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First edition of this perceptive and surprisingly uncommon narrative, written against the backdrop of the unsuccessful British invasions of the River Plate in 1806-07 and the Spanish colonies located in present-day Argentina and Uruguay. This is a tall and untrimmed copy, handsomely bound. An initially unsuccessful invasion in 1806 finally managed to occupy Buenos Aires for 46 days, and the more successful attack on Montevideo succeeded in controlling the city for several months, during which the rather acerbic author's observations were recorded. Eventually, after days of brutal street fighting against local militias and the Spanish colonial army, over half of the British forces were ignominiously forced to withdraw. Upon his return to Great Britain the commander, Lieut.-General John Whitelocke, was court-martialled and cashiered for his failure to hold Buenos Aires. Sir Samuel Auchmuty, who had stormed and taken Montevideo, did not offer an opinion on Whitelocke's surrender of that city, "although he is recorded as having spent much of the voyage to Britain drinking hard" (ODNB). The result of the invasions and the defeats helped fuel the hunger of Argentine and other Spanish colonies for independence, and the May revolution of 1810 initiated the Argentine War of Independence (1810-1818). "The River Plate campaign was a humbling experience for the British army. In open combat the troops had been consistently successful, but a combination of arrogance, muddied aims and two decisive defeats in the cramped streets of Buenos Aires had undone them" (Hughes, p. xii). The anonymous author had spent "a short residency in the country" of the River Plate and gives a brisk overview of the region's geography and climate, the pampas, Buenos Aires and Montevideo, businesses, streets, coffee houses, cigar makers ("the consumption of them is, in this country, immense"), theatres, the people, "their graceful manner of walking", and much more. This acts as a prelude to his account of the British expedition, which takes up much of the book and for which the author is indebted to "the zeal and industry of some well informed friends". The "Biographical Appendix" comprises brief memoirs of nine officers: Whitelocke, Auchmuty, Sir Home Popham, Beresford, Vassall, Leveson Gower, Backhouse, Kington, and Major William Trotter of the 38th Foot, killed at Buenos Aires. Provenance: David Bonner Smith (1890-1950), Royal Navy historian and Admiralty librarian, with his ownership inscription on the front free endpaper. Sabin 38999. Ben Hughes, The British Invasion of the River Plate 1806-7: How the Redcoats were Humbled and a Nation was Born, 2013. Octavo (230 x 135 mm). Fine stipple-engraved portrait frontispiece of Sir Samuel Auchmuty by Anthony Cardon after Lemuel Francis Abbott, folding map of South America, and 4 folding plans by Samuel John Neele (Rio de la Plata, plans of Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and Maldonado Bay). Mid-20th century half calf, decorative gilt spine, reddish orange and green twin labels, strong reddish brown linen boards, uncut. A little edgewear to binding, very slight occasional offset toning towards rear, map of South America expertly repaired at fore edge, another on the fold, a very good copy. N° de réf. du vendeur 162520
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