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Let's assume that the 1806-07 British invasions of Rio de la Plata are successful, and the British area comprises the Pampas, and over time expands south into Patagonia. However, in the northeast, I'm thinking there would be various Gaucho states (alluded to in a few other threads, but not really discussed), similar to the Boer Republics. They'd be centered around Cordoba and Tucuman. Spain might be able to hold them longer than OTL, but independence is coming. But do these places stay independent?

On the one hand, the British control the only decent ports. The Boers at least could make a deal to import/export from Portuguese Delagoa Bay. The alternative for the gauchos is to go over the Andes. And you've got Bolivia to the north, which in OTL was pretty menacing.

On the other hand, there isn't any gold in them thar hills, so there's no influx of immigrants from British Argentina to swamp the locals. And somehow Paraguay was able to survive, so maybe there's room for more isolationist/protectionist states.

My thinking is that these states are at the very least made into protectorates of Argentina by the 1830s, with the north maybe going to Bolivia. These places would be heavy into ranching and farming and not as remote as Paraguay. And they'd all be in the Plata basin, so they'd need to make friends with Buenos Aires.
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