The Rio de la Plata at the beginning of the eighteenth century: strategies and proposals in war times

Abstract

Although many issues still deserve research, in recent years the interest provoked by the War of Spanish Succession and the processes related to it, has improved his knowledge. This has happened due to the results of scientific meetings and publications on the subject. Latin America has not been a priority area on the war studies in both the Spanish and Portuguese cases; however, to understand the importance of their territories it’s enough to remember that they were some of the main causes in the clash. In this context, at the early eighteenth century, a tireless traveler, Francisco de Seyxas y Lovera, writes a part of his work to get closeness to the King of Spain by the mediation of Louis XIV, his grandfather. In this paper it’s discussed his position about the problems that caused the destruction of the Monarchy, especially the role of foreigners, taking in account the case of the Río de la Plata to conclude with the solution that the author proposes against the Portuguese progress in this area.