Cry of Asencio
La Mañana de Asencio, portrait by Carlos María Herrera.
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| Date | February 28, 1811 |
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| Location | Mercedes and Santo Domingo de Soriano |
| Also known as | Admirable alarm |
| Participants | Uruguayan patriots |
| Outcome | Begin of the Uruguayan theater of the Spanish American wars of independence |
The Cry of Asencio (Spanish: Grito de Asencio) or Admirable alarm (Spanish: Admirable alarma) was an 1811 pronunciamiento that took place at the Banda Oriental (modern Uruguay) against the Spanish rule in Montevideo. Made in support of Buenos Aires, which had already ousted the viceroy and established a local government during the May Revolution, it is considered the beginning of the Oriental revolution.
Montevideo and Buenos Aires were part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony in South America. The Peninsular War in Spain generated a political crisis at the Spanish colonies, as the king Ferdinand VII of Spain was captured by the Napoleonic forces. Buenos Aires, the capital of the viceroyalty, ousted the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros in 1810 during the May Revolution, and established a local government, the Primera Junta. Montevideo did not accept the authority of the new Junta, and acknowledged the Cadiz Cortes as the legitimate Spanish authority. As a result of Buenos Aires's rebellion, Montevideo was appointed the new capital of the Viceroyalty, and governor Francisco Javier de Elío was promoted to viceroy.
The villages near Montevideo supported Elío, while the villages linked to Buenos Aires supported the Junta. Elío declared war to Buenos Aires on February 12, 1811. He arranged many new taxes to support the war effort, which harmed the local economy, already weakened by the Peninsular War.
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