# Treaty of Pilar (23 February 1820)

URL: https://allhistories.com/argentina/timeline/1820-treaty-of-pilar
Location: Pilar, Buenos Aires
Themes: War

On 23 February 1820, at the town of Pilar in the province of Buenos Aires, Manuel de Sarratea, the new governor of Buenos Aires, signed a treaty with Estanislao López of Santa Fe and Francisco Ramírez of Entre Ríos. The Treaty of Pilar ended the war that had culminated at Cepeda. The treaty declared that the signatories favoured a federal form of government and called for a congress to organise the nation. It provided for the withdrawal of federal troops from Buenos Aires territory, free navigation of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers for the signatory provinces, and an amnesty. It also proposed that the leaders of the former Directorate be tried. A secret clause reportedly committed Buenos Aires to supply arms to Ramírez. The treaty was negotiated without Artigas, who considered himself the leader of the federal provinces and denounced it as a betrayal, as it did nothing to confront the Portuguese occupation of the Banda Oriental. Ramírez turned against Artigas, defeated him, and in September 1820 Artigas went into exile in Paraguay, where he lived until his death in 1850. Ramírez then proclaimed the Republic of Entre Ríos. The treaty is cited in the preamble of the Argentine Constitution of 1853 among the pre-existing pacts between provinces on which the federation was founded.

## Why it matters
Pilar recognised the provinces as autonomous partners and became one of the founding pacts cited in the 1853 Constitution.

Ruler at the Time: [Manuel de Sarratea](https://allhistories.com/argentina/rulers/manuel-de-sarratea)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Treaty of Pilar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Pilar)
- [Wikipedia — Francisco Ramírez (governor)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Ram%C3%ADrez_(governor))
- [Wikipedia — José Gervasio Artigas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Gervasio_Artigas)
- [Wikipedia (Spanish) — Tratado del Pilar](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tratado_del_Pilar)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Treaty of Pilar 1820](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Treaty+of+Pilar+1820)
- [Wikipedia — Independence (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_War_of_Independence)