In their search for new markets, the ideas of the Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda had echoed in London, novel character who knew how to be a lover of Empress Catalina II of RussiaWashington soldier and general of the French Revolution.
In March 1790, Miranda had presented the English prime minister William Pitt, nicknamed “The Young”, a conquest plan of the American colonies for transform them into a constitutional monarchywith the coronation of a descendant of the house of the Incas as emperor of America.
Miranda was excited in his report: “South America can offer a very vast trade to England, and has treasures to pay Punctually the services made to you. ”
Miranda thought that events such as Túpac Amaru’s rebellion and that of the Paraguay and New Granada community members implied a clear sign of wishes for independencewhen in reality they appeared as isolated expressions that still did not find a point of confluence.
But chance would play in favor of the plans of the Venezuelan revolutionary. On October 5, 1804, being 25 leagues from Cádiz, four Spanish frigates commanded by the governor of Montevideo, José de Bustamante, who took gold and silver from Alto Peru to their appropriators, They suffered the attack of four English shipswhich were placed in the middle of the Spanish flotilla and opened fire.
The reason for the attack was the suspicion that The treasure, valued at about two million pounds, would go to France To finance Napoleon’s campaigns, as part of the subsidy paid by the Spanish king Carlos IV to the French emperor to save problems with his ally.
The English attack was a success, which culminated in the capture of three ships and the blasting of a fourth ship in the course of the battle.
An aborted plan
In full shock for the event and before the declaration of war from Spainon October 12, 1804, Pitt and his cabinet discussed the Miranda Plan with Sir Home Riggs Popham, and it was agreed that it should be completed immediately.
Popham justified his support for Miranda with blunt commercial data, such as that the English knew very well that two thirds of all the wealth that Spain subtracted from South America went to France directly, and that this would be so because of the short period to mediate until Napoleon decided to invade America and obtain directly the raw materials of the colonies.
For the English cabinet, which It came from suffering the irreparable loss of North America coloniesIt was clear that this should be avoided at all costs.
The English feared that Napoleon would seize the Spanish colonies. / Clarín ArchivePopham commented that the former United States Minister in London believed that the independence of Spanish America was the only way to save Great Britain from the complete defeat under Napoleon’s attacks.
Pitt’s government had reasons to fear that The French will try to seize the Río de la Plata region At that time, and took intelligence measures to be notified before such movement. At first, Pitt expressed its support to the Popham-Miranda Plan. But when in December 1804 the expedition was being prepared, it had to be postponed.
Popham decided, in the summer of 1805, to voluntarily enlist in an expedition aimed at taking the end of good hope, in South Africa, from the hands of the Dutch, allies of Napoleon.
Before he left, Pitt warned the Commodore that the attack on South America should be abandoned at the moment, because The government was trying to separate Spain from France peacefully.
