Futurism in Latin America. Special Issue: International Yearbook of Futurism Studies

Abstract

over Montevideo and Buenos Aires in 1806 and 1807. The local elites defended themselves successfully against the invasion, with little help from the distant Iberian Peninsula, and it was this that convinced them they did not really need the crown’s support. Blanchard’s study provides a powerful corrective on the traditional view that creoles were unhappy with the colonial arrangement. Had the elites not wanted to remain under the control of the Spanish crown, the British invasion would have been an excellent moment to declare independence. Instead, monarchical sentiment surged as the elites joined the enslaved and the Indigenous in rallying around to defend the viceroyalty as a part of a greater monarchy. Paradoxically, the fact that they defended themselves without the support of the crown convinced many that they did not really need their support. It was this conviction that eventually led to the process of independence when the context changed once again after Napoleon captured the King of Spain. By paying attention to the voices found in the archive, Blanchard presents a novel view of a period that has tended to be seen as a preamble for independence. He shows that this was actually a moment of profound loyalty. The comparison of three different cities is particularly illuminating, as is the attention Blanchard pays to different social groups, including elites, middling sectors, and the subaltern. This approach allows him to present a nuanced and detailed picture of a period that is complex and little understood.