May Revolution

The May Revolution in Argentina, beginning on May 25, 1810, marked a pivotal step toward independence from Spain. This movement was influenced by Napoleon's intervention in Spain, which created a power vacuum and allowed local governing bodies, like the Buenos Aires cabildo, to assert self-governance. An "open cabildo" established an autonomous government to administer the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in the name of the exiled Spanish king, Ferdinand VII.

Although independence was formally declared on July 9, 1816, by the Congress of Tucumán, the struggle against Spanish royalists continued for several years. The initial viceroyalty eventually fragmented, with Paraguay, Bolivia, and Uruguay gaining independence separately. The territory that now forms modern Argentina experienced disunity until 1860, with the power struggle between Buenos Aires and the rest of the country persisting until 1880.123