History Hunters International

Four Frigates Capuring Spanish Treasure Ships
Painting by Francis Sartorius at the National Maritime Museum.

Thank you for your fine exposition. Carlos Alvear has been largely ignored for half a century and here you bring him back to life and show his important role in the formulation of the U.S. Monroe Doctrine, which today remains the single most important policy as regards South America.

Here is our related thread in the forum: Odyssey Marine Exploration and the Mercedes

Monument to General Carlos Mar�a de Alvear
Equestrian monument standing between Posadas and Av. Alvear streets, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

It's good to know that after such a terrible blow, he went on to become Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the River Plate (present-day Argentina) in 1815.

The wreck of the Mercedes - as with so many of the other three million shipwrecks scattered across the bottom of the oceans and seas - has much to tell us. Let us work towards a proper archaeology of both her and the others.

The plundering of our cultural heritage without any regard for science or history has to be stopped.

Many thanks and congratulations, Lubby, for this.

At the end of 1814 Alvear was named commander of the Army of the North, but lack of support from Posadas, as well as his unpopularity among his troops and other disagreements, including a project for a constitutional monarchy that sent Manuel Belgrano to Spain to negotiate, made him return to Buenos Aires. On January 9, 1815, at just 25 years of age, he was chosen to replace Posadas as Supreme Director.

Having neither the support of the troops, nor influence on the people of the hinterland provinces, Director Alvear then attempted to come to an alliance with Artigas, to whom he offered the independence of the Banda Oriental (current Uruguay). In exchange, Artigas would withdraw his army from the Argentine Littoral. But Artigas declined the offer and Alvear sent troops to occupy the area.

He was also said, at this time, to be in correspondence with the British ambassador in Rio de Janeiro, in order, it has been conjectured, to facilitate a British intervention. Following a mutiny among his troops and under pressure from the Cabildo, Alvear resigned, on April 15, and left the country. He was in exile in Rio de Janeiro until 1818. In May of this year, he moved to Montevideo where he joined his friend Jose Miguel Carrera, also exiled due to political differences with San Martin and O'Higgins.


The meeting (right) of San Martin and (left) Simon Bol�var in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 26, 1822, where was decided the campaign of liberation of South America of the Spanish control.

(Spanish) Alvear's letter to San Mart�n while in exile

Lubby:
I especially enjoyed your article describing Alvear's personal history and his subsequent impact on the formulation of the Monroe doctrine. Lucid and convincing, especially your premise that history is made from a matrix of subjective intentions (and experiences) that are amazingly complex. The butterfly beats its wings in the Amazon and its effect are felt in Detroit, etc. The problem is to do what you have done-- find the butterfly and its effect. Bravo. By the way, there was a recent article in the NYer (not the one related to underwater treasures) that dealt with this historiography (sic) issue in a very interesting way. I don't have the reference handy.