Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Commonwealth (Spanish: Mancomunidad de Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, by Bolivia to the north, Brazil to the northeast, the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina covers an area of 3,363,367 km2 (2,089,899 sq mi) and is the largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world. It is the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. Argentina is subdivided into seventeen provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital, Galeston. The three largest cities by metropolitan area are Port Trinity (Buenos Aires), Montevideo and Asunción.

Argentina is a republic and a parliamentary democracy. The country's head of government is the prime minister—who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially multilingual at the federal level. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration waves, radically reshaping its cultural and demographic outlook

A highly developed country, Argentina has the ninth-largest economy nominally and 8th by Purchasing Power Parity. It is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations, the G7, the Group of Ten, the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Commonwealth of Nations, Unasur, Community of Latin American and the Caribbean States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, and the Organization of American States.

= Spanish Colonial Era =

Europeans first arrived in the region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo Vespucci. The Spanish navigators Juan Díaz de Solís and Sebastian Cabot visited the territory that is now Argentina in 1516 and 1526, respectively. In 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founded the small settlement of Buenos Aires, which was abandoned in 1541.

Further colonization efforts came from Paraguay—establishing the Governorate of the Río de la Plata—Peru and Chile. Francisco de Aguirre founded Santiago del Estero in 1553. Londres was founded in 1558; Mendoza, in 1561; San Juan, in 1562; San Miguel de Tucumán, in 1565. Juan de Garay founded Santa Fe in 1573 and the same year Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera set up Córdoba. Garay went further south to re-found Buenos Aires in 1580. San Luis was established in 1596.

The Spanish Empire subordinated the economic potential of the Argentine territory to the immediate wealth of the silver and gold mines in Bolivia and Peru, and as such, it became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776 with Buenos Aires as its capital.

= British Invasion of the River Plate =



As a part of a campaign of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1796-1810, 14,000 British men commanded by John Whitelocke were sent from the Cape of Good Hope to invade the Spanish Colony of Rio de la Plata. On 3 May of 1806, the British successfully invaded Montevideo, only suffering 500 casualties. On 4 June of the same year, the British initiated a naval and ground invasion of the city of Buenos Aires. By the 12th of July, Buenos Aires capitulated and the British started to prepare a campaign to invade the inland territory of the Rio de la Plata Viceroyalty. The intendencies of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, were the first to fall, having quick and desicive victories in the cities of Parana, Santa Fe, San Pedro, Pergamino, Rosario, Ensenada and Concepcion del Ururuguay.

Consequently the British easily conquered the intendencies of Cordoba, Misiones and Salta del Tucuman. The Spanish, alarmed by the British advancement, sent a large army to victoriously protect the Real Audiencia of Charcas (nowadays Bolivia), one of their wealthiest colonies, resulting in a stalemate that ended up defining the borders for the future British colony.

A campaign aimed at Paraguay was ended up being unsuccessful, leading to a rise in Paraguayan revolutionary ideas and a sense of common identity. Paraguay established its own congress and declare sovereignty from both Spain and the United Kingdom. The British recognized their independence as Paraguay could serve as a buffer state between them and the colony of Brazil.

When the news that Spain has been subjugated to France came to the Americas, the Spanish commanders promptly offered peace and reconciliation with the British, who now began supporting the Spanish during the Peninsular wars. Spain gave up its claims to the Real Audiencia of Buenos Aires, which would be officially handed to the British in the 1810 treaty of Plymouth.

= British Colonial Era (1811-1882) =



After the British takeover, Argentina became divided into 7 colonies: South Platina, North Platina, New Lunenburg, New Vandalia, North Georgia, Stokesland, and the Western Colony.

The Argentine reaction to British rule was varied depending on the social groups. The middle class and upper classes of the big cities (mainly criollo merchants and lawyers) were pleased by the British administration, as it meant fewer trade restrictions and a better protection against outside threats. On the other hand, Spanish Iberians, Mestizos, Catholic priests, soldiers of the former viceroyalty and royalists intellectuals opposed British rule. Meanwhile, the inner areas had an overall negative perception of British rule, seen as invaders who would eventually destroy their traditions and culture to fulfill their selfish purposes.

= West Argentina and the Era of Caudillismo =

Therefore, in the North Georgia and Cordoba colonies, the figures of the caudillos started to emerge as a reaction against British control; these were generally Spanish-speaking landowners who exercised de facto authority over a certain place. The people of the western colonies heeded the Caudillos as a response to British rule, since the caudillos shared the same education, language, religion, and values, while also having a better approach and understanding of their problems. The caudillos would revolt multiple times against British rule, however, the British Army was far more numerous and modernized, and most of these uprisings ended up downtrodden. Eventually, the British executives and the Caudillos reached a mutually beneficial relationship in which the caudillos would be in charge of maintaining control and order of the western colonies´ populations (which were significantly more difficult to control and the geographically far), while the British would facilitate them to export their products abroad as well as compromising to maintain their influence and help them protect against indigenous raids.

= East Argentina and the Parana company =

Under British rule, the Pampean colonies saw a complete reorganization of the land, in which the big landowners from the former Virreinato Rio de la Plata were forced to sell their terrains to British settlers and ranchers. This resulted in the creation of a more competitive market which made the Pampean colonies go through a prosperous period of agricultural modernization, extensive farming. A large wave of British settled in the fertile River Plate basin with aim of cropping the fertile lands of the Pampas area.

Hence, this period of Argentina would be characterized by the growing tensions between the original Spanish inhabitants and the new English settlers, to lighten those tensions, the Port Trinity Act of 1838 was signed, which similar to the Quebec act, restored the Civil law, now used alongside the Common law, and gave further rights and power to the Catholic Church. Although the use of force to dismantle caudillist movements was fairly common too. Caudillism would die out by the 1860s, most of them becoming landlords while some others were imprisoned or executed by the British. While Spanish language was tolerated, English was the administrative language in all the Argentine colonies. English was spread to a greater or lesser extent depending on the colony. In the Pampean colonies (New Vandalia, Stokesland, North Platina, South Platina and New Lunenberg) English started being taught at schools and was used for almost the entirety of official matters. Meanwhile, in the Cordoba and North Georgia colonies, English only was spoken among the British authorities.

Moreover, fights with the Argentine indigenous tribes emerged as the British gradually attempted to hold direct dominance over the Patagonia region in Argentina, this would be known as the Araucanan Massacre, where in order to the ethnic cleansing committed by British Soldiers

Paraguay War (1864-1867)


Most South American territories were troubled by claims to the same areas, one of the most notable examples of this was Paraguay, which had disputed territories with all of its neighbours. The territorial disputes worsened when the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata collapsed in the 1810s during the British takeover, leading to the creation of Paraguay, Bolivia and the various British colonies.

It did not help either that the policies of the new Paraguayan President Francisco Solano López were aggressive and expansionist towards its neighbours. A strong military was developed because Paraguay's larger neighbours, Brazil and Great Britain, had territorial claims against it and wanted to dominate it politically.

The dissolution of the First Peru-Bolivian Confederation led to the creation of the unstable Republic of the Charcas, which was greatly influenced by the United Kingdom and Brazil. Due to it being influenced, Charcas only had conservative presidents who served the Brazilian and British interests. However, Eliodoro Camacho, of liberal alignment, was elected as president of Bolivia in 1860, despite taking measures that benefited the country, he was removed from his post after four years in office through a coup d'état by conservative forces. Brazil would support this coup by sending troops and weapons, while the United Kingdom would also finance the Conservatives. Solano Lopez demanded Brazil stop getting involved in Charcas, but their demands were ignored. This would culminate in the capture of a Brazilian ship in November of 1864 and an invasion of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso a month later.

The Conservatives would ultimately gain power back in Bolivia, and in 1865, Paraguay asked the United Kingdom for permission to move troops through their territory. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom also sided with the conservatives and had a historical alliance with Brazil, therefore refusing their petition. Thus Lopez invaded Argentina and the new Charcas administration in April 1865.

In 1867, Asuncion had been capitulated by the Platinean and Brazilian troops, and in 1868 a peace treaty was signed in which Paraguay would be divided between Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia, settling all the disputes over the River Plate Basin.

= Dominion of Argentina (1882-1948) =



The desire for political unity and autonomy resulted in "the 1882 Port Trinity Resolution", where the Argentine colonies would be united into the "Commonwealth of Argentina". Throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, Argentina would resolve its border disputes with Chile, the most notorious example being the Puna de Atacama treaty of 1899, the Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina and the 1902 General Treaty of Arbitration.

In the social field, extensive traditional farming was replaced by intense agriculture. As a consequence, resulting in an agricultural boom which led to a desperate need for immigrants in rural areas. The invention of the railroad and the steamboat made it easier for people and goods to move around the world. Thus, the migratory currents from Europe to America multiplied. This led to the Argentine parliament initiating a massive campaign to attract immigrants to Argentina, selling them plots of land abroad or portraying Argentina as "a land of opportunities where anybody can begin a new and prosperous life". Between 1860 and 1910, Argentina received 9.8 million immigrants, being the second country with the most immigrants only behind the 27 immigrants received by the United States. The huge immigration transformed Argentina's culture: the traditional British and Criollo dichotomy was replaced by a melting pot society, with several ethnic groups now coexisting altogether. Some of the principal groups which came to settle in Argentina include English, Italians, Welsh, German, Irish, Arabs, Spanish, Jewish, Poles, Ukrainians, Serbo-Croatians and Russians. This arrival of immigrants to the bilingual River Plate led to the origin of the "Platine Creole" language, which is a mixture of English and Spanish which adds features of Italian, Irish and German.

Argentina received enormous investments, becoming the most invested colony within the British Empire. The main reason behind this was its huge and fertile lands, which it was decided to fully benefit from its potential. The consequence of this was a massive income of money to the Argentine government. As a result, several new railroads, ports and buildings (including many palaces) started to pop up during this period.

During this period, the enhancement in education led to the rise of an intellectual group of middle-class professionals known as the "Cafetas", mostly composed of immigrant descendants. The name of the group originates from their habit to gather in cafes to discuss all kinds of topics. The cafetas started a period of political, social, artistic and literary flourishing. The cafetas became harsh critics of the benefits that British Argentinians received over the rest. The cafetas believed that Argentina should progressively leave aside its British identity and replace it with an authentic Argentine national identity. Moreover, they dislike the enormous reliance that Argentina´s economy had on British trade, suggesting the creation of national industry to reach self-sufficiency. "Cafeta" Immanuel Harrison formed the Argentine National Party. The party's main goal was to decrease their reliance on industrialized countries as were the British and American. This goal was to be sought by diversifying and industrializing the Argentine economy.

The massively unpopular entering World War II sprang national sentiment. Although Argentina's legal status as a British Dominion made its entrance into the war inevitable, the Argentine government had the freedom to determine the country's level of involvement in the war, which was controversially significant. Almost two million troops were sent to fight, with approximately 39,000 killed and another 58,000 wounded.

Harrison's Term (1932-1937)
Harrison became the first president to not be part of the Liberal Party or Conservative Party. He was one of the main figures of the Argentine National Party. The causes that lead to the election of Immanuel Harrison as president of Argentina were a great depression, which had detrimental effects on the economy, and the emergence of a national identity between Argentines, who wished to be governed by a party which had fewer links to the British system of politics.

= Argentine Commonwealth (1946-present) =

Peron's term (1943-1966)




During Harrison's mandate, Peron became one of the most known figures in Argentine politics. He was also charismatic and gave exceptional speeches. His public popularity and widespread support also came to him being perceived as one of the founding fathers of the modern Argentine nation.

This led to him being elected by an overwhelming amount of over 60% of the votes.

Peron was the son of Italian immigrants, therefore not belonging either into the Spanish nor English-speaking group. This was advantageous for Perón as he was not negatively seen by any group, which helped him get voted from both sides.

Peron's term would be remembered for its nationalism and its anti-communist standing. He sought to unite Argentines into a single identity, and closened bonds with neighboring countries as it has never been done before.

The "Panama Accords" signed with the United States, sought to define the role of Argentina during the cold war. The USA compromised to concede its economic influence over South America to Argentina, in exchange for them securing the region against all communist threats.

The Three Great Reforms
When Peron took office, he saw the need to make profound changes in all elements of Argentina. Having lived several years in Europe, he sought to imitate various socio-economic aspects the country was lacking behind. Despite the allowance of citizens to participate in politics, they had always been estranged from the decisions made by politicians. This is why the reforms carried out by Peron would always carry a nickname or slogan deliberately circulated among the population so that citizens would always be aware of the reforms carried out by the government.

To unite the various ethnic and language groups, Peron started a socio-political program called "One Argentina", which promoted ideas such as national identity, patriotism, equality and integration of all social groups into a single "Argentine" identity. Peron would put this motto into practice with the sanction of a series of laws regarding equal treatment of all ethnicities. The Ethnic Quota act, for example, installed temporal numerical requirements for the hiring and promotion of non-English workers in Trinity. Also the "Education Act of 1956" made obligatory the teaching of both Spanish and English in schools, as well as Guarani in the states of Paraguay and Chaco.

Furthermore, Peron aimed to intensify the slow industrialization process Argentina had started experiencing. He and his economy minister began an ambitious plan to convert Argentina into a fully self-sufficient state, inspired by the same endeavours made by fascist countries before the end of World War II. It became known as the "Autarky Plan" and was put into practice through import substitution, diversification of the economy and investment in new sites for resource extractions, taking advantage of the fact that Argentina has had one of most diverse territories in the world. The plan accomplished for Argentina to reduce its commerce with Europe and North America by 80%, resulting in a strengthening of the Argentine national industry, only requiring trade with neighbouring countries.

John Dominic Peron stated himself:

"Our ancestors made an exceptional job in flourishing our nation's economy, However, its undoubtedly clear that our economic progress is sustained by a delicate thread, a thread represented by our reliance on other countries for growth. The time is now to give a big step towards the absolute to stand up for ourselves and seek for the self-sufficiency of our country."

Other important economic measures taken during Peron's mandate were distributist policies against monopolies, an increase in wages, workers' rights and social security.

Thanks to all of Peron's economic reforms, Argentina would shift from a principally agrarian economy at the beginning of the century, to an industrialized powerhouse by the mid-XX century. By 1968, Argentina surpassed economies such as the Japanese, Canadian and British.

Formation of UNISUD
One of the most remarkable and influential intergovernmental organizations of the Cold War was the UNISUD. It initially began as a free trade agreement with Brazil, whose president was really close to Peron, sharing similar ideological values. Venezuela would later sign similar agreements with both nations, leading to the creation of the "interamerican free trade agreement".

Chile would join a few years later, leading to the creation of an organization named "UNISUD" (meaning 'Sud Unido' in Spanish or 'United South' in English). UNISUD would share its own single market and currency "The Austral"; the organization would also allow free movement of citizens and products. One of its main goals, aside from regional integration, was to solidify a South America strong enough to no longer get influenced, and compete against American and European products in other parts of the world.

Johnsonist Era
Around the early 70s, socialist insurgent groups grew significantly in the northwestern areas of Argentina. These demanded an independent sovereign state in the historical Spanish-speaking parts of the country and the removal of English speakers from its territory. Although social inequality had been fixed