The British invasion of Rio de la Plata in 1806 and 1807 in Russian Press

The beginning of the 19th century was marked for Rio de da Plata (Argentina) by British attempts to seize this Spanish colony. The British intervention is an important part of the history of Argentina and is of historiographical interest. This article is devoted to the review of the Russian press – St. Pe-tersburg Vedomosty, Moscow Vedomosty, Vestnik Europe – this event. A distinctive feature of the press was a pragmatic view of intervention, which allowed the reader not only to get an idea of an event, but also to see the whole picture and un-derstand the cause-and-effect relationships. The Russian press focused on the most important events: the first military expedition led by Commander H.Popham, who captured Bue-nos Aires at the end of June 1806, and although he acted without orders from the British government, London ap-proved of his actions; the uprising in Buenos Aires, led by Santiago Linier, forced the British troops under the command of General J. Beresford to capitulate; the second expedition under the command of General W.Whitelock was also defeat-ed. The newspapers also published excerpts from the most important documents: Major General Beresford's report on the capture of Buenos Aires and his manifesto to the resi-dents; a letter from Commander Popham; Beresford's surrender, Whitelock's surrender. The British did not foresee the determination of the people to defend their homeland. The in-tervention ended with the surrender on July 7, 1807: British troops left Rio de la Plata. The Vestnik Evropy pointed out that this event, the defeat of the British troops, was the beginning of the national liberation struggle of the people of Rio de la Plata.