The earliest human settlement in Argentina was found in the Patagonia region and dates back to about 11000 BC. The history of the region before the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century was not entirely clear, but apparently it was sparsely populated. One notable event was that the Incas came into northwestern present-day Argentina in the late 15th century. A few tribes settled in various parts of the country; for example, in the northeast was the Guarani tribe; in the south and central areas (Pampas and Patagonia) were some nomadic tribes, including the dominant Mapuche tribe.
The Spanish arrived in 1516, but because the land did not have precious metals like gold or silver in Mexico and other South American regions, it did not attract much attention of Spain or adventurers looking for wealth. While Spain formally established a colony in Buenos Aires in 1580, the Spanish Empire ruled Argentina through its Viceroyalty in Peru. It was only in 1776 that the Viceroyalty La Plata was established to rule Argentina, Uruguay and and Paraguay, with Buenos Aires as the capital. The subsequent events could be summarised as follows:
1. the British invaded Buenos Aires in 1806; the Spanish viceroy fled. It was the Spanish colonists who eventually drove out the British. This event clearly changed the way the colonists saw Spain and themselves.
2. formation by Buenos Aires of a local government following the defeat of Spain by Napoleon in 1810. Other provinces of present-day Argentina only followed suit la few years later. This was because of differences between those who favoured a central government and those who wanted regional autonomy (in fact, Paraguay went its own way in 1811).
3. declaration of independence from Spain in 1816, and the subsequent defeat by Argentina of the forces loyal to Spain.
4. there were subsequent struggles between the centrists and the federalists, and between the provinces and Buenos Aires, with the latter demanding to be first among equals and to be the capital of the nation. In 1854, a confederation was formed under a new constitution (with the capital being rotated among the provinces) except that Buenos Aires refused to join.
5. finally in 1861, the forces of Buenos Aires defeated the forces of the confederation, unity was achieved, and the capital was moved to Buenos Aires. However, the status of Buenos Aires as the permanent capital was not accepted until 1880.
While the above was going on, the colonists engaged in campaigns against the American Indians in the central plains to kill or drive them from their land. As a result the indigenous population was decimated and those were not killed were driven south to Patagonia. More immigrants were brought in especially from Italy and Spain to develop the land; but many also came from Germany, Poland, France, Turkey and Russia (Jews). In total, about three million people were brought in between 1860 and the start of WW II.
Traditionally, Argentina was dominated by a very small number of landowners who controlled most of the land in the plains of Pampas as well as the government. This became the source of great political upheaval in the late 19th and 20th centuries, with the wealthy conservative landowners and the military (both wanted the statu quo) lined up against the populists (who wanted more equality for the masses). This culminated in the rise of Juan Peron, who became president in 1946 with the help of Eva Peron, his subsequent fall after a military coup in 1955, and his rise again in 1973 as president with his second wife Isabel as vice-president.
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