ood and supplies, Cabot and his men ascended the river later called the Paran to a point near the site of modern Rosario. They constructed a fort and then pushed up the river as far as the region now occupied by Paraguay. "Colonization of the region was begun in 1535 by the Spanish soldier Pedro de Mendoza"(Encarta Online) In June 1806, Buenos Aires was attacked by a British fleet under the command of Admiral Home Riggs Popham. The viceroy offered no defense against the attack, which was made without permission by the British government. The bRitish invaders occupied the city but were kicked out by a citizen army the next August. Revolutionary sentiment in La Plata reached its peak in the period following the deposing of King Ferdinand VII in 1808. The people of Buenos Aires refused to recognize Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, who was then installed on the Spanish throne. On May 25, 1810, they overthrew the viceregal government and installed a provisional governing council in the name of Ferdinand VII. Representatives of the various provinces convened at Tucumn in March 1816. On the following July 9 the delegates proclaimed independence from Spanish rule and declared the formation of the United Provinces of South America (later United Provinces of the Ro de la Plata). In March 1949, Pern promulgated a new constitution permitting the president of the republic to succeed himself in office....
