Before the Spaniards arrived, about 20 Amerindian groups comprising some 300,000 people lived in the region now called Argentina. They were mainly nomadic hunter-gatherers, although the Guardant practiced slash-and-burn agriculture.
Spaniards arrived in Argentina in 1516. They called the region “La Plata” (literally “silver”) under the mistaken impression that it was rich in silver. Colonists from Chile, Peru, and Asuncion (in present-day Paraguay) created the first permanent Spanish settlements in Argentina, including Buenos Aires in 1580. In 1776, Río de la Plata became a vice-royalty, with Buenos Aires as the main port and administrative center.
During the early colonial period, there was little interest in Argentina. The region had no mineral wealth, and Spaniards overlooked the fertile soil and temperate climate of the region. As a result, Buenos Aires had a population of only about 25,000 at the time of the viceroy’s arrival. The Spaniards could not afford to ignore Buenos Aires by the late 1700s, when the city was growing rapidly thanks to illegal trade financed by British interests. Goods were smuggled to Brazil and the Caribbean Islands. Spain worried about British and Portuguese expansion and sought to control trade and collect more taxes from the growing commerce.
In May 1810, following the example set by Spanish cities after the capture of King Ferdinand VII by the French, Buenos Aires held an open town meeting (Cabildo Abierto). A junta was elected, which deposed the viceroy and declared itself in authority. On 9 July 1816, a congress of provincial delegates in San Miguel de Tucumán signed a declaration of independence, and in 1817, Gen. José de San Martín led an army across the Andes to liberate Chile and Peru.
After independence, Buenos Aires was a major force in the region, and strongmen (caudillos) from the surrounding provinces attempted to curb its power. The internal power struggle lasted until Juan Manuel de Rosas became governor of Buenos Aires Province. He imposed order and centralism from 1835 until 1852, when the forces of Gen. Justo José de Urquiza defeated him. A new constitution was adopted in 1853, and Urquiza was elected president in 1854. The struggle for power between Buenos Aires, the hub of commercial activity for the country, and the provinces that provide the raw materials, continued through the late 1800s. It was not until 1880, when the city was named the federal capital, that regional peace was achieved. By then, Argentina was becoming a modern nation, with new railroads and roads under construction. Thousands of European immigrants flocked to the country each year looking for a better life. Buenos Aires alone grew from 90,000 people in 1851 to 1.3 million by 1910, when the city was called the “Paris of South America.”
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
