic France. In Argentine historiography, the two successive defeats of the British expeditionary forces are known collectively as the Reconquista and the Defensa, respectively.
Why is Buenos Aires captured by British significant?
The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argentina and Uruguay.

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