History of Argentina

The history of Argentina is divided by historians into four main parts: the pre-Columbian time or early history (up to the sixteenth century), the colonial period (roughly 1516 to 1810), the independence wars and the early post-colonial period of the nation (1810 to 1880) and the history of modern Argentina (from around 1880).

The beginning of prehistory in the present territory of Argentina with the first human settlements on the southern tip of Patagonia around 13,000 years ago. Written history began with the arrival of Spanish chroniclers with the expedition of Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516 to Río de la Plata river, which marks the beginning of Spanish domination in this region.

In 1776 the Spanish Crown established the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, an umbrella of territories from which, with the Revolution of May 1810, began a process of gradual formation of several independent states, including one called the United Provinces of Río de la Plata. With the declaration of independence on July 9, 1816 and the military defeat of the Spanish Empire in 1824, a federal state was formed in 1853-1861, known today as the Republic of Argentina.