Isla Martín García
Encyclopedia
Isla Martín García is an Argentine
island off the Río de la Plata
coast of Uruguay
. The enclave island is within the boundaries of Uruguayan waters; in 1973 both countries reached an agreement establishing Martín García as an Argentine territory and also as a nature reserve.
The island of 1.84 km² (0.710427971810264 sq mi) has a permanent population of about 150 people (50 families), and belongs to the Buenos Aires Province
.
The strategically located island was the site of a fortification built in the 1820s by Argentine forces to deny the Brazilian navy access to the Uruguay River
. This fort, named Constitucion, succeeded in keeping Brazilian reinforcements at bay during the Battle of Juncal
between 8 and 9 February 1827, allowing the Argentines to destroy the Brazilian squadron operating on the Uruguay River during the Argentina-Brazil War
. In more modern times, several Argentine political figures were kept in the island under arrest by different military governments, including Presidents
Hipólito Yrigoyen
(1930), Juan Perón
(1945), and Arturo Frondizi
(1962).
The island is accessible by air at Martín García Island Airport
.
in 1516 and is in fact named after the steward of the issue, Martín Garcia, who died on board and whose corpse was left on the island. From that time the island was continually disputed by Spain and Portugal due to its strategic position amidst the main river channel and as a gateway to its main tributaries, the Paraná
and Uruguay rivers.
The island functioned as a penal colony
from 1765 until 1886. The creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
the first viceroy, Pedro de Cevallos, fortified and became a military garrison. In 1814, Admiral William Brown
, commanding a fleet, landed on the island and defeated the royalists, leaving Martin Garcia in the hands of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata.
It was the scene of other battles during the Argentine War of Independence
, as well as during the Argentina-Brazil War
of the 1820s. In 1838, during the government of Buenos Aires Province Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas
, Martín García was also attacked by Anglo-French forces, and later occupied by allied forces composed of Unitarian Party
exiles in Montevideo
. In 1843 it was recovered by federal troops of Rosas, who, in turn, lost the post in 1845 to troops led by "the Sword of Italy," Giuseppe Garibaldi
, who retook it for Montevideo. Its strategic value during the Argentine Civil War
s of the mid 19th century ended after Rosas was overthrown in the Battle of Caseros
in 1852.
President Domingo Sarmiento proposed a base on the island in the 1870s, with Argirópolis City as the capital of a micro state administered jointly by Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. After the Conquest of the Desert
was formally launched in 1879, many indigenous leaders captured were confined there. The island was transferred to Argentine Navy
jurisdiction in 1886.
The island's distance from the rest of the Argentine territory is less than two miles, and its jurisdictional status was formallty established by the Treaty of Río de la Plata between Uruguay and Argentina on November 19, 1973. These treaties stipulate that the Martín García Island be an Argentine exclave surrounded by Uruguayan waters. In return for recognition of Argentina's sovereignty over the island in question, Argentina made territorial concessions in the Río de la Plata, notably the concession of Juncal Island to Uruguay.
Article 45 of the treaty states:
Uruguayan officials have cited Article 45 to prevent the use of the island by Argentina for purposes other than for the nature reserve on several occasions. In 1985 the Navy transferred ownership of buildings and facilities in the island to the Province of Buenos Aires. Today, the island is a tourist destination, and among its more notable sights are the old Chinatown, the remains of the fortifications, the prison infirmary, and the forest where red deer
inhabit. The island is also well known for its artisanal pastries.
and the creole laurel, as well as xerophytic species (similar to the Gran Chaco
) that include gorse
, cacti
, and lapachillo. The island's beaches are populated with reeds
, fig trees (ibopehay), and more than 800 species of plants.
The median and greater wildlife, excluding fish, is composed at present mainly by over 250 bird species which highlights the hummingbirds that have eight species, sparrowhawk
, lapwing
s, heron
s, vulture
s, parrot
s, cardinals
, pigeons, sparrow
s, finch
es, lark
s, pygmy owls (caburé), and great horned owl
s, among others. The island is also home to a variety of reptiles, lizards, geckos, turtles, frogs, coypu
(or pseudonutrias), capybara
s, alligators, red deer
. The once-large population of giant river otters (ariray) was exterminated by the late 1950s.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
island off the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
coast of Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. The enclave island is within the boundaries of Uruguayan waters; in 1973 both countries reached an agreement establishing Martín García as an Argentine territory and also as a nature reserve.
The island of 1.84 km² (0.710427971810264 sq mi) has a permanent population of about 150 people (50 families), and belongs to the Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
.
The strategically located island was the site of a fortification built in the 1820s by Argentine forces to deny the Brazilian navy access to the Uruguay River
Uruguay River
The Uruguay River is a river in South America. It flows from north to south and makes boundary with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of the Mesopotamia from the other two countries...
. This fort, named Constitucion, succeeded in keeping Brazilian reinforcements at bay during the Battle of Juncal
Battle of Juncal
The naval Battle of Juncal took place between a squadron of the newly independent United Provinces of the River Plate under command of William Brown and a squadron belonging to the Brazilian Empire, commanded by Sena Pereira...
between 8 and 9 February 1827, allowing the Argentines to destroy the Brazilian squadron operating on the Uruguay River during the Argentina-Brazil War
Argentina-Brazil War
The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...
. In more modern times, several Argentine political figures were kept in the island under arrest by different military governments, including Presidents
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Hipólito Yrigoyen
Hipólito Yrigoyen
Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Irigoyen Alem was twice President of Argentina . His activism became the prime impetus behind the obtainment of universal suffrage in Argentina in 1912...
(1930), Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
(1945), and Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi Ercoli was the President of Argentina between May 1, 1958, and March 29, 1962, for the Intransigent Radical Civic Union.-Early life:Frondizi was born in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes Province...
(1962).
The island is accessible by air at Martín García Island Airport
Martín García Island Airport
Martin Garcia Island Airport is the airport of Isla Martín García, a small Argentine island at the head of the Río de la Plata estuary, near the coast of Uruguay.It features a small passenger terminal and a single long asphalt runway...
.
History
Martin Garcia Island was discovered by the expedition of Juan Díaz de SolísJuan Díaz de Solís
Juan Díaz de Solís was a Spanish navigator and explorer.Díaz de Solís was probably born in Lebrija, Seville, although some other authors argue that his birth may have actually taken place in Portugal to an Andalusian emigree family....
in 1516 and is in fact named after the steward of the issue, Martín Garcia, who died on board and whose corpse was left on the island. From that time the island was continually disputed by Spain and Portugal due to its strategic position amidst the main river channel and as a gateway to its main tributaries, the Paraná
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
and Uruguay rivers.
The island functioned as a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
from 1765 until 1886. The creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
the first viceroy, Pedro de Cevallos, fortified and became a military garrison. In 1814, Admiral William Brown
William Brown (admiral)
Admiral William Brown was an Irish-born Argentine Admiral. Brown's victories in the Independence War, the Argentina-Brazil War, and the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata earned the respect and appreciation of the Argentine people, and today he is regarded as one of Argentina's national...
, commanding a fleet, landed on the island and defeated the royalists, leaving Martin Garcia in the hands of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata.
It was the scene of other battles during the Argentine War of Independence
Argentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
, as well as during the Argentina-Brazil War
Argentina-Brazil War
The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...
of the 1820s. In 1838, during the government of Buenos Aires Province Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
, Martín García was also attacked by Anglo-French forces, and later occupied by allied forces composed of Unitarian Party
Unitarian Party
Unitarianists or Unitarians were the proponents of the concept of a Unitary state in Buenos Aires during the civil wars which shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in 1816. They were opposed to the Argentine Federalists, who wanted a federation of independent provinces...
exiles in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. In 1843 it was recovered by federal troops of Rosas, who, in turn, lost the post in 1845 to troops led by "the Sword of Italy," Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
, who retook it for Montevideo. Its strategic value during the Argentine Civil War
Argentine Civil War
The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of internecine wars that took place in Argentina from 1814 to 1876. These conflicts were separate from the Argentine War of Independence , though they first arose during this period....
s of the mid 19th century ended after Rosas was overthrown in the Battle of Caseros
Battle of Caseros
The Battle of Caseros was fought near the town of Caseros, more precisely between the present-day train stations of Caseros and Palomar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas...
in 1852.
President Domingo Sarmiento proposed a base on the island in the 1870s, with Argirópolis City as the capital of a micro state administered jointly by Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. After the Conquest of the Desert
Conquest of the Desert
The Conquest of the Desert was a military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s, which established Argentine dominance over Patagonia, which was inhabited by indigenous peoples...
was formally launched in 1879, many indigenous leaders captured were confined there. The island was transferred to Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
jurisdiction in 1886.
The island's distance from the rest of the Argentine territory is less than two miles, and its jurisdictional status was formallty established by the Treaty of Río de la Plata between Uruguay and Argentina on November 19, 1973. These treaties stipulate that the Martín García Island be an Argentine exclave surrounded by Uruguayan waters. In return for recognition of Argentina's sovereignty over the island in question, Argentina made territorial concessions in the Río de la Plata, notably the concession of Juncal Island to Uruguay.
Article 45 of the treaty states:
Martín García Island is a nature reserveNature reserveA nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
intended exclusively for conservation and preservation of indigenous flora and fauna, under the jurisdiction of Argentina. On the other hand, this treaty explicitly defines its size, because the enormous stream loadStream loadStream load is a geologic term referring to the solid matter carried by a stream . Erosion continually removes mineral material from the bed and banks of the stream channel, adding this material to the regular flow of water. The amount of solid load that a stream can carry, or stream capacity, is...
in the area produced the geographic union of Timoteo Domínguez Island, under Uruguayan jurisdiction, with Martín García.
Uruguayan officials have cited Article 45 to prevent the use of the island by Argentina for purposes other than for the nature reserve on several occasions. In 1985 the Navy transferred ownership of buildings and facilities in the island to the Province of Buenos Aires. Today, the island is a tourist destination, and among its more notable sights are the old Chinatown, the remains of the fortifications, the prison infirmary, and the forest where red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
inhabit. The island is also well known for its artisanal pastries.
Flora and fauna
The island's biome is that of forests, and its predominant species include the ceibaCeiba
Ceiba is the name of a genus of many species of large trees found in tropical areas, including Mexico, Central America, South America, The Bahamas, Belize and the Caribbean, West Africa, and Southeast Asia...
and the creole laurel, as well as xerophytic species (similar to the Gran Chaco
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...
) that include gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...
, cacti
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
, and lapachillo. The island's beaches are populated with reeds
Reed bed
Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...
, fig trees (ibopehay), and more than 800 species of plants.
The median and greater wildlife, excluding fish, is composed at present mainly by over 250 bird species which highlights the hummingbirds that have eight species, sparrowhawk
Sparrowhawk
The Eurasian Sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian Sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts; females and juveniles are brown above with brown barring below...
, lapwing
Lapwing
Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...
s, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s, vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s, parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s, cardinals
Cardinal (bird)
The Cardinals or Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Thraupidae ....
, pigeons, sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...
s, finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
es, lark
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...
s, pygmy owls (caburé), and great horned owl
Great Horned Owl
The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...
s, among others. The island is also home to a variety of reptiles, lizards, geckos, turtles, frogs, coypu
Coypu
The coypu , , also known as the river rat, and nutria, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent and the only member of the family Myocastoridae. Originally native to subtropical and temperate South America, it has since been introduced to North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, primarily by...
(or pseudonutrias), capybara
Capybara
The capybara , also known as capivara in Portuguese, and capibara, chigüire in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador ronsoco in Peru, chigüiro, and carpincho in Spanish, is the largest living rodent in the world. Its closest relatives are agouti, chinchillas, coyphillas, and guinea pigs...
s, alligators, red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
. The once-large population of giant river otters (ariray) was exterminated by the late 1950s.