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New Andalusia / Rio de la Plata (River Plate)
AD 1534 - 1776
The Rio de la Plata (River Plate) estuary was the border between the
Spanish
colony of Peru, of which
Argentina was a part, and the
Portuguese
colony of Brazil. 'River plate'
means 'river of silver' in Spanish. This describes the river itself rather
than the estuary, where the rivers Paraná and Uruguay meet. It was first
discovered by Europeans in 1516 when the Spanish navigator, Juan Diaz de
Solis, was killed by the indigenous people whilst exploring the Rio de la
Plata. His death discouraged further European colonisation of what would
become Uruguay for more than a
century. The Falkland Islands were also discovered in 1520 by members of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition (Magellan
did not make landfall on the islands). The colony of Buenos Aires was founded
in 1536. Temporarily abandoned, it was re-founded in 1580 by the governor,
Juan de Garay.
The governate of Rio de la Plata was established after the new viceroyalty of
Peru took territory away from New Spain.
It fell under the supervision of Peru, and also included
Paraguay until 1617.
Between its creation and 1776, the province of Argentina within Rio de la Plata
was administered separately from the neighbouring provinces of
Bolivia, Paraguay, and
the Eastern Strip (Uruguay).
(Additional information from External Link:
BBC Country Profiles.) |
1529 - 1534 |
Pedro de Mendoza offers to explore South America at his own expense,
intending to found colonies there. In 1534 his offer is accepted and the
conquistador is made the first governor of New Andalusia. Two years later, Mendoza founds the colony of
Buenos Aires. |
1534 - 1537 |
Pedro de Mendoza |
First governor and captain general of New Andalusia. |
1537 |
Disappointed with the poor progress on the colony, Pedro de Mendoza sets
sail for Spain,
promising to send reinforcements. He dies during the voyage. |
1537 - 1539 |
Juan de Ayolas |
Governor of New Andalusia. Killed by natives. |
1539 - 1541 |
Domingo Martinez
de Irala |
Governor of New Andalusia. |
1541 |
The colony of Buenos Aires is abandoned due to the many difficulties faced
there, not least of these being a coalition of the native tribes which has
been formed against them. The colonists move to Asuncion. |
1541 - 1544 |
Alvar Nunez
Cabeza de Vaca |
Governor of New Andalusia. |
1544 |
New Andalusia is renamed Rio de la Plata.
 |
The southernmost tip of both Argentina and Chile, Patagonia was
first explored by Europeans in 1520, but witnessed little
serious examination until the eighteenth century
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|
1544 - 1556 |
Domingo Martinez
de Irala |
Restored, but now as governor of Rio de la Plata. |
1556 - 1558 |
Gonzalo de
Mendoza |
|
1558 - 1569 |
Francisco Ortiz
de Vergara |
|
1569 - 1572 |
Felipe de Caceres |
Arrested and sent to Spain
for trial. |
1572 - 1576 |
Juan Ortiz de
Zarate |
|
1576 - 1578 |
Diego Ortiz de
Zarate |
|
1578 - 1583 |
Juan de Garay |
|
1580 |
Juan de Garay re-founds the colony of Buenos Aires on 11 June. |
1583 - 1587 |
Alonso de Vera y
Aragon |
De facto governor until 1592 from Asuncion. |
1587 - 1592 |
Juan Torres de
Vera y Aragon |
|
1592 - 1594 |
Hernando Arias de
Saavedra |
First governor of Rio de la Plata &
Paraguay. |
1594 - 1595 |
Fernando de Zarate |
|
1596 - 1597 |
Juan
Ramírez de Velasco |
|
1597 - 1599 |
Hernando Arias de
Saavedra |
Second term of office. |
1599 - 1600 |
Diego Rodríguez
de Valdes y de la Banda |
|
1600 - 1602 |
Frances de
Beaumont |
|
1602 - 1609 |
Hernando Arias de
Saavedra |
Third term of office. Restricted the slave trade. |
1609 - 1613 |
Diego Martin de
Negron |
|
1613 - 1615 |
Mateo Leal de
Ayala |
|
1615 - 1618 |
Hernando Arias de
Saavedra |
Fourth term of office. |
1617 |
The Spanish
viceroy of Peru, Francisco de
Borja y Aragon, divides the government of Rio de la Plata
in two, creating Buenos Aires and Paraguay, both of which remain
dependencies of Peru. |
1618 - 1623 |
Diego de Gongora |
|
1623 - 1631 |
Francisco de
Cespedes |
|
1624 |
The first permanent settlement is founded in the Eastern Strip (Uruguay),
at Villa Soriano. |
1631 - 1637 |
Pedro Esteban
Davila |
|
1637 - 1641 |
Mendo de la Cueva
y Benavidez |
|
1641 |
Andres de
Sandoval |
Interim governor. |
1641 - 1645 |
Jeronimo Luis de
Cabrera |
|
1645 - 1653 |
Jacinto Lariz |
|
1653 - 1660 |
Pedro Baigorri
Ruiz |
|
1660 - 1663 |
Alonso Mercado y
Villacorta |
|
1663 - 1674 |
Juan Martinez de
Salazar |
|
1674 - 1678 |
Andres de Robles |
|
1678 - 1682 |
Jose de
Garro |
|
1680 |
Portuguese
settlers from Brazil
build a fort at Colonia del Sacramento in
Uruguay. The move causes the
Spanish
administration to increase its interest in the area, as they seek to
limit the expansion of Brazil. |
1682 - 1691 |
Jose de Herrera y
Sotomayor |
|
1690 |
The Falkland Islands, sighted in 1520 by Ferdinand Magellan but never set
foot on, is now explored by
British
naval Captain John Strong. He names the islands after Viscount Falkland, his
patron, who shortly afterwards becomes First Lord of the Admiralty. |
1691 - 1698 |
Agustin de Robles |
|
1698 - 1701 |
Manuel de Prado y
Maldonado |
|
1701 - 1707 |
Antonio Juan de
Valdes y Inclan |
|
1708 |
Manuel de Velasco
y Tejada |
|
1708 - 1714 |
Juan Jose de
Mutiloa |
|
1714 |
Alonso de Arce y
Soria |
|
1714 - 1715 |
Jose Bermudez de
Castro |
Interim governor. |
1715 - 1717 |
Baltasar Garcia
Ros |
|
1717 - 1734 |
Bruno Mauricio de Zavala |
Founded Montevideo. |
1724 |
Governor Bruno Mauricio de Zavala founds a fortress which forms the basis
for the later development of Montevideo. In this period it is purely a
military stronghold, with de Zavala feeling that it is required in order
to hold back
Portuguese
encroachment from Brazil. In
time it becomes the capital of the independent republic of
Uruguay. |
1734 - 1742 |
Miguel de Salcedo
y Sierraalta |
|
1742 - 1745 |
Domingo Ortiz de
Rozas |
|
1745 - 1756 |
Jose de
Andonaegui |
|
1756 - 1766 |
Pedro Antonio de
Ceballos Cortes |
|
1764 - 1774 |
A small
French colony named Port Louis is established on East Falkland in 1764
and is handed to the
Spanish
three years later. A
British
expedition reaches Port Egmont, in West Falkland, in 1765, and 'took formal
possession of it and of 'all the neighbouring islands' for King George III'.
Another British expedition establishes a settlement of about a hundred
people at Port Egmont in 1766, and although it withdraws on economic grounds
in 1774, 'sovereignty was never relinquished or abandoned'. |
1766 - 1770 |
Francisco de
Paula Bucarelli y Ursua |
|
1770 - 1777 |
Juan Jose de
Vertiz y Salcedo |
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Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata (River Plate)
AD 1776 - 1810
In the eighteenth century, Spain became increasingly concerned about the
rise of rival world powers, especially
Great Britain
and
Portugal,
who both had an interest in the Continent. To try and address security
concerns, Rio de la Plata was raised to a viceroyalty out of the southern
territories of Peru in 1776,
gaining independent control of the provinces of Argentina,
Bolivia,
Chile,
Paraguay and
Uruguay. The last such
viceroyalty to be created, it quickly lost Chile, which became autonomous
in 1789, and just thirty-four years after its creation it was ended.
(Additional information from The British Invasion of the River Plate
1806-1807: How the Redcoats Were Humbled and a Nation Was Born, Ben
Hughes (Pen & Sword Book Ltd, 2014).) |
1777 - 1778 |
Pedro Antonio de
Ceballos Cortes |
Previously served as governor of Rio de la Plata. |
1778 - 1784 |
Juan Jose de
Vertiz y Salcedo |
Previously served as governor of Rio de la Plata. |
1784 - 1789 |
Nicolas del Campo
Maestre Cuesta |
|
1789 |
Chile becomes
an autonomous captaincy general, removed from the administration of Rio de
la Plata.
 |
Seen here in its mountainside setting are the ruins of
Quilmes, home to the native tribe in the Tucumán region
that was defeated by the Spanish in the seventeenth
century
|
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|
1789 - 1795 |
Nicolas Antonio
de Arredondo |
|
1795 - 1797 |
Pedro Melo de
Portugal y Villena |
|
1797 - 1799 |
Antonio Olaguer y
Feliu |
Interim governor. |
1799 - 1801 |
Gabriel de Aviles
y Fierro |
|
1801 - 1804 |
Joaquin del Pino
y Rozas |
|
1804 |
Jose Fernando de Abascal y Sousa |
Named viceroy but then handed
Peru instead. |
1804 - 1807 |
Rafael de
Sobremonte Nunez |
|
1806 - 1807 |
Following its victory at Trafalgar,
Great Britain
is still at war with
Spain,
and as part of its military efforts British troops attempt to take Buenos
Aires. Montevideo in
Uruguay is occupied at the
start of 1807 for several months as they prepare for the attempt on Buenos
Aires. That attempt is defeated and the British withdraw, boosting the
self-confidence of the colony. |
1807 - 1809 |
Santiago de
Liniers y de Bremond |
|
1809 - 1810 |
Baltasar Hidalgo
de Cisneros y la Torre |
Ousted by the
citizens and militias of Buenos Aires. |
1810 |
Following the
French occupation of
Spain
and the subsequent weakening of the crown, various wars of independence break
out across the Spanish Americas, including
New Spain and
Guatemala.
Peru serves as a centre for the
royalist opposition to these revolts. On 25 May Buenos Aires revolts, so the
viceroy, Abascal, reincorporates the provinces of
Chile, Cordoba, La Paz and Potosi
(both in modern Bolivia), and Quito
(part of New Granada)
from Rio de la Plata. Fighting also takes place in
Uruguay, although the province
remains relatively secure.
 |
Thanks to France's occupation of Spain during the Napoleonic
Wars, Spain's colonies in the Americas quickly took the
opportunity to declare their independence
|
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|
1811 |
Francisco Javier
de Elio y Olondriz |
Last (self-declared) viceroy. Lost territory to rebellion
and defeats. |
1810 - 1811 |
The viceroyalty effectively dissolves as a vehicle of governance in the
region. A new administration is formed without
Spain's
influence or control. The Spanish settlement on East Falkland, which had
been handed over to them by
French settlers in 1767, is also withdrawn, 'leaving the islands without
inhabitants or any form of government'. Despite this the newly formed
United Provinces still claims
the abandoned islands as part of the transfer of regional power from Spain. |
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United Provinces of South America / La Plata
AD 1810 - 1825
The viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata
had been formed in 1776 out of the southern territories of
Peru. This promoted the previous
regional governorship and gave it independent control of the provinces of
Argentina, Bolivia,
Chile,
Paraguay and
Uruguay. However, the turbulent
years of the Napoleonic Wars weakened
Spanish
influence in its American colonies. Firstly Buenos Aires was able to beat
off an attempted invasion by
Great Britain in 1807, and then the
French occupied Spain itself, showing how weak the imperial master
had become. Various wars of independence broke out across the Spanish
Americas, and the viceroyalty was all but dead by 1810.
A new, republican administration was formed which was free of any
direct Spanish control. This was despite there not having been any
declaration of independence (unlike in
Venezuela), and despite
attempts by the self-declared viceroy, Francisco Javier de Elio y
Olondriz, to take control in 1811. The United Provinces of South America
was far from stable. All the while the Spanish were fighting to regain
their lost territories, with Argentina's own fight against them not
ending until 1818, and the former colonial states were also fighting each
other.
In 1814, the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata replaced the previous
version, with Buenos Aires as the capital. In the process, Paraguay was
lost as it established its own independent state while
Chile to the west
established its own republic. Buenos Aires itself was now under the control
of the 'supreme director', but the post turned out to be something of a
poisoned chalice. With factions on the republican side at each other's
throats on a constant basis, there could be little agreement about who would
take the office. The second director was removed by a coup, others were only
acting directors or interim directors while some sort of agreement could be
reached on a full appointment. Ultimately, the system failed and a new one
replaced it in the form of a confederation.
(Information by Peter Kessler, from Gobernar la Revolución: Poderes
en disputa en el Río de la Plata, 1810-1816, Marcela Ternavasio (Buenos
Aires, 2007), and from Historical Dictionary of Argentina, Ione S
Wright and Lisa M Nekhom (1978).) |
1810 |
Cornelio
Judas Tadeo |
President
of the First Junta, 25 May-18 Dec. |
1810 - 1811 |
Cornelio Judas
Tadeo |
President of
the Second Junta, 18 Dec-26 Aug. |
1811 |
Domingo
Matheu Chicola |
President
of the Second Junta, 26 Aug-23 Sep. |
1811 - 1814 |
The
First Triumvirate is formed on 23 September 1811. This lasts until 8 October
1812, when the Second Triumvirate replaces it and survives until 31 January
1814. Then the post of supreme director replaces the triumvirate, with a
two-year tenure, a nine-man council to regulate him, and the hope of being
more effectively able to oppose the royalists who are still fighting to
re-establish
Spanish
rule. The directorship is occupied by nine different incumbents (some of
them acting or interim directors) between January 1814 and February 1820,
rendering it largely devoid of power. The second director is the nephew of
the first, and is removed from office by a coup. The Third Triumvirate takes
control as an interim government until the next supreme director can be
appointed.
 |
Shown here are two sides of the eight reales piece which was
issued by the United Provinces of South America in 1813, just
three years into its short political existence
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1814 - 1817 |
A fresh
Spanish
attack on Chile surprises
the Chilean forces and sweeps them into Argentina, where they remain for three
years while the royalists take control of the country. The Spanish king,
Ferdinand VII, has been restored to his throne, largely thanks to the
efforts of
British and
Portuguese
forces in Iberia, and the war to regain the colonies is pursued with fresh
vigour. |
1815 - 1817 |
The
Liga Federal, or Federal League, is formed in eastern Argentina and
Uruguay by Jose Gervasio Artigas,
a former officer in the
Spanish
army. The move leads to war between that and the United Provinces for control
of southern and eastern South America. The better-armed United Provinces win
the main war in 1817, but fighting continues in the countryside. |
1816 |
Uruguay is invaded by
Portuguese troops from Brazil
and is ultimately seized from
Spanish
control. Brazil's own control of it is fleeting, however. It forms part of
the United Provinces until 1825, when it frees itself and declares its own
independent republic. |
1819 - 1825 |
Fighting
a nationalist war of independence in Peru,
the Spanish
vice-regents are defeated and agree to leave Peruvian territories. La Plata
itself is riven by civil war which leaves no effective central control in place.
In 1820, the centralist Liga Federal is dissolved and the lands under its control
are absorbed into the new federal United provinces, all except
Uruguay. Buenos Aires takes command
of international affairs when the federal reorganisation is confirmed by the
Treaty of Pilar on 23 February 1820. Unfortunately, this results in there
being no central authority to managed the federalist state until 1826, which
most of the provinces remaining autonomous even after then, despite the creation
of the Argentine
confederation. |
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Argentine Confederation
AD 1825 - 1862
The United Provinces of South
America was formed in 1810 to administer a large swathe of
formerly-colonial South America from the city of Buenos Aires. This
evolved quickly into the United Provinces of La Plata in 1814, but it
immediately found itself at war against the rival South American Federal
League (based in eastern Argentina). The United Provinces were better
armed and won the main war, but fighting continued in the countryside.
The Federal League was dissolved in 1820, and its territory except for
that of the soon-to-be-formed
Uruguay was absorbed by
the United Provinces.
A confederation of sorts was finally put into place in 1825 after
six years of internal strife. Despite apparent unity, the provinces
of Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Jujuy,
La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Fe, Santiago del
Estero, and Tucuman remained autonomous in all but name during most
of the period, between the start of the civil war to around 1852-1862
and the final end of the Argentine confederation (although that name
remains valid even today). Those provinces which were actually linked
to the confederation were also all secessionist or independent at one
point or another. In the wake of colonial rule, it seemed that everyone
thought they could claim a piece of South America for themselves. The
confederation's capital was at Paraná, while Buenos Aires was often at
odds with and acting as a rival against most of the others. For another
two generations, South America continued to be a hotbed of unrest and
turmoil following the termination of
Spain's
direct control of the continent.
During the war against Brazil
in 1825-1827, the Cisplatine region between Argentina and Brazil broke away,
establishing itself as the independent nation state of Uruguay. Following a
spell as part of the
Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata,
independence also beckoned for
Bolivia in 1825. Lacking a
single figure to handle external relations, Juan Manuel de Rosas assumed
control in 1829 and remained in charge as a virtual dictator (although
the use of this term is sometimes disputed).
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from A
History of Argentina, Ricardo Levene (1937), from History of
Argentina: From the original towns to the time of the Kirchners
(Vols 1-2), Norberto Galasso, and from External Link:
Encyclopaedia Britannica.) |
1825 - 1827 |
King
John VI of
Portugal, under pressure from
Britain, recognises the independence of
Brazil. War breaks out
almost immediately between the Argentine confederation and Brazil. During
this the
Spanish
region of Cisplatine breaks away, establishing itself as the independent
nation state of Uruguay. |
1827 - 1852 |
A long Argentine civil war breaks out, but it is little more than a
continuation of the years of strife preceding the creation of the
confederation. During this period, in 1829, Argentina establishes a
short-lived colony on the Falkland Islands under Luis Vernet, but the
British reassume direct control of the islands in 1833. |
1829 - 1852 |
Juan Manuel de Rosas |
Dictator in
Buenos Aires region. Overthrown. Died 1877. |
1833 |
Britain
reassumes control of the deserted Falkland Islands, and they remain part of the
country's overseas territories from this point onwards, based both on this
reoccupation and the initial formal claim of ownership of 1765 which had not
been opposed by the
Spanish
authorities of the time. Settlers create a capital at Port Stanley and the
islands' population remains almost completely British.
 |
Juan Manuel de Rosas gained control of Buenos Aires in 1829,
also acting as the official governor in 1829-1832 and 1835-1852,
with no less than three other incumbents filling that position
between his two spells of office
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1836 - 1839 |
The
dictator of Peru is defeated
and executed by Bolivian forces
which invade the country. The subsequent Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation creates
tension between it and Chile
and this leads to the latter declaring war on 28 December 1836. The Argentine
confederation is Chile's ally, and on 9 May 1837 it follows suit. Eventual
defeat for Bolivia comes in 1839. |
1839 - 1852 |
The exiled president of Uruguay,
Manuel Oribe forms a government in exile in Montevideo, and war is
declared between him and his rivals. The Great War lasts for
thirteen years. In 1842 an Argentinean army overruns the country on
Oribe's behalf, although the capital remains free. This is besieged
from the start of 1843, and when access to
Paraguay is blocked for
Great Britain
and France,
they declare war on Argentina and blockade its capital, assisted by
Brazil. In 1849 and 1850,
Argentina agrees a peace deal with each of the two European powers.
Argentinean troops are withdrawn from Uruguay, although Oribe's own forces
still maintain a loose siege. In 1851 an Argentinean faction opposes Manuel
de Rosas in Argentina, defeats Oribe, and lifts the siege nine years after
it began. The following year, Rosas himself is overthrown at the Battle
of Caseos on 3 February 1852, ending the war. |
1852 - 1859 |
Having overthrown Manuel de Rosas in 1852 at the end of the Great War,
the governor of Entre Ríos, Justo José de Urquiza, fails to persuade Buenos
Aires to support the 1852 San Nicolás Agreement. Instead, a stand-alone
'State of Buenos Aires' is declared in opposition to Urquiza. Urquiza
himself, in 1854, is elected president of the Argentine Confederation which
now has the previously unimportant town of Paraná as its capital. This is
located somewhat to the north of Buenos Aires.
In 1858, Valentín Alsina is elected governor of Buenos Aires, which only
serves to inflame an already shaky situation. The following year, the
'Federalist' governor of San Juan, Nazario Benavídez, is assassinated by the
'Liberals'. And then the Port of Montevideo sets up a trade deal to rival
that of Buenos Aires and hit its lucrative trade. All of this results in the
Battle of Cepeda of 1859. Buenos Aires is defeated by the forces of Urquiza.
Buenos Aires agrees to the Pact of San José de Flores which largely settles
the key sources of conflict. |
1854 - 1862 |
Justo José de
Urquiza y García |
Standalone
president of the confederation. Office abolished. |
1860 - 1861 |
General Mitre, defeated leader of Buenos Aires' forces in 1859, refutes the
Pact of San José. The civil war is reignited, leading to the Battle of Pavón
in 1861. This time Mitre and Buenos Aires defeat Urquiza's federal forces
and the latest president, Santiago Derqui, resigns on 4 November 1861. Mitre
is elected the first president of a now-united republic of
Argentina in 1862. |
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Modern Argentina
AD 1862 - Present Day
Located in South America, the republic of Argentina is the world's eighth
largest country in terms of its territory. That territory covers a range of
climactic zones and several sparsely inhabited or semi-arid regions. For
such a large territory it has a small population (in 2016), amounting to
about forty-two million. The capital is at Buenos Aires, which lies at the
heart of the original
Spanish
colony of 1536. The country borders
Chile to the west,
Bolivia and
Paraguay to the
north, and Brazil and
Uruguay to the east.
Modern Argentina was born as a federal state out of the ruins of the
Argentine Confederation,
the ending of the Great War of 1839-1852, and the last burst of the Argentine
Civil War of 1852-1861. The use of 'Argentine Confederation' is still valid
today, being enshrined in the country's constitution and relating to the
northern part of the country. Initially the capital was at Paraná, and
the civil war, which had rumbled on beneath other conflicts since 1814,
saw more blood spilt until Buenos Aires replaced it. Once Argentina had
returned to a peacetime footing, at first under the presidency of General
Bartolomé Mitre, it received massive immigration and heavy investment
from Europe (from 1870). This made it one of the richest countries in
the world, and neutrality throughout the First World War and most of
the Second World War certainly helped it maintain high standards of
living. However, the Great Depression had created instability, and
post-war dictatorships slowly destroyed any feeling of security and
wealth.
By the 1970s, the country had endured decades of coups and counter-coups,
and political discord on a national scale. This led to the repressive
military dictatorship that oversaw the seven-year 'dirty war' which resulted
in the deaths of tens of thousands of people. The bodies of many abductees -
known as the 'disappeared' - have never been found, although forensic work
continues to recover some of them. Argentina also remained locked in a
territorial dispute with
Britain over the Falklands Islands, which are governed as a British
overseas territory but which have been claimed by Buenos Aires since the
1830s. The issue led to war in 1982, when the undefended islands fell to
an unannounced invasion launched by Argentina's military junta. The
islands were almost immediately re-conquered by Britain, with Argentine
casualties being three times that of the British. If anything good came
of the conflict in Argentinean terms it was the resultant collapse of
the junta and a return to a form of democracy.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from A
History of Argentina, Ricardo Levene (1937), from Historia de
la Argentina, Vols I & II, Norberto Galasso (2011), and from
External Links:
BBC Country Profiles, and
Nations Online, and
Latin America in
World War I.) |
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1864 - 1870 |
As a result of Paraguay's declaration
of war against Uruguay, Argentina,
Brazil, and Uruguay go to war
against Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance (which is also known as
the Paraguayan War or the Great War in Paraguay). It proves to be a
long and costly affair, causing more casualties than any other South American war.
Paraguay is totally defeated, losing almost half its territory.
 |
The Teatro Colon opera theatre in Buenos Aires first opened its
doors in 1908, replacing an 1857 building, and it has since been
rated as one of the world's best opera houses
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1880 |
Presidential elections on 11 April see Julio Argentino Roca elected as the
fourteenth incumbent. Only Buenos Aires and Corrientes fail to support him.
In Buenos Aires a rebellion against the outcome brews up in just four days.
It lasts until 25 June, leaving around three thousand people dead and a
peace agreement in place. It is Roca's liberal policies that starts
Argentina's long period of prosperity. |
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1904 |
Argentina intervenes to end the domination of
Paraguay by Bernardino Caballero,
allowing a return to democratic government. General Benigno Ferreira invades
the country from Argentina, supported by various Paraguayan factions, and
the fighting lasts for four months before they can take control. On 12 December
1904, on board an Argentine gunboat, Paraguay's Colonel Juan Antonio Escurra
signs the Pact of Pilcomayo and the Liberal party subsequently gains power.
With the Colorado Party out of office,
Brazilian influence on
the country declines while that of Argentina increases. |
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1917 - 1918 |
Unlike many of its neighbours in the Americas, Argentina remains neutral
during the First World War against
Germany
and the
Austro-Hungarian
empire. This is despite many in the new immigrant communities voicing strong
opinions for supporting their former homelands. Many
British
and German immigrants return home from Argentina to fight for the countries
of their birth. President Hipólito Yrigoyen expresses detest for this
sentiment and instead concentrates on selling war materials to both sides.
Subsequent German sinking of several Argentine ships places that profitable
neutrality under severe strain, as do anti-German protests in Argentina, so
towards the later days of the war it is the allies who gain the best of
Argentina's exports. |
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1930 - 1933 |
Argentina's Década Infame (Infamous Decade) begins now and actually lasts
until 1943. It begins with a coup against President Hipólito Yrigoyen
(remarkably still in office). Led by José Félix Uriburu this act serves
to begin the country's destabilisation, with political corruption and
oppression becoming commonplace. The Great Depression also plays a large
role, destroying the businesses of many small farmholders and increasing
the need for more expensive importation. An increasing number of now
penniless rural folk are forced to migrate to the cities, living in
makeshift traveller towns on the urban edges.
In 1933, the writer, philosopher, and politician, Arturo Jauretche joins
with two army colonels to launch an uprising in the Corrientes province
of north-eastern Argentina. The uprising fails and Jauretche is detained.
In the same year, Vice-President Julio Argentino Roca Jr signs the
Roca-Runciman Treaty with
Great Britain. As Argentina's main economic partner, Britain secures
beneficial import and export rates in the face of the Great Depression. The
agreement also greatly benefits Argentina whilst tying it closely to Britain
in terms of trade. Roca goes so far as to say that Argentina is now '...part
of the British Empire'. |
1935 - 1943 |
Argentina begins a process of replacing imported goods and services with
equivalents that are made at home. This process of rapid industrialisation
also triggers the rapid growth of unions, so much so that a forty-eight hour
general strike is declared in January 1936. There is minor violence attached
to this, with six people being killed.
Over a decade of economic damage caused by the Great Depression has resulted
in growing social discontent. Now, in 1943, another coup is triggered, known
as the 'Revolution of '43'. Within the country's military forces a nationalist
faction with fascistic leanings has developed, known as the Grupo de Oficiales
Unidos (GOU). Shortly after joining itself to another party to form the fascist
Recuperacion Nacional political party, it follows Arturo Rawson when he and
Pedro Pablo Ramírez depose acting president Ramón Castillo, ending the Infamous
Decade but leading to further destabilisation and more coups. |
1943 |
Arturo Rawson |
Military general
and usurper. Three-day 'president'. Deposed. |
1943 - 1944 |
Pedro Pablo
Ramírez Machuca |
Military general
and usurper. Replaced Rawson. |
1944 - 1946 |
Edelmiro Julián
Farrell |
Nominated successor. |
1945 - 1946 |
Argentina joins the Second World War as an ally of the
USA and
Great Britain on 27 March 1945 against
Japan and
Germany. With Britain's firm support, it had largely remained
superficially neutral, as in the First World War, even in the face of
strong pressure from the USA. The following year, after a rapid series of
different leaders and coups, General Peron wins an election to become
president and heads a popularist government with his second wife, Eva Peron,
née Duarte, as a highly influential figurehead.
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Maria Eva Duarte de Perón, otherwise known as Eva Perón
(centre), was the second wife of President Juan Domingo Perón
(on the right) and the First Lady of Argentina between 1946 and
her untimely death in 1952, and it was her 'common touch' with
the poor which largely created the mystique around her image and
life story
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The basis of their power is the mass support of the former farmers and other
dispossessed who are largely living in slums and shanty towns. With them a
movement is born that is known as Peronism, with the supporters called
Peronistas (probably made more memorable to the world at large thanks to
the stage and screen musical, Evita). |
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1952 - 1955 |
Eva Peron dies of cancer at the age of thirty-three in 1952. Former army general,
President Juan Peron, is deposed by a coup in 1955. He flees into exile in
Spain. New elections are arranged for the end of the decade and Peron's
Peronist party is outlawed (although it does survive and today is largely
represented by the Justicialist Party). |
1955 |
Jose Domingo
Molina Gomez |
Chairman of
the military junta. Arrested and deposed. |
1955 |
Eduardo Ernesto
Lonardi Doucet |
Conciliatory
army lieutenant-general. Deposed after 3 months. |
1955 - 1958 |
Pedro Eugenio
Aramburu |
Army general.
Allowed elections in 1958. |
1956 |
The
Peronistas launch an attempted coup under the leadership of General Juan
José Valle. It is largely botched and the general is arrested. He and
twenty-six other Peronist militants are executed. |
1958 - 1962 |
Pedro Eugenio Aramburu allows elections for the next president to go ahead,
promptly retiring from the army once his own duties have been concluded.
Arturo Frondizi is elected in a one-candidate process, and remains in office
until he is deposed by yet another coup in 1962. The fractious Argentine
military object to the election of Andrés Framini as governor of the highly
prominent and important Buenos Aires province and, despite Aramburu
backtracking, they launch a coup which deposes the president on 29 March
1962. |
1962 - 1963 |
José María Guido |
Civilian allowed,
with reluctance, by the army to govern. |
1963 - 1966 |
President Guido annuls 1962's election results (the ones that had led to the
fall of Aramburu), and the Peronist party is again banned. The country
remains severely unstable, with rival military factions frequently combating
each other for superiority. The Argentine Navy Revolt is triggered in
1963, although this is successfully suppressed. Democratic elections take
place which see Arturo Umberto Illia become president.
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The marching masses of the Peronistas - vocal supporters of Juan
Peron during his first two terms of the presidential office -
offer a powerful representation of Argentina's troubled
twentieth century
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1966 |
A revolutionary junta secures control of the country, with a military
president again in power. Unlike previous coups, this one does not pave the
way for fresh democratic elections. The military remains in charge, and
political parties are suspended. |
1966 - 1970 |
Juan Carlos
Onganía Carballo |
Refused to
resign, and was toppled by military junta. |
1970 - 1971 |
Roberto Marcelo
Levingston Laborda |
Self-appointed
military 'president'. |
1971 - 1973 |
Alejandro Agustín
Lanusse Gelly |
Allowed elections
to replace him in office. |
1973 - 1976 |
The elections of 1973 pave the way for the return of Juan Peron. He wins
elections to serve a third term as president but his death in 1974 leaves
his third wife and vice-president, Isabel Peron, as his successor. A coup
in March 1976 displaces her and re-introduces military rule during the worst
period of repression the country has seen. |
1976 - 1981 |
Jorge Rafael Videla |
Military 'president'
and coup leader. |
1981 |
Roberto Eduardo
Viola |
Military 'president',
Mar-Dec only. Deposed. |
1981 |
Carlos Lacoste |
Interim military
interim 'president', Dec only. |
1981 - 1982 |
Leopoldo Galtieri |
Military 'president'.
Deposed. |
1982 |
Argentina occupies the Falkland Islands by force. When
Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher sends a
British taskforce to reclaim the islands,
Peru promises to support
Argentina while Chile
sides with Britain. The humiliating Argentine defeat forces the collapse of
General Galtieri's regime and an eventual return to elected government. Galtieri
is almost immediately removed from office and two short-term caretaker
presidents oversee the re-establishment of an elected civilian government. |
1982 |
Alfredo Oscar
Saint Jean |
Military 'president',
Jun-Jul only. |
1982 - 1983 |
Reynaldo Bignone |
Military 'president'. |
1983 |
Reynaldo Bignone is unpopular as the military's imposed president. The
recessions of the late 1970s have seen minor recoveries but the country's
financial state is far from rosy. The slide towards the return of democracy
becomes inevitable, and elections are held in October to select a new
president. Raúl Alfonsín becomes the country's first elected head of state
since Juan Peron in 1973. |
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2001 |
Argentina experiences the 'December 2001 Uprising' in which rioting and acts
of civil unrest take place across the country. The larger cities suffer the
most in what is primarily an expression of protest by a largely middle-class
demographic at the continuation of another economic crisis. The country's
peso has been tied to the
US dollar in an
effort to halt the hyperinflation of the late 1980s, but this has left
Argentines themselves with little direct control of the country's finances.
A revaluation of the dollar in 1997 has worsened Argentina's exports
situation, and the crisis reaches breaking point in November 2001 when
people start withdrawing their entire savings from the banks.
A banking collapse is barely avoided by the imposition of strict spending
restrictions, but this is the final spark for the uprising. The president
sees that he has no choice but to resign, and ends up fleeing the
presidential palace, the Casa Rosada, in a military helicopter. After this
the violence dies down and the country gradually returns to normality. |
2001 - 2007 |
The election of Néstor Kirchner to the post of president is the start of a
remarkable reversal in the country's economic fortunes. Unemployment is
dramatically turned around and social security policies are improved to help
the poorest people. Kirchner is a member of the Justicialist Party, largely
seen as the descendant of the Peronists of the mid-twentieth century. He is
succeeded as president by his wife, Cristina Kirchner, before dying after
suffering a heart attack in 2010. |
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2012 |
While never questionable in fact, the ownership of the Falkland Islands is
raised by President Cristina Kirchner. She uses the issue to mask her
growing unpopularity at home during the thirtieth anniversary of the
conflict to expel Argentine troops from the island. Despite repeated
assurances by the islands' residents themselves that they are quite happy
to remain
British, Kirchner ignores them completely, instead attempting to score
political points and garner support amongst likeminded governments. However,
Argentina's military power is so weak after years of cut-backs and purges
that it is unable to offer a convincing military threat to the islanders'
independence.
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President Kirchner fails in an attempt to 'handbag' British
Prime Minister David Cameron at the G20 industrial nations
summit on 19 June 2012, the attempt largely being seen as an
attempt to deflect her declining approval ratings and
allegations of financial impropriety at home
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