thrown back by the criollos in December 1806, a militia force from Montevideo under the leadership of Santiago de Liniers. In February 1807, British reinforcements of about 8,000 men under Gen. Sir Samuel Auchmuty captured Montevideo after a fierce fight. In May Lt. Gen. John Whitelock arrived to take overall command and attacked Buenos Aires on 5 July 1807. After losing more than half his force, who were killed or captured, Whitelock signed a cease-fire and departed for Great Britain. The criollo bourgeoisie aspirations in the face of lack of support from Spain and the defeat of a world power by local forces added to their confidence and fueled their movement toward independence. As of 1814, Argentina had been self-governed for about four years, and Paraguay had already declared its independence. The viceroyalty was effectively dissolved locally when the rebel troops entered Montevideo after a two-year-long siege. The war remained in Upper Peru until 1825. Government The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created in 1776 by Charles III of Spain. Although it functioned as a Spanish colony, Río de la Plata was technically a personal possession of the King of Spain. This allowed both European Spain and its overseas territories to have their own laws and regulations. Dependencies Intendency () of Buenos Aires: cities of Buenos Aires, Corrientes, Santa Fe, Colonia and Carmen de Patagones. Government () of Montevideo: city of Montevideo. Government of Misiones: cities of San Ignacio, Yapeyú and Candelaria. Intendency of Paraguay: city of Asunción Intendency of Córdoba: cities of Rio Cuarto, Córdoba, La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza and San Luis Intendency of Salta: cities of Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy Government of Chiquitos Intendency of Potosí: cities of Potosí and Oruro. Intendency of La Paz: city of La Paz. Intendency of Cochabamba: cities of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Intendency of Charcas: city of Charcas (modern Sucre). Government of Moxos List of viceroys The king of Spain appointed viceroys to govern the Spanish viceroyalties in his name. In the beginning their terms had no fixed duration and could last for life. Later he established fixed terms of three to five years. Because of the distances between Spain and South America, and with sailing as the chief means of transport, there were long delays between the designation of a viceroy and the viceroy's effectively taking power. In addition, regular