Juan Manuel de Rosas (30 March 1793 - 14 March 1877) was a politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation.

Although born into a wealthy family; Rosas independently amassed a personal fortune; acquiring large tracts of land in the process. Rosas enlisted his workers in a private militia; as was common for rural proprietors; and took part in the factious disputes that led to numerous civil wars in his country. Victorious in warfare; personally influential; and with vast landholdings and a loyal private army; Rosas became the quintessential caudillo; as provincial warlords in the region were known.

In fact; far from being a 'liberator'; Black people did not experience any improvement in their conditions under his totalitarian regime. Rosas was himself a slave-owner; and helped revive the slave trade. Despite doing little to promote their interests; he remained popular among blacks and gauchos. He employed blacks; patronized their festivities and attended their religious ceremonies.