Argentina History

History
The first permanent settlements in Argentina came during the mid–1500s from the west as colonists, coming over the Andes Mountains from Peru, settled Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, and other northwestern mountain towns. As Argentina did not have the silver and gold the Spaniards were seeking, Buenos Aires, settled in 1580, and other coastal towns grew much slower than their counterparts in the northwestern mountains.

In 1776, Spain created one large colony in the southeastern part of South American and named it Viceroyalty of La Plata. It consisted of what are now Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and parts of Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile. Buenos Aires became the capital of the vice-royalty and began to thrive as a trade center. Indians in the south kept control of the Patagonia province and most of the Pampa province.

The early 1800s was a period of independence for South America. Countries were in the process of declaring or fighting for independence from Spain. The people of Buenos Aires had been able to fight off the British attempt to seize Buenos Aires in 1806–7 without the help of the Spanish army. This encouraged Argentina to form an independent government for the viceroyalty of La Plata in 1810. Provinces outside of Argentina opposed this action and eventually broke away.

Argentina declared independence at the Congress of Tucumán on July 9, 1816. The new country became known as the United Provinces of La Plata. The beginning for the Argentine government was rocky. Residents of Buenos Aires wanted a strong central government while the large rural landowners outside of Buenos Aires area wanted more local authority. From 1829 to 1852, Juan Manuel de Rosas, a landowner from the rich land area of the pampa of the Buenos Aires province, ruled as a dictator. After another period of unrest the country was united in 1862 and named Argentina with the nation’s capital established at Buenos Aires. By the late 1800s, the Buenos Aires province had become the heart of Argentina, having been settled by many European farmers.

The reform movements started in the late 1800s. Argentina’s economy flourished and immigrants and foreign investment poured into the country. During the first half of the 1900s immigrants kept coming to Argentina. Today over 85% of the Argentines live in cities and towns. Most Argentines have Spanish or Italian ancestry, speak Spanish, and are Roman Catholics.

Timeline
1580 - Buenos Aires was settled 1776 - Spain created one large colony in the southeastern part of South American and named it Viceroyalty of La Plata. It consisted of what are now Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and parts of Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile 1806- 1807 - The people of Buenos Aires had been able to fight off the British attempt without the help of the Spanish army. 1810 - Argentina formed an independent government for the viceroyalty of La Plata Provinces outside of Argentina opposed this action and eventually broke away. 1816 - Argentina declared independence at the Congress of Tucumán and the new country became known as the United Provinces of La Plata. 1862 - After a period of unrest the country was united and named Argentina with the nation’s capital established at Buenos Aires. 1900's -During the first half of the 1900s immigrants kept coming to Argentina. Most Argentines have Spanish or Italian ancestry

Online Histories

 * Wikipedia's history of Argentina
 * History of Argentina, from The Argentina Independent
 * "Manual de la Historia Argentina," a Google eBook, published in 1920
 * "Argentina: Legend and History," a Google eBook (Spanish), published in 1919
 * "Illustrated Descriptive Argentina," a Google ebook, published in 1917
 * "Argentina and Uruguay," a Google ebook, published in 1916
 * "The Amazing Argentine," a Google ebook, published in 1914
 * "Argentina: Past and Present," a Google ebook, published in 1914
 * "Argentina," a Google eBook (English), published in 1910
 * "Geographía Argentina," a Google ebook, published in 1905
 * "The Argentine Republic," a Google ebook, published in 1876