Vintage Images Of Argentina History

Argentina

Argentina is situated in South America, and it is the second-largest country in South America after Brazil. Argentina shares its borders with five other nations, namely, Paraguay, situated to the north, Brazil, is to the northeast, Uruguay, is to the east, Bolivia, is northwest, and Chile, is to the west. Meanwhile, Argentina's eastern border faces the South Atlantic Ocean. Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, with a total land area of just over one million square miles, and when this article was written, Argentina's population was said to be about 47 million people. The dominant spoken language of this nation is Spanish, and its capital city is Buenos Aires, which is full of impressive architecture and famous landmarks. Argentina is a land of agricultural paradise with rich mineral soils and expansive fertile lands, this nation is also known for its extensive plains, deserts, exotic forests, and magnificent mountain regions. Argentinians are famous for their great passion for football, tango music, and tango dancing. Argentina also exhibits a variety of stunning beaches and holiday resorts in addition to a wide variety of vibrant night-clubs and tantalizing restaurants.

The First Settlers In Argentina (11,000 BC)

Humans began to settle in the southern-most region of Argentina about 11,000 BC. That area is also known as Patagonia, a geographical area that encompasses the southern end of South America, and it crosses the borders of Argentina and Chile, with the Andes (extensive mountain region) dividing the two nations. Originally, various nomadic tribes of people settled into parts of Argentina, some of which were the Charrúa, Minuane, and Guarani peoples, who were hunter-gatherers and farmers. The first Asian tribes to settle in Argentina arrived from the Bering Strait and the Bering Strait was known for connecting Asia to the Americas via Beringia, it is also known as the Bering Land Bridge (currently submerged beneath the sea), which existed during the last ice age. Many academics have stated that the first major human migration from Asia crossed the Bering Strait into the Americas about 16,000 - 20,000 years ago. Spanning several thousand years, a vast and varied Asian population gradually navigated difficult journeys across the Americas, expanding and diversifying as they established their distinctive cultures and societies within demarcated regions across the continent.

The Inca Empire & Argentina (Between 1400 - 1480)

The Inca Empire was the first major empire to invade northwest Argentina between 1400 - 1480. The Incas claimed a section of the region that later became known as Argentina, after they had ousted the indigenous natives that once lived in that location, and absorbed the region within their Empire. The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru between 1400 and 1533, and their control extended across western South America. It was the largest pre-Columbian empire within the Americas, which was the era before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, who discovered the so-called New World in 1492, while sailing on board his ship called Santa Maria. In 1502, Portuguese explorer Gonçalo Coelho (born 1451 - died 1512) and Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (born 1454 - died 1512) arrived in South America. However, it was Amerigo Vespucci, originally a merchant from the Republic of Florence, Italy, from which the name America was derived. Moreover, Vespucci was officially credited as the first explorer to proclaim the New World as a new continent, which was separate from Asia.

The First Europeans In Argentina (1516)

The first European to discover Argentina was Spanish explorer Juan Diaz de Solis (born 1470 - died 1516), he arrived in the region that is now known as, Rio de La Plata, in 1516. Importantly, Juan Diaz de Solis was the first Spaniard to lay claim to that region on behalf of the Spanish Crown in 1516, unfortunately, soon after his arrival in that region, he was killed by native Indians. In 1535, Buenos Aires was founded by Spanish explorer, Pedro de Mendoza (born 1499 - died 1537), and that region was initially established as a small settlement. However, over time, the population increased significantly, and Buenos Aires flourished economically to eventually be established as a port city. Many generations later, in 1776, Charles III of Spain stipulated that this colony be formally named as Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (meaning, River of Silver). Nevertheless, back in 1612, a famous writer by the name of Ruy Díaz de Guzmán had already published his book about the history of Rio de La Plata, and within it he named that territory, River of Silver and Land of Silver. The name Argentina originated from the Latin word Argentum, meaning silver, and the official name Argentina, was eventually arrived at because the land contained a rich and vast amount of Silver as well as other valuable minerals and precious metals.

The African Slave Trade

The Spanish Empire began the transportation of African slaves into Rio de la Plata from the 16th century and continued until about the 19th century. European slave traders purchased vast amounts of African slaves, who were then shipped from West Africa across the Atlantic to the Americas, Caribbean, and also parts of Asia, including the East Indies, spanning from the 16th and 19th centuries, well over 200,000 enslaved Africans were brought to the twin ports of the River Plate, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo, the capital cities of what are now Argentina and Uruguay. Starting from approximately 1580 until about 1640, the main commercial activity for Buenos Aires was said to be the slave trade. More than 70 percent of the value of all imports arriving in Buenos Aires was enslaved Africans. Moreover, according to an old census by Spanish colonial rulers, in 1778, African slaves totalled about 37% of the population within that region of Argentina. In some major provinces, the proportion of African Argentinians exceeded 50% of the population. However, after Argentina's independence in 1816, the numbers of African Argentinians are not known, because according to official records Argentina’s national census bureau stopped collecting racial information and systematically destroyed historical records and archive photos of African Argentinians. By 1857, the African population within Argentina had dramatically decreased to 15 percent, and furthermore, by the early 20th-century that number had mysteriously decreased to less than 5 percent.

The main theories (controversial) put forward by academics for the rapid decline of Argentina's African population between the 18th and 19th-century was attributed to the cholera epidemics, which occurred in 1861 and 1864, and a yellow fever epidemic in 1871. Another debated reasoning was the substantial influx of millions of Europeans, mostly Spanish and Italians, who migrated to Argentina towards the end of the 19th and early 20th century, as a consequence, some scholars propose the assimilation theory as a partial explanation for the dramatic decrease of black people in Argentina. Meanwhile, other academics reasoned that many African slaves lost their lives when they were compelled to go to the front line of battle in the Argentine War of Independence (1810 - 1818). Nonetheless, modern day scholars such as Alex Borucki (Uruguayan) and Mariam Gomes (Argentine) continue to argue that these theories alone are not enough to explain the mysterious disappearance of so many black-Argentines throughout that era. According to Academic Patricia Gomes (Brazilian) and American author Erika Denise Edwards, the idea of a European Argentina was a fabrication imposed by racist 19th-century leaders to erase Argentina’s black history from the nation’s collective consciousness.

Argentine War Of Independence (1810-1818)

The Argentine independence movement began in 1806, following a British army attack on Buenos Aires, at that time the British forces were repelled by the local militia with minimum assistance from the occupying Spanish forces. The Argentine independence movement increased significantly, until several opportunistic events occurred, which prompted an all-out Argentine rebellion against the Spanish forces. The Argentine War of Independence (1810 - 1818) was a secessionist civil war (favouring a formal withdrawal from a federation or political body) that was fought by Argentine patriotic forces under the leadership of Argentine military commanders Manuel Belgrano (born 1770 -died 1820), who was also a politician; Juan José Castelli (born 1764 - died 1812), who was an Argentine lawyer; and José de San Martín (born 1778 - died 1850) who was an army general. The Argentine patriotic forces waged a protracted war against the royalist forces loyal to the Spanish Empire, and following many gruelling years of battle, in July 1816, Argentina finally declared its independence from Spanish rule, the name Argentina, was officially implimented in 1816. Nevertheless, the War of Independence continued in parts of Argentina, until the final remaining remnants of the Spanish resistance was defeated in 1818. After Argentina's declaration of independence in 1816, initially, Argentina's United Provinces consisted of what is now Argentina, in addition to Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, however, a series of wars occurred within the United Provinces which resulted in the separation of the afore-mentioned. But within Argentina, there were various other wars which ensued over many generations, in particular, a bitterly polarized civil war occurred in Argentina between the unitarists who advocated a unitary state or a strong central government, and the federalists who wanted a more loosely associated federation of states.

The Peninsular War (1808-1814)

It is important to mention that the Peninsular War (1808-1814), had overlapped and significantly impacted the outcome of the Argentine War of Independence (1810 - 1818). The Peninsular War (1808-1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by the British, Spanish, and Portuguese allied forces against the invading and forces of Napoleon Bonaparte's French army. The Peninsular War resulted in a series of victories for the allied forces, which eventually ousted the French forces from that region. The conflict began when Napoleon's army invaded Portugal in 1807, and then Napoleon's forces went on to invade Spain in 1808, which immediately compelled King Ferdinand VII of Spain to abdicate the throne which Napoleon succeeded, who then granted the throne to his older brother, Joseph Bonaparte, henceforth France governed Spain, consequently this led to the formation of the Supreme Central Junta, a Spanish-led resistance movement within Spain called the Supreme Central Junta, but by February 1810, this movement was soundly defeated by the occupying French forces. Then on 18 May 1810, certain British ships that had sailed to Argentina reported the events to the population within the capital, and following the news of Spanish King Ferdinand VII's deposition, and the defeat of Spanish forces by Napoleon's army, large sections of the population within Argentina rose up and organised a revolt against the then government, which was controlled by the Spanish Empire, and eventually this rebellion contributed to the May Revolution in Buenos Aires, in 1810.

The May Revolution (18-25 May 1810)

The May Revolution was a week-long series of revolutionary events that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 18 May until 25 May 1810. It is believed that it was the May Revolution that initiated the Argentine War of Independence (1810-1818). Importantly, in Argentine history, the May Revolution was considered a catalyst event that eventually liberated Argentina from Spanish colonial rule. The May Revolution was an uprising instigated by Argentine rebels, which culminated in the overthrow of the local Spanish colonial government in Buenos Aires, then known as 'Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata' and was governed by Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, who was a representative of the Spanish Crown. This event resulted in the establishment of Argentina's first independent government on 25 May 1810, which was called the Primera Junta. Meanwhile, in Argentina, 25 May is considered one of the most important commemorative days, also known as National or May Revolution Day (Dia de la Revolución de Mayo), an important date which marks the first official day of emancipation from Spanish colonial rule. After Argentina defeated the Spanish forces during the Argentine War of Independence (1810-1818), the Argentine constitutional assembly established a constitution in 1853, then a formal national government in 1861, then years later, in 1880, Buenos Aires was officially declared the capital of Argentina.

The Infamous Decade (1930-1943)

In the early 20th century, Argentina witnessed a great influx of immigrants from many European countries, but primarily from Spain and Italy. In this era, Argentina's economy increased significantly to become one of the world's wealthiest nations, however, Argentina's prosperity decreased dramatically after 1929 afflicted by the devastating reverberations of the global depression which began in America. In 1930, a military coup supported by the Argentine Patriotic League forced the Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen from power, after which he was temporarily replaced by José Félix Uriburu, who was a high-ranking military officer. His tenure became known as the Década Infame (the Infamous Decade), which was characterized by electoral fraud, corruption, and the controversial rule of the pro-aristocratic coalition, known as the Concordancia, which was a political alliance between the then three Argentine presidents, Agustín P. Justo, Roberto Ortiz, and Ramón Castillo, who were in power respectively between 1931 to 1943, the Concordancia was supported and ruled by wealthy landowners, and it protected the rich but did very little to help or alleviate the poverty endured by common people. The Concordancia also suppressed and excluded the lower classes from politics. Over time the government continual unfair treatment of the working class eventually culminated in mass protests and civil unrest across the nation. As a result, on 4 June 1943, the United Officers' Group (military alliance) planned a coup d'état to overthrow President Ramón Castillo's government and this event became known as the 1943 Argentine coup d'état, also known as the Revolution of 43.