“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

would order, they intend to be respected and consulted.” 37 Urquiza then expanded upon this
notion of local rights in a subsequent proclamation in which he declared: “Entre Ríos does
not intend to obey anyone but its own authorities nor serve any other interests than the well-
known interests of the Confederation.” 38 These declarations of provincial rights then
culminated in a formal proclamation on 1 May 1851 that Rosas no longer possessed the
power to dictate Entre Ríos’ relationships with foreign governments – particularly its trade
relationships with Montevideo and the European powers. The statement amounted to a
declaration of war. 39
Again, Urquiza promptly took steps to defend the trading chains stretching from
Montevideo along the Uruguay River to Entre Ríos and Rio Grande do Sul. Along with
Entre Ríos, Corrientes threw its support behind Urquiza’s campaign against Rosas. The
combined forces from the Argentine Littoral first invaded Uruguay. As Urquiza moved
against Oribe and his blancos, Brazilian forces equally spilled across the Uruguayan border.
Oribe’s support in the Estado Oriental collapsed and he quickly sued for peace. The
coalition now turned its attention to Rosas. An allied army consisting of Argentine,
Uruguayan and Brazilian forces marched into Buenos Aires province and confronted Rosas
at Monte Caseros on 3 February 1852. Urquiza’s army soundly defeated Rosas. Some two
weeks later, the entrerriano leader entered Buenos Aires city. Rosas fled into exile in England,
where he would remain until his death in 1877. 40
The coalition that defeated Rosas and Oribe drew their economic and political
authority from the cross-border commercial relationships that they had meticulously forged
37
Julio Irazusta, Urquiza y el Pronunciamiento (Buenos Aires: La Voz del Plata, 1952), 94.
38
Ibid., 123.
39
Ibid., 128.
40
Barrán, Apogeo y Crisis, 44-46.
143