Page "Foreign relations of Argentina" Paragraph 2

Owing to its geographical remoteness, local authorities in what is today Argentina developed an early sense of autonomy.

Based largely on economic needs, during colonial times their pragmatism led to a flourishing unofficial market in smuggled goods, out of the then-small port of Buenos Aires, in blatant contravention of the Spanish mercantilist laws.

With the Enlightened despotism of the late-eighteenth-century Bourbon kings and the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776, trade increased as the political importance of the port-city of Buenos Aires soared.

The urgency for a complete liberalization of commerce remained a powerful political cause for Criollos and Mestizos, further stimulated by the politically egalitarian and revolutionary ideals spread by the French and Anglo-American revolutions.

Ultimately, the actual experience of successfully defending without Spanish aid the viceroyalty from a foreign invader during the 1806 – 1807 British invasions of the Río de la Plata, triggered a decisive quest for even greater autonomy from the colonial metropolis.