Aráoz came from a wealthy and influential family in the northern province of Tucumán in the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, and was a leader of the local militia.

In 1810 he supported the May Revolution in which the leaders in Buenos Aires declared independence from the Napoleonic regime in Spain.

He played a decisive role in the crucial Battle of Tucumán fought in 1812 against the royalists, and was made governor of his province.

He was deposed again, forced into exile, arrested, brought back and executed without trial by a firing squad.

[4] Bernabé Aráoz was closely related to the statesman and priest Pedro Miguel Aráoz, who represented Tucumán at the 1816 Congress of Tucumán in which the delegates declared the independence of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (today called Argentina).

[4] In this movement the local leaders rejected the authority of the Spanish government after Napoleon had installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king.

[4] Aráoz raised regular militiamen on behalf of the junta, making an important contribution to the roughly 3,000 soldiers stationed in the northern center of Tucumán.

[8] In August 1812 General Manuel Belgrano had been ordered to retreat from the Spanish to a strong position at Córdoba, abandoning places such as Tucumán that lay further to the north.

[13] On 4 September 1815, separatists in Santiago del Estero led by Francisco Borges launched a first bid for independence, but Aráoz suppressed the movement.

[14] After its disastrous defeat at the Battle of Sipe-Sipe (29 November 1815) the central government could provide little support to the northern provinces of Salta and Tucumán, which largely had to look after their own defense.

The struggle between those wanting strong central control and those favoring a looser federation would continue for many years.

[14] Aráoz fell out with Belgrano, and in September 1817 he was replaced by Feliciano de la Mota Botello, from Catamarca.

[4] In November 1819 Feliciano de la Mota was deposed by Abraham González while General Belgrano was staying in Tucumán.

[14] In March 1820 he received an urgent request for assistance from General José de San Martín, commander of the armies fighting the Spanish.

[14] There was growing animosity between Bernabé Aráoz and the governor of Salta Province, Martín Miguel de Güemes.

[22] Güemes took the side of Santiago del Estero, invaded the Republic of Tucumán and captured Catamarca, ousting Bernabé Aráoz's relative, Lieutenant Governor Juan José de la Madrid, in March 1821.

[23] However, Güemes suffered a series of defeats and then was forced to return to Salta Province since the royalists had taken the opportunity to invade Jujuy.

[3] After the Battle of Tucumán, General José de San Martín wrote of him that he doubted that there were ten men in the Americas who united so many virtues.