196 Chapter 2
British government sent a letter to France suggesting that the two countries form a
united intervention in the South American affair to protect their common interests in
Uruguay. Britain had issued a memorandum the previous December suggesting that
if it intervened in the Argentine conflict that force would be necessary. On March 12,
Great Britain sent a threatening letter to General Rosas in Argentina, asserting that
if the Argentine government should continue to refuse French and British mediation
efforts, and continue to war and block the commercial interests of the two European
governments, then Britain would be forced to resort to “other measures.”
Coding changes: Start Date changed from January 1842. End Date changed from
March 13, 1842.
MID#2055
Dispute Number: 2055
Date(s): November 1842 to January 1843
Participants: 200 United Kingdom, 220 France/160 Argentina
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: In November 1842, Rosas of Argentine refused British and French efforts
at mediation with Rivera of Uruguay. Rosas’s refusal was described as being in the
nature of a threat and continued his quest for control of Montevideo, which was home
to many British and French nationals. French and British diplomats, writing to their
respective naval commanders, suggested their forces take whatever means were nec-
essary to protect the British and French populations in Montevideo from the siege of
the Argentines. Into January 1843, the British and the French acted as an obstruction
to Rosas’s conquest of Montevideo, actually redirecting troops from South Africa.
MID#123
Dispute Number: 123
Date(s): July 21, 1845 to March 24, 1846
Participants: 200 United Kingdom, 220 France/160 Argentina
Outcome (and Settlement): Victory for side A (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 101–250 deaths
Narrative: This dispute describes a joint Anglo-French blockade of the Argentine
Confederation in the mid-1840s. The dissolution of the United Provinces of South
America saw the creation of two separate entities sharing the Rio de la Plata: the
Argentine Confederation and Uruguay. Their respective capitals were proximate to
each other, making feasible the belligerence by the Argentine Confederation toward
Uruguay as it tried to assimilate the latter. This upset the British and the French, who
enjoyed a favorable position in the area since the independence of the Banda Oriental
in 1828. The swift manner by which Argentina overran Uruguay and sieged Mon-
tevideo necessitated a forceful response from the European powers. One such tactic
employed by Britain and France during the near-decade-long divide over this issue
was a full blockade of Buenos Aires, done after previous attempts to exact a change
in Argentine policy had failed (see MID#371 and MID#2055). The European powers