Diary of a Argentinian Male Rebel

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Diary of a Argentinian Male Rebel
May 1810


 * I just found out today that our mother country Spain has been take over by France. How can this happen, our mother country is supposed to be strong and supply for us, but not anymore. Well I guess that’s not even true anymore. I mean when the British came we had to fight them off ourselves, the Spanish didn’t do anything. Even though Spain isn’t in control, they say that it is still necessary to stay loyal to our country. But how can we do that when Spain is not loyal to us. Also, with Spain not in control, they don’t have anymore control over us. The citizens of Buenos Aires can finally do something about our government. We need to rebel against Viceroy Cisneros (for those of you who don’t know who he is, he was sent from Spain to Argentina to rule for the Monarch) and his rule. For years now, he has not treated us fairly and it is time for a change. We need a government that is run by the people, for the people, and one that knows what the people want, Spain cannot provide that for us, so we need to go out and take it. Because France has taken over Spain, we can no longer live under their protection and support. It is time for a change. All the government does is tax us. I mean if I am paying all of this money to the government, you’d think that they would do something in return. Nope, nothing, they don’t even protect us while we are being invaded by other countries. Let me ask you, how can we be loyal to a government like that? I am going to say it again, we need a change in our government. Also, the government needs to know what the people of Buenos Aires want, and if you ask me, that might be difficult to do being an ocean away. That is why we need our own government right here in Buenos Aires.  And finally, if we have to pay this much tax money, then we expect some better help for it. Lastly, if we don’t succeed by setting up our own government, then what’s the worst that can happen to us? We’ll go back to being ruled by Spain? That is not happening to me, so I am going to do whatever I can to wipe out the Spanish rule in Buenos Aires and instead make it Argentinian rule.


 * We need change here in Buenos Aires and I am not just going to sit back and wait for it to happen. Now that Spain has been taken over by France, we need to take over Viceroy Cisneros and remove him from rule. I mean how can we have somebody rule who isn’t even truthful and honest to us. When France first took over Spain, Cisneros knew away, but he didn’t say anything. About a week later, rumors were spreading around Buenos Aires about Spain. Me being just a middle-class merchant, I don’t usually buy into all the talk and rumors but this time I did. For a while now, I have been noticing all the problems with out government, but I’ve been too shy to mention anything to anyone, remember I’m just a middle-class merchant. But the time has come we now have a chance to rebel against our mother country and our government so we must take full advantage of it. Actually, one of my closest friends, Nicolas Rodriguez Pena has been having secret meeting at his house. They have the same Idea that I do, they want to get rid of the Viceroy and they want to do it now. Over the past week or so since this whole mess has started, they have been trying to call for an open hall town meeting. In this meeting, they plan on deciding the future for Viceroy Cisneros. Not a whole bunch of people have been showing up to these meetings. I believe that these people are scared, scared of being caught. They also think that just because they are joining a group of rebels that they are going to get in trouble. Well they are not, and if you believe in something, you have to fight for it. And let me tell you that I believe that we need change here in Buenos Aires. Yeah, Spain has been our mother country for hundreds of years, but nothing good has come out of the relationship. They think that we’ll do all they work and just give them money anyway. I am sick of that and I am going to keep on fighting until something is done about it.


 * If I even begin to start talking about all the problems I have with the government, I think that there’d be a chance I never stop. But I’m gonna bring up a few issues I have and I know that I’m not the only other person who has these issues. First, going to back to the issue we had with Britain. That makes me so mad everytime I even think about it. I mean seriously, they couldn’t send us any support at all, so we, the citizens of Buenos Aires had to fight off the British by ourselves. We did what we were supposed to do which was pay our taxes, but they can’t even help defend us. Do you see now why I am getting so angry with our government? Also, they have not been honest with us. I am talking about Viceoy Cisneros. He knew about Spain being taken over by France, but then waited a week to inform us. How can you consider yourself a good leader if you can’t even be honest with the people you rule. Then, when people began to question him about what was happening, he tried to cover it up by denying that anything ever happened. Next, he favors people over others. He favors the creoles because of their true Spanish decent. During the events with Spain and France, he looked for the creoles to stay loyal to Spain, but there were still great amounts of turmoil. I just can’t stand it any longer to be ruled by a government like the one I am ruled by now.


 * I’ve been going through many tough times lately, everything from our government to the amount of taxes that they put on us. Not just myself, but Buenos Aires needs a change. For the past years, our government has lied to us, has taxed us, and hasn’t protected us like they said they would, and I’m sick of it. I we can trust our government if they can’t even tell us important things that are happening. If Spain is being taken over by somebody we should be notified immediately. How can we sleep at night not knowing what is happening to our mother country. Also, what makes me even more mad is that Cisneros tried to lie about it. We need a government that is honest with the people and also has the people’s best interest in mind. Next, the taxes the government are putting on us are just ridiculous. It seems that absolutely everything we have is taxed. If, and only if they are going to tax us this much then I expect something back from them, protection. I mean it was only a couple of weeks ago that Britain came over to try and expand here. And take a wild guess what Spain did, nothing. They didn’t even bother sending over any type of reinforcements, but instead left us to fend for ourselves. These are just some of the reasons why we need change and when would there be a better time to do it. Our government is weak due to France capturing our mother land Spain. We can now get rid of Viceroy Cisneros, and create our own government, a government that knows what the people want and what they don’t want. If Spain isn’t going to be loyal to us, then why should we be loyal to them, it has to work both ways.


 * How could I be worried about failure. I mean the worst that can happen is we will continue to be ruled by Spain. I don’t know about you, but I am willing to do whatever I can to change things here in Buenos Aires. We need something new and if it fails then it fails, but we will never gain anything without trying. Also, I believe that now will be the best time for change with the government so weak, and Cisneros in the middle of all of us. If we fail then we fail, but I believe the government won’t know what’s coming, which makes it the perfect time for a rebellion.


 * Well, there you have it. The government is weak, it is the perfect time for change. It is key that we rebel against Viceroy Cisneros and the Argentinian Government. They have been ruling us poorly for so long and I am fed up with it. The government has been horrible. They are taxing us ridiculously and Spain isn’t even protecting us. Also, the government has not been honest with us and that needs to change. There are many things in Buenos Aires that need change and the number one thing is Government. We need a strong and protective government. Finally, we won’t be able to get anything done if we don’t try. I don’t care if we fail, we need to put a stop to all of this nonsense. Something needs to be done here in Buenos Aires and I am willing to do whatever I can to make it happen.

Bibliography for "Diary of a Male Rebel"

“May Revolution.” Nation Master. 5 Nov. 2008 .

Minster, Christopher. “Argentina: The May Revolution.” About.com. 5 Nov. 2008 .

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