Battle of San Nicolás

Date	2 March 1811
Location	Paraná River 33°21′37″S 60°08′16″W / 33.36028°S 60.13778°W / -33.36028; -60.13778Coordinates: 33°21′37″S 60°08′16″W / 33.36028°S 60.13778°W / -33.36028; -60.13778
Result	Decisive royalist victory

Belligerents

Spanish Empire

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata

Commanders and leaders

Jacinto Romarate

Juan Bautista Azopardo

Strength

7 ships

3 ships

Casualties and losses

Unknown

3 ships captured

The Battle of San Nicolás was a naval engagement on 2 March 1811 on the Paraná River between the Spanish royalists from Montevideo, and the first flotilla created by the revolutionary government of Buenos Aires. It was the first engagement between the two fleets in the River Plate region since the revolution, and a royalist victory.

On May 25, 1810 the River Plate colonies revolted against the Spanish Viceroy at the May Revolution in Buenos Aires, claiming the necessity of assuming local government due to the difficult situation in Spain, which was occupied by Napoleonic troops. The royalist authorities in Montevideo opposed the measure and declared a naval blockade of Buenos Aires. In the city of Montevideo, there was a navy base serving as port for the royal Spanish fleet in the South American Atlantic coast. The local Junta Grande (Buenos Aires' revolutionary government) decided to establish a fleet to contest the Spanish dominion of the local waters.

The Junta Grande which took control of the government in Buenos Aires named Francisco de Gurruchaga, as secretary of the Navy. He immediately set to work to create a small naval fleet. With effort, Gurruchaga bought five vessels of different types from local owners, and equipped three of them with artillery, which had been taken for the most part out of service as obsolete. He obtained a schooner, a brigantine and a sloop, christened respectively "Invencible", "25 de Mayo" and "América".

Recruiting of the crew was another difficult endeavor, as the inhabitants of the pampas were not used to a sailor's life. The solution was to hire foreigners, who for the most part did not speak Spanish. The rank and file was filled with locals.

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