On This Day

Second Battle of Buenos Aires lost by invading British forces

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. Napoleon Bonaparte abolishes the French Republican calendar after 12 years of use

    The French Republican calendar (French: calendrier républicain français), also commonly called the French Revolutionary calendar (calendrier révolutionnaire français), was a calendar created and…

  2. Frontiersman Davy Crockett (20) weds Polly Finley in Tennessee

    Frontiersman Davy Crockett (20) weds Polly Finley in Tennessee

  3. German writer, artist and politician Johann Wolfgang von Goethe marries mistress Christiane Vulpius in Weimar

    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language.

  4. Battle of Blaauwberg: British forces attack French vassal, the Batavian Republic near Cape Town, modern day South Africa

    Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa.

  5. Dutch forces in Capetown surrender to the British

    Dutch forces in Capetown surrender to the British

Events After

  1. African Benevolent Society (education) forms

    African Benevolent Society (education) forms

  2. Explorer William Clark (37) weds Julia Hancock in Fincastle, Virginia

    Explorer William Clark (37) weds Julia Hancock in Fincastle, Virginia

  3. Day depicted by Spanish painter Francisco Goya in his "The Third of May," which he paints in 1814

    Day depicted by Spanish painter Francisco Goya in his "The Third of May," which he paints in 1814

  4. Herman Daendels succeeds Albertus Wiese as Governor-General of Dutch-East Indies

    Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch military officer and colonial administrator who served as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1808 to 1811.

  5. Organizational meeting held in Edinburgh leads to the founding of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a Scottish lear

    Organizational meeting held in Edinburgh leads to the founding of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a Scottish learned society

More from the 1800s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on July 5, 1807?
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 Second Battle of Buenos Aires lost by invading British forces 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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