Buenos Aires – In June of 1806, 1,500 British troops arrived in this area with the intent to capture the cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, the major port cities defending the Rio de la Plata. Outnumbered, they continued this attempt for nearly a year, laying siege to the city of Buenos Aires. The Spanish, meanwhile, continued to fortify the city and successfully defended it, and on July 5, 1807, the British, despite the gradual influx of 10,000 new troops, gave up, General John Whitelocke “surrendering,” and the British troops returned to England. One would think that that would have been a relatively significant event in the history of the city – and, indeed, it’s enough to rate a street, 5 de Julio, in the San Telmo neighborhood. On the other hand, the street consists of but a single block running between Avenida Belgrano and Calle Venezuela (hmm, July 5th is also Venezuelan Independence Day, could that be the reason for the street name?), in truth not much more than a wide alley, that with the exception of one small apartment building that fronts onto it, is really just a series of back door delivery entrances for several restaurants, office buildings, and a Catholic university.