Background
Juan Manuel de Rosas was born on 30 March 1793 in Buenos Aires.
military politician public official
Juan Manuel de Rosas was born on 30 March 1793 in Buenos Aires.
Rosas fought against British invasions of Buenos Aires as a young teenager, and became manager and owner of estancias in his late teens. His estancia was on the southern frontier, and the government gave him the job of organizing an army to protect the frontier against Indian attacks. He defeated the Indians.
He was given huge expanses of land as a reward for his fight against the Indians and was acclaimed as governor of Buenos Aires in 1835, with virtually unlimited powers. He used a spy system to secure his control. He suppressed all opposition without mercy and demanded adulation. His supporters wore a red ribbon emblematic of support for Rosas and his Federalist cause. Rosas, although a Federalist, forced the unity of Argentina by coopting or eliminating rival provincial caudillos.
Finally, in 1852 one of Rosas' own generals, Justo José de Urquiza, led a revolt. Rosas was defeated and forced into exile in England, where he lived for the next 25 years.
Many revere Rosas as a national hero because of his unification of the country; others vilify him for the undemocratic, and often cruel.
During the 1832-1835 period, following his first term as governor, Rosas led expeditions against the Indians, exploring much of Argentina's south and southwest, and effectively ending Indian raids on Buenos Aires.
Rosas’s economic policies aided the cattle and beef producers. He overcame attacks by regional caudillos, foreign interests, and those who opposed his political and economic policies, and kept the British and French out of Argentina.
