#there aren't contemporary images of the cabildo in 1810 - most images of it were made for the centenary

[archduchessofnowhere]

The May Revolution, by Francisco Fortuny, 1910.

The news of the dissolution of the Junta Central, the provisional government of Spain, arrived in Buenos Aires on May 14 of 1810. On the 18, the Viceroy, Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, issued a public proclamation announcing the critical state of Spain. This ignited political talks and the porteños started to demand for the Viceroy to call for an Open Cabildo to deliberate the future of the government, which he eventually did on the 22. After after days of agitated debate, and pressed by armed groups that had gathered around the Cabildo, on May 25 Viceroy Cisneros was removed from his charge and a Junta made up by the members of the Cabildo was formed to assume the government of the Viceroyalty of the Río de La Plata. Known today as the "Primera Junta", it's considered the first patriotic government of current-day Argentina. Although formed in the name of King Fernando VII, many of its members already considered Spain lost to the French and had in mind the independence of the territory, which was only declared on July 9 of 1816.