Juan Manuel de Rosas

Juan Manuel de Rosas
Posthumous portrait of Juan Manuel de Rosas wearing the full dress of a brigadier general.
17th Governor of Buenos Aires Province
In office 7 March 1835 – 3 February 1852
Preceded by	Manuel Vicente Maza
Succeeded by	Vicente López y Planes
13th Governor of Buenos Aires Province
In office 6 December 1829 – 5 December 1832
Preceded by	Juan José Viamonte
Succeeded by	Juan Ramón Balcarce
Personal details
Born	Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas 30 March 1793 Buenos Aires, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Died	14 March 1877(1877-03-14) (aged 83) Southampton, United Kingdom
Resting place	La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires
Nationality	Argentine
Political party	Unitarian Party (1820–26) Federalist Party (1826–52)
Spouse(s)	Encarnación Ezcurra
Children	Juan Bautista Ortiz de Rosas Manuela Robustiana Rosas
Religion	Catholicism
Signature

Juan Manuel de Rosas (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was a politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Although born into a wealthy family, Rosas independently amassed a personal fortune, acquiring large tracts of land in the process. Rosas enlisted his workers in a private militia, as was common for rural proprietors, and took part in the factious disputes that led to numerous civil wars in his country. Victorious in warfare, personally influential, and with vast landholdings and a loyal private army, Rosas became the quintessential caudillo, as provincial warlords in the region were known. He eventually reached the rank of brigadier general, the highest in the Argentine army, and became the undisputed leader of the Federalist Party.

In December 1829, Rosas became governor of the province of Buenos Aires and established a dictatorship backed by state terrorism. In 1831, he signed the Federal Pact, recognizing provincial autonomy and creating the Argentine Confederation. When his term of office ended in 1832, Rosas departed to the frontier to wage war on the indigenous peoples. After his supporters launched a coup in Buenos Aires, Rosas was asked to return and he once again took office as governor. Rosas reestablished his dictatorship and formed the repressive Mazorca, an armed parapolice that killed thousands of citizens. Elections became a farce, and the legislature and judiciary became docile instruments of his will. Rosas created a cult of personality and his regime became totalitarian in nature, with all aspects of society rigidly controlled.

Rosas faced many threats to his power during the late 1830s and early 1840s. He fought a war against the Peru–Bolivian Confederation, endured a blockade by France, faced a revolt in his own province and battled a major rebellion that lasted years and spread to several Argentine provinces. Rosas persevered and extended his influence in the provinces, exercising effective control over them through direct and indirect means. By 1848, he had extended his power beyond the borders of Buenos Aires and was ruler of all of Argentina. Rosas also attempted to annex the neighboring nations of Uruguay and Paraguay. France and Great Britain jointly retaliated against Argentine expansionism, blockading Buenos Aires for most of the late 1840s, but were unable to halt Rosas, whose prestige was greatly enhanced by his string of successes.