Who won the Cisplatine war/the war against Brazil (1825-1828)?

Who won the Cisplatine war/Guerra del Brasil (1825-1828)?

  • Argentina

    Votes: 13 33.3%
  • Brazil

    Votes: 7 17.9%
  • Neither

    Votes: 19 48.7%

  • Total voters
    39
(Because there are far too many threads about who won the war of 1812:rolleyes:)

So, Spanich and Portugal had been fighting for what's no Uruguay since the begining of the colonial days, a dispute that was ingerited by Brazil and Argentina. The place was under Spanish/*Argentinean control most of the time, but changed hands often.

By 1825, it was under Brazilian control. In 1825, uruguayan rebels crossed to Uruguay from Argentina and called a Congress of delegates from all over the Eastern Bank (that-s how Uruguay was called in Argentina) which declared independence from Brazil, while reaffirming its allegiance to the United Provinces of River Plate. Argentina accepted to incorporate the province to the country. In response, Brazil declared war on the United Provinces.

After the war it became and independent country, belonging to neither Argentina nor Brazil.

so, who "won", if anyone did?
 
Well Argentina came out with a friendly Uruguay, a smaller Brazil and no territorial loses. Brazil lost a province. So a Argentine victory on points.
 
Much like in most Latin American wars no one won, sure there was a victor but it left everyone involved much worse off.
 
While neither country achieved its goals, I'd say the outcome was better for Argentina than the initial result. It's better to have a slmall, Spanish-speaking, culturaly similar neighbour in the other side of the river where your capital stands than to have a powerfull country like brazil right across the border (specially if it's a country aginst which your ancestors have been fighting periodically since the xVII century).

So, in a sense, it could be said that Argentina "won".

Paradoxically, many accused the government back then of not having kept on fighting an abandoning Uruguay. The fact is, even if Argentina had momentary won on the ground, Brazil had much more resources, and could have ventually won if the war had kept going much longer. And Brazilian navy could have kept blockading Buenos aires for much longer, seriously damaging the economy (well, at least until the british get tired and ask them to stop).
 
I'd like to make a few comments. There were no Uruguayans back then. The inhabitants of Cisplatina were called "Orientals" (because Cisplatina was located to the east of the Uruguay river). Now to the key points:

1) No one wanted an indendent Cisplatina. The Orientals fought for both Brazil and the United Provinces of the River Plate (there was no Argentina). That's why the conflict isn't known as "Uruguayan War of Independence".
2) By 1828 the United Provinces' navy had been completely destroyed by the Brazilian armada. Not merely defeated nor severely damaged. But completely destroyed.
3) Most regular army units of Brazil were not sent to the theatre of war. It wasn't long since there had been a major rebellion in the Brazilian northeast (the so called "Confederation of the Equator"). These army units, well treined and well equiped were being moved to the war when it ended. Thus, the United Provinces never faced the full strength of Brazil.
4) At the end of the war the United Provinces was shaken by several revellions that led to the 20-year long dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas.

Did the United Provinces win? No, it did not. It entered the war hoping to acquire territory. It won nothing and went out of the conflict far worse. Did Brazil win? No, it did not. It lost an entire province forever.
 
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Did the United Provinces win? No, it did not. It entered the war hoping to acquire territory. It won nothing and went out of the conflict far worse.

Interesting comments. However, I'd say that, even if it might be true that in 1828 Argentina was in a worse situation than in 1825 (the central government had fallen, the international debt was high and the money which had been loaned had been wasted in the war, the navy was destroyed and the country was at the brink of a civil war that would lead to the ascention of Rosas) in the medium and long term the post war situation (and independent Uruguay) was better for Argentina than the pre-war situation (a Brazilian Uruguay), at least from a geopolitical perspective. Argentina could influence Uruguay much more than it could a Brazilian ccisplatine province, for example.
 
Did the United Provinces win? No, it did not. It entered the war hoping to acquire territory. It won nothing and went out of the conflict far worse. Did Brazil win? No, it did not. It lost an entire province forever.

Agreed. However, it's obvious that the immediate result of the war gave much more advantages to Argentina than to Brazil. As Adm. Brown said, while the United Provinces didn't gain more territory, it was much better situation to them to have a small Hispanophone republic in Banda Oriental than to have a Brazilian province (with Brazilian troops and a Brazilian fleet) just across the Plata.
 
Argentina definately won long term: Smaller independent states are more malleable to your will than regions of an Empire. But, Brazil only really lost the short-term, as they left the war in better shape then United Provinces, and wound up able to deal with internal problems much better than their neighbors could.
I might say Brazil won initially, and grew to be a win for Argentina.
 
Military speaking, neither won: Argentina defeated the Brazilian land forces at Ituzaingo, but the Brazilian Navy kept the River Plate blockaded, causing severe economic problems.
Politically speaking, both Argentina and Brazil lost a province they claimed as their own, but said province didn't turn outright hostile to either one and proved malleable for both countries, as well as serving as a escape option for political dissidents in the 19th Century (and a kind of fiscal paradise in the 20-21st Centuries).
Politically, the Buenos Aires' business elite, or least those who could accommodate to Rosas, won big time: they got rid of potential political and commercial competitors inside the country, maintaining the monopoly on the only sea faring port in the country. Plus, Rosas rise to power ensured 20 years of (contested) porteño dominance in Argentina - something that could have been challenged had Dorrego remained governor and a federal constitution agreed with the other provinces.
 
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