MANIFIESTO DEL CONGRESO A LOS PUEBLOS

Buenos Aires: Gandarillas y Socios, 1816. Very good.. Rare pamphlet addressed to the populace calling for unity in the wake of the Congress of Tucumán's formal declaration of independence from Spain. On 9 July 1816, the Congress of Tucumán declared independence from Spain. The Congress, a body similar to the American Continental Congress, spoke for the United Provinces of South America - modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, and a few provinces of Bolivia - amid colonial conflicts, civil wars, and independence movements occurring in the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata since 1810. The declaration was a triumphant moment for the Congress, but there remained significant discord and chaos among the revolutionaries themselves. This pamphlet followed in early August, urging the people to support the unifying efforts of the Congress to create a stable independent state after revolution.

This document thus records the delicate transition in any revolution - one that the United States successfully navigated, while the leaders of the French Revolution did not: how to establish a new authority, a new state, after years of such profound dissatisfaction with a governing authority that citizens were willing to risk their lives to overthrow it. The MANIFIESTO describes how that mindset, so foundational to achieving independence, was now putting the infant nation at risk: "the horror of the chains we broke brought about the dissolution of the bonds of obedience and respect for the nascent authority." The Congress presents the situation as a choice of the people between two fates: "union and order, or unfortunate fate" ("union y órden, ó suerte desgraciada").

Indeed, the Congress proclaimed in this pamphlet, "Fin de la revolución, principio del orden": End of the revolution, beginning of order. Ultimately, independence would not be so simple; fighting in various forms continued for a number of years, and both Uruguay and parts of Bolivia would develop their own states. Yet the actions of the Congress of Tucumán created a unified message and forceful vision of the future. In the words of Bartolomé Mitre, the first president of unified Argentina, the Congress of Tucumán "saved the revolution" (2:346). Rare in commerce: we find no records appearing at auction. 8'' x 6''. Original printed wrappers with Greek-rule border and central neoclassical woodcuts. [2], 34 pages. Wrappers foxed, with some soil and edgewear. Only light foxing to text.