>Antonio "El Gaucho" Rivero was a gaucho known for his leading role in the Port Louis Murders of 26 August 1833, in which five prominent members of the settlement of Port Louis on the Falkland Islands were murdered.
>In Argentine revisionist historiography and public consciousness, Rivero is viewed as a patriotic hero who rebelled against British authority. However, academic historians both in Argentina and abroad agree that Rivero's actions were not motivated by patriotism, but by disputes over pay and working conditions with the representatives of Louis Vernet, the former Argentine Political and Military Commander of the islands.
>Rivero's place of birth, like almost all other details of his life outside the events of 1833–1834, is unknown.
>The circumstances of Rivero's death are unknown.
>Rivero has acquired the status of a folk hero in Argentina, where he is portrayed as leading a rebellion against British rule. However, Rivero and his associates were responsible for massacring five individuals of various nationalities, all employees of Louis Vernet with close links to the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata.
>The initial British plans for the Falklands were based on the perpetuation of Vernet's settlement, backed by an annual visit by a warship. This was the standard practice of maintaining a settlement with the minimum of expense. Thus, there was no British presence in the islands at the time of the Port Louis murders. A direct result of the murders was the installation of a permanent British Government presence.
>In 2015, a new banknote was issued by the Argentine government themed on the Falkland Islands. In the reverse, Antonio Rivero is depicted on a horse flying the flag of Argentina.
Argies SERIOUSLY celebrate a man who they know nothing about apart from that he murdered a bunch of people with close connections to Argentina, and led to a permanent British presence in the Falklands.
He's on their money. For a massacre. Seriously.
