Brief History of Argentina: Colonization to Present Day

Timeline created by pcrerar

Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
02/01/1516	Rio de La Plata discovered	Rio de La Plata is discovered by the Spaniard Juan Diaz de Solis who claimed it for Spain
03/15/1536	Buenos Aires founded	Pedro de Mendoza establishes settlement of Nuestra Senora de Santa Maria del Buen Ayre. It is wiped out by disease and attacks from local tribes
12/23/1551	Santiago del Estero founded	Founded by colonists from Peru, Argentina's oldest permanent Spanish settlement. Located in northern section of current day Argentina.
06/11/1580	Buenos Aires: Take 2	Buenos Aires resettled by Spanish conquistador Juan de Garay, originating from Asuncion, Paraguay. The official name was Trinidad y Puerto de Santa Maria del Buen Ayre
01/28/1594	Spain prohibits trade	Spanish king declares that neither goods nor peoples can be transported to and from Peru via the port of Buenos Aires, so that the monarchy can control and tax all South American commerce from Seville. The Rio de La Plata region, without the silver and gold found in Peru and Mexico and now no growth as a trading center, is left to stagnate.
01/01/1650	Contraband and Wealth	Ignored by Spain, tempted by Dutch and Portuguese merchants and blessed with agricultural riches (especially leather goods), portenos openly violate Spanish prohibition on trade. Buenos Aires grows in size, wealth and importance.
08/01/1776	Buenos Aires Viceroyalty Capital	Spain's Charles III organizes territories of current day Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia into Viceroyalty of Rio de La Plata with Buenos Aires as its capital. This territorial reorganization legalizes trade out of the port of Buenos Aires, increasing commerce (especially silver from Bolivia and leather from Argentina) and wealth. In 20 years, the population of Buenos Aires triples.
06/25/1806	British invade Buenos Aires	No, not the Beatles. The British soldiers are driven back on August 20th but attack again on June 28th of 1807. They are finally repulsed on July 7 1807. This event unites the towns and cities of Argentina who organize militias to defend their territory. It also gives them the confidence to declare independence by the end of the decade.
05/25/1810	Independent gov't established	Spain is occupied by Napoleon. Many South American territories reject Spain's puppet rule by the French, driving them toward independence. Buenos Aires sets up a new independent government.
01/31/1813	Emancipation of Slaves	All children of slave and their decendents are free as of this date.
07/09/1816	Argentina declares independence	In San Miguel de Tucuman, delegates meet to approve the declaration, concluding that ".. it is the unanimous will of these provinces to break the violent links that chained them to the Kings of Spain, recover the rights that were stripped away, and become a nation free and independent". This first congress takes place in the context of setbacks to the cause of independence in Argentinean territories, other South American countries and a Spanish monarchy now free from napoleonic interference.
04/05/1818	Battle of Maipu	San Martin, the military libertor of Argentina, has crossed the Andes and with an Argentinean and Chilean force and the revolutionary Chilean Army, defeats the Spanish army in the Valley of Maipu. Bernardo O'Higgins, the leader of the Chilean Army, recovering from a recent wound, is in Santiago and has left command to San Martin. At battle's end, O'Higgins arrives and the two leaders greet each other. San Martin later heads to Peru to lead the cause of independence in that country.
01/01/1835	Rosas Dictatorship	Juan Manuel de Rosas, of aristocratic roots but gaining power through populist support, violently eliminates all opposition to rule Argentina for almost 20 years.
03/18/1865	The War of the Triple Alliance	Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina at war against Paraguay, a landlocked country looking to expand and ruled by the Lopez family. The war lasted 6 years and caused more deaths than any other war in South America. Paraguay was defeated and lost a third of its territory to Brazil and Argentina. The war also strengthened Argentina's position in the Rio de La Plata region (vis a vis Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay).
11/01/1878	Conquest of the Desert	As European settlements grew in wealth and territory, their towns and cities came under attack from the native tribes. By the mid 1800s, Chile was expanding its settlements in Patagonia. To protect the population and the border, and to continue to grow as a nation, General Juan Roca, the Minister of War, set out on campaign from Buenos Aires to the western border. His solution was to conquer the natives by any means, and to establish forts to protect the newly subdued territories.
01/01/1895	Immigration	Fleeing from social unrest, unemployment and in some cases persecution, European immigrants are welcomed to Argentina to populate and cultivate the vast territory. The largest waves of immigration took place from 1880 to 1914 (the start of WWI). About 1/2 the immigrants orignate from Italy. The rest come from Spain, England (to work on railroad construction), France, Ireland, Wales, Russia, Germany and other nations.
06/15/1900	Investment and Trade	In the 1880s and 1890s, with heavy foreign investment, especially British, Argentina developed a national railway system and made it cheaper to transport and export agricultural products. Argentina also improved its meat-packing industry, modernized its banking system and continued to invest in public education. Heavy foreign investment and growth in exports, Argentina becomes one of the wealthiest nations in the world.
09/06/1930	Military Coup #1	General Uriburu and the military overthrows democratically-elected President Yrigoyen. This is the beginning of the "Infamous Decade" where fraudulent elections put in place corrupt leaders who support the military regime.
05/01/1946	Peron elected	Juan Domingo Peron, gaining power in the military and supported by union leadership, is elected president. His presidency is characterized by populism, universal suffrage, nationalization of key industrial sectors, investment in infrastructure and suppression of freedom of speech. Evita, his wife, was even more popular than Peron, seen as a hero to the down trodden and dispossessed.
09/16/1955	Another military coup	Growing disenchantment with Peron's presidency among the military, leaders of industry, students, upper classes and other groups motivate the military to depose Peron. He flees to Paraguay and eventually to Spain.
11/30/1963	Your humble narrator is born	That's right, I was a cute baby.
03/24/1976	Military Dictatorship	After 3 years of political chaos and violence among various factions, the military once again stages a coup. This time it is against Isabel Peron, Juan Peron's wife and vice president during his re-election in 73. Isabelita became president when Peron died during his presidency. The military stamps out violent and insurgent groups and itself evolves into a repressive and violent regime, in a period of history known as "the dirty war".
06/25/1978	Argentina Wins World Cup	Argentina hosts the World Cup for the first time and goes on to win the tournament, beating the formidable Dutch team 3-1 in overtime. The emotional impact on the country, with its unifying passion for "futbol" can only be described as euphoria. Here you see Daniel Passarella, the brilliant captain of the team, greeting the crowd with the Cup.
12/10/1983	Democracy Returns	After 7 years of mlitary rule and oppression, the gradual discovery of the level of atrocities perpetuated by the military during the "Dirty War" and an ill-considered, unsuccessful war with the UK over the Malvinas (Falklands), Argentina presses for a return to democracy. Raul Alfonsin, leader of the opposition to the peronists but perceived as a force for unification and healing, wins election.
06/29/1986	2nd World Cup Win	Superstar Diego Maradona and a brilliant Argentinean squad coached by Carlos Bilardo beat Germany 3-2 at the 1986 World Cup final in Mexico City.
12/20/2001	Economic Crisis	The peso, pegged at a 1 to 1 rate with the US dollar, is seen as overvalued and investors move their money to off shore banks. Economic problems in Brazil, a major trading partner, also increase pressure on the economy. Argentina's unemployment rate grows to over 15%, crime increases, and banks fail. Riots break out and President De La Rua, unable to control the situation, resigns. The peso is later left to float freely, resulting in a 66% devaluation of wealth, literally overnight.
02/03/2009	Argentina Travel Blog debuts	www.argentinatravelblog.com