Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina at Rosario
- When
- 1812
- Where
- Government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata; Independencia battery, Rosario, near the Paraná River; Government of the First Triumvirate
- Episodes
- 3
On 27 February 1812, Manuel Belgrano raised a blue-and-white flag at Rosario near the Paraná River during the Argentine War of Independence, creating what became the flag of Argentina. He had proposed the banner the day before, and the First Triumvirate soon ordered it abandoned, though the Army of the North kept using it.
Episodes
- Belgrano proposes a national flag
Belgrano wrote to the government proposing a flag reflecting the colours of the recently adopted national cockade.
- Flag raised at Rosario
Belgrano hoisted a flag in the cockade's colours at Rosario near the Paraná River on 27 February 1812.
- First Triumvirate orders the flag abandoned
In early March 1812 the First Triumvirate ordered Belgrano to abandon the white and light blue flag.
Background and detail
Background. When the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata became independent in the May Revolution of 1810, they continued to use the Spanish flag. Belgrano, who favoured the May Revolution that removed viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros on 25 May 1810, had taken part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and designed what became the flag of Argentina.
Proposal and Raising. On 26 February 1812, Belgrano wrote to the government of the United Provinces proposing a national flag, arguing that the colours of the recently adopted cockade should also appear on the banners flown by patriot forces. He created a flag with the same colours and hoisted it at Rosario near the Paraná River on 27 February 1812.
Aftermath. In early March 1812 the First Triumvirate ordered Belgrano to abandon the new white and light blue flag, since the government still acted in the name of Ferdinand VII. Despite this, the Army of the North continued to use the flag, including at the victorious Battle of Tucumán on 24 September 1812.
People involved
- Manuel Belgrano · Creator and raiser of the flag; general in patriot service
Sources
- Manuel Belgrano Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30
- Flag of Argentina Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.