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The Retroversion of the sovereignty to the people, which challenged the legitimacy of the colonial authorities, was the principle underlying the Spanish American Independence processes.

In 1808, the Spanish King Ferdinand VII had been imprisoned by the Napoleonic Empire and subsequently replaced by Joseph Bonaparte. In Spain, resistant governing juntas were formed, claiming sovereignty in the absence of the legitimate King. The principle of retroversion of sovereignty provided that, in such a case, sovereignty immediately returns to the peoples, who have a right to appoint new authorities. Following the 1810 disbanding of the central governing Supreme Central and Governing Junta of the Kingdom, Spanish American peoples assumed, in turn, their right to appoint new local authorities.

Thus, in both Spain and Spanish America, this principle was a precedecessor to the concept of popular sovereignty, currently expressed in most constitutional systems throughout the world, whereby the people delegate governmental functions in their leaders while retaining the actual sovereignty.

Description

The principle of retroversion of sovereignty was premised on the basis that the Spanish territories in America were a personal possession of the king of Spain, and not a colony of Spain. Only the king could rule over them, either directly or through viceroys appointed by himself. This principle already existed, and justified the fact that Spain and Spanish America had different laws. Scholars of the Laws of the Indies had argued that they were two different realms, united under one same crown.

With the imprisonment of Ferdinand VII in Spain during the Peninsular war and the absence of a legitimate successor, the criterion was used to justify self-government. The Junta of Seville had no authority to send or appoint viceroys in America, but Americans had instead the same rights as Spaniards to govern themselves as the rightful king was absent.

The principle was employed by many independentist movements in South America of that time, such as the Chuquisaca Revolution or the May Revolution.

See also

• School of Salamanca
• Francisco Suárez

Footnotes

1. Nuevas perspectivas en la Historia de la Revolución de Mayo Template:Es
2. ^ Luna, Félix (March 2001). «La fórmula de la Revolución», Grandes protagonistas de la historia argentina: Juan José Castelli (in spanish). Buenos Aires: Editorial Planeta, pp. 51. ISBN 950-49-0656-7.

v t e Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Regions	Banda Oriental Governorate of the Río de la Plata Upper Peru
Political ideas	Carlotism Monarchism in Uruguay Empecinados Retroversion of the sovereignty to the people
Military conflicts	Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II British invasions of the River Plate
Autonomist rebellions	Chuquisaca Revolution Cry of Asencio La Paz revolution May Revolution Mutiny of Álzaga
Dissolution	Argentine War of Independence Independence of Paraguay Siege of Montevideo Argentine Declaration of Independence

• Political theories
• Spanish American wars of independence
• Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
• Popular sovereignty