William Brown and Argentine naval power

Brown's disputed Royal Navy experience helped him prevail over another candidate for command, Benjamin Franklin Seaver, whose merchant nationality had shifted after the United States Embargo Act. Brown then developed the fleet into an effective force and later defeated Giuseppe Garibaldi. His reputation endured in Argentine ship names, monuments, and state commemoration as a symbol of the republic's naval glory. Brown's activities may also have served British commercial interests by weakening Spain while Britain and Spain were formally allied against France.