here - Ashley Baynton-Williams

WEST INDIES
132
Rare Map Of The British Attack In 1806
LUFFMAN, John.
'A CHART of the RIO de la PLATA and
A PLAN of the CITY of BUENOS-AYRES:
Taken June 27.th 1806, By His Majesty's
Forces under the command of Major Gen
W.m Carr Beresford & Commod.re S.r
Home Popham. Laid down by John
Luffmann [sic], Geog.r' 'London.
Publish'd Sept. 22, 1806 by John
Luffmann [sic] & Sold by J. Blacklock
Royal Exchange & C. Chapple Pall Mall
Price 1. 6d.'
London: John Luffman, Sept. 22 1806;
copperplate engraving, border: 191 x 331
widest: 207 x 331
platemark: 212 x 341mm, in original outline colour. Three tears into the printed area restored, without loss.
With the defeat of the joint Franco-Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, British dominance on the high
seas was confirmed. The Admiralty thereupon decided to use sea power to carry the war to Britain’s various
enemies. In 1806, a British expedition, commanded by Colonel William Carr Beresford was sent to attack the
Spanish possessions of the Rio de la Plata region. Beresford’s army landed at Quilmes, on 25th June 1806,
and captured Buenos Aires two days later, on 27th June. However, a French naval officer, Santiago de
Liniers y Bremond serving with the Spanish forces, assembled a motley force of Spanish soldiers and local
militiamen and attacked the British. After two days of fighting, and heavily out-numbered, Beresford
surrendered to Liniers, on 12th August 1806.
This rare plan of Rio de la Plata, with the inset of Buenos Aires, was obviously published before the news of
Beresford’s defeat had reached England. Not traced thus on COPAC. £600
133
SULIVAN, Bartholomew James.
'Plan of OBLIGADO shewing the Position of the Ships at 12 h 30
m when all had reached their Station.' 'Plan by Capt Sulivan R.N.'
[London ?, np., ca. 1846]; lithograph, 465 x 330mm, in black
and white.
Captain Sulivan was in command of a Royal Navy survey brig,
H.M. Brig Philomel, on which he surveyed the Falkland Islands
and Rio de la Plata in 1842. Previously, as a second lieutenant he
had served on H.M.S. Beagle, with Charles Darwin.
Juan Manuel de Rosas, leader of the Argentine Confederacy, was
a staunch nationalist politician, who sought to use high trade
tariffs to protect Argentine businesses against foreign
competition, particularly from the British and French. In 1845, the
British and French, using shallow draught steam-ships simply
sailed past the Argentine customs collectors, up the rivers into the
interior to trade, thus avoiding paying the tariffs.
Rosas determined to end this practice. He fortified posts on the
Paraná River at Vuelta de Obligado, a bend in the river where the
river is 700 metres wide, and stretched lines of chains across the
river to block passage. On 20th November 20 1845, a joint
Franco-British squadron of the latest ironclads sought to break the barricade. In heavy fighting the Argentine
defenders were soundly defeated, with only small loss of life for the attackers. However, such was the
ferocity of defensive artillery fire that most of the Franco-British ships were heavily damaged, and required
extensive repairs. Sulivan was present at the battle; his own ship passed the blockade and sailed up river a
100 miles to Corrientes and back; however, on this trip his ship came under attack several times. In the end,
it appeared simply too much trouble, and the British and French agreed to accept the Argentine tariffs.
The Argentines were delighted; to this day 20th November is celebrated in Argentina as the ‘Day of National
Sovereignty’. £500
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