Power struggles and legitimacy in the Government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata

the political use of privateering in the case of the frigate Hércules, 1815–1819.

Abstract

This article discusses the disputes over sovereignty and legitimacy that permeated the independence conflicts and the emergence of modern nation-states in Hispanic America. The analysis focuses on the extended role of privateers and maritime forces employed by insurgent governments during this construction. The study uses editions of The Morning Chronicle, The Barbados Mercury and Bridge-Town Gazette, and Gaceta de Buenos Aires, in addition to the works Campañas navales de la República Argentina: Guerra de corso 1815 a 1821 by Angél Justiniano Carranza, and Acciones navales de la República Argentina 1813-1828 by William Brown. The research combines Social History and Legal History, exploring the information conveyed by the periodicals and relating it to the independentists' understanding of sovereignty and Vattel's law of nations.