 La Mañana de Asencio, portrait byCarlos María Herrera. | |
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| Date | February 28, 1811 (1811-02-28) |
|---|---|
| Location | Mercedes andSanto Domingo de Soriano |
| Also known as | Admirable alarm |
| Participants | Uruguayan patriots |
| Outcome | Begin of the Uruguayan theater of theSpanish American wars of independence |
TheCry of Asencio (Spanish:Grito de Asencio) orAdmirable alarm (Spanish:Admirable alarma) was an 1811pronunciamiento that took place at theBanda Oriental (modernUruguay) against the Spanish rule inMontevideo. Made in support ofBuenos Aires, which had already ousted the viceroy and established a local government during theMay Revolution, it is considered the beginning of theOriental revolution.
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Montevideo and Buenos Aires were part of theViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony in South America. ThePeninsular War in Spain generated a political crisis at the Spanish colonies, as the kingFerdinand VII of Spain was captured by the Napoleonic forces. Buenos Aires, the capital of the viceroyalty, ousted the viceroyBaltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros in 1810 during theMay Revolution, and established a local government, thePrimera Junta. Montevideo did not accept the authority of the new Junta, and acknowledged theCortes of Cádiz as the legitimate Spanish authority. As a result of Buenos Aires's rebellion, Montevideo was appointed the new capital of the Viceroyalty, and governorFrancisco Javier de Elío was promoted to viceroy.
The villages near Montevideo supported Elío, while the villages linked to Buenos Aires supported the Junta. Elío declared war to Buenos Aires on February 12, 1811. He arranged many new taxes to support the war effort, which harmed the local economy, already weakened by the Peninsular War.
Many criollo military enlisted in the Spanish forces defected from them and joined the resistance against Montevideo. This is the case ofJosé Gervasio Artigas, who defected fromColonia del Sacramento on February 15, asking Buenos Aires support for their rebellion. The rebellion took place on February 28, and it was headed byVenancio Benavídez andPedro Viera, following instructions from Artigas.[1] Nearly a hundred men met next to the Asencio stream, and rejected the authority of Elío. the villages of San Carlos, Minas, Maldonado, Durazno, Canelones and Pantanoso soon joined the pronouncing against the Spanish rule.[2]
They captured the village ofMercedes in the morning, and Viera capturedSanto Domingo de Soriano in the afternoon, the same day.[3] Artigas joined the fight shortly afterwards.[2]Rosario andSan José de Mayo would be captured in April, followed by the first victory in an open military conflict against the Royalists in thebattle of San José.[1]
The Cry of Asencio is considered the initial step of the Uruguayan theater of theSpanish American wars of independence. TheUruguay bicentennial was held on February 28, 2011.[4]
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