In September of that same year, Belgrano departed for Paraguay with an army which likewise numbered less than 1,000 men. After gaining some slight advantages which enabled him to get close to Asunción, he was defeated at Paraguarí and subsequently on March 9, 1811, at Tacuarí, both in Paraguay. Belgrano was a poor general but a great citizen, and though he lost battles, he won the respect of his enemies. After Tacuarí, he reorganized and extricated his army in a way that gave him considerable fame, in addition to which his insidious revolutionary propaganda destroyed local Spanish authority. Belgrano was the real founder of Paraguayan independence. Montevideo at first apparently supported the May revolution of Buenos Aires, but shortly afterwards changed its attitude, recognized the authority of the Regency at Cádiz, and though its subsequent history has many points of contact with that of the Argentine, it never again became a component part of the nation. The pure Spanish element was stronger in Montevideo than in Buenos Aires, where the creoles dominated. It should be noted that up to here, no mention has been made of a Declaration of Independence. Indeed none was made for over six years or until July 9, 1816 at Tucumán. The May movement was a revolt against Regency tyranny, an assertion that the colony should be locally even though temporarily autonomous. The Argentine intellectuals argued that Spain had ceased to exist as an authority over America, and that during the King's captivity the Colony and not the Regency would assume the Royal prerogatives; but there was no disposition to deny the King's eventual overlordship. The Provisional Council under the Presidency of Saavedra installed itself in the Fortress on May 25th. 1810, and swore to preserve the country under the sceptre of Ferdinand VII and to observe the laws of the kingdom. Although governing as an autonomous body, it always invoked the name and authority of the King, a rather anomalous position. The expeditions to Upper Perú under Balcarce and to Paraguay under Belgrano used the flag of Spain, and the same emblem daily flew over the Fortress and city of Buenos Aires for three years. It was not until 1813 that the oath of allegiance to the King was abolished, and all Spanish civil, military and ecclesiastical employees were removed from office.