A Brief History of Argentina

Pre‑Columbian Era

• 11 000 BCE: The earliest securely dated human presence appears in what is now Argentina; some evidence hints at even earlier occupations.
• After 1438 CE: Inca expansion reaches parts of today’s north‑west Argentina (Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán), while most of the territory remains outside Inca control. Distinct cultures such as the Diaguita, Guaraní, Querandí and Mapuche flourish independently.

Colonial Era

• 1516: Spanish explorer Juan Díaz de Solís arrives in the Río de la Plata and claims it for Spain.
• 1536: Pedro de Mendoza establishes the first Spanish settlement on the Río de la Plata (present‑day Buenos Aires); it is abandoned in 1541. 1553: Santiago del Estero becomes the first permanent Spanish city in the region.
• During the colonial period, indigenous peoples are forced to work in mines and on large estates controlled by the Spanish. The Río de la Plata serves as a secondary but growing hub in the trans‑Atlantic slave trade, with enslaved Africans – many routed through Brazil – sold in Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
• 1776: The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata is created, comprising present‑day Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and parts of Bolivia and Brazil. Its capital is Buenos Aires.

Independence and Early Nation‑Building

• 1810: The May Revolution in Buenos Aires marks the start of the Argentine War of Independence.
• 1816: The Argentine Declaration of Independence is proclaimed.
• 1820: The Battle of Cepeda triggers a long Federalist‑Unitarian civil war; the Argentine Confederation is formally created by the Federal Pact in 1831.
• 1852: The Battle of Caseros topples Juan Manuel de Rosas, but the Confederation continues until Buenos Aires prevails at the Battle of Pavón in 1861.
• 1862: President Bartolomé Mitre relocates the national government to Buenos Aires; the city is legally federalised as the national capital in 1880.
• 1868: Domingo Faustino Sarmiento becomes president and promotes modernisation and expansion.
• 1878–1884: The Conquest of the Desert – large‑scale military campaigns – displaces, kills or forcibly resettles many indigenous peoples in Patagonia, extending Argentine territorial control.
• 1880–1914: A massive wave of European immigration (mainly Italian and Spanish) and an export‑led boom make Argentina one of the world’s richest countries and reshape its demographics and culture.
• 1930: A military coup overthrows President Hipólito Yrigoyen, beginning the authoritarian ‘Infamous Decade’.

The Age of Perón

• 1946: The Peronist movement, led by General Juan Perón, gains control of the government and initiates wide‑ranging political, social and economic changes.
• Perón’s policies focus on improving the lives of the working class, including social security, labour laws and other protections for workers, alongside accelerated industrialisation.
• Perón’s government is also characterised by authoritarianism, censorship, and political repression towards opponents.
• 1947: Nationwide women’s suffrage is enacted, a reform championed by Eva Perón.

Post‑Perón Era

• 1955: A military coup – styled the ‘Liberating Revolution’ – overthrows Perón, ushering in prolonged political instability.
• 1966: A coup led by General Juan Carlos Onganía launches the authoritarian ‘Argentine Revolution’. Military rule continues, under shifting leaders, until 1973.
• 1973: Juan Perón returns to power; after his death in 1974, Vice‑President Isabel Perón succeeds him.
• 1976: A coup ousts Isabel Perón and initiates state terrorism known as the Dirty War, during which an estimated 22,000 to 30,000 people are disappeared, tortured, or murdered.

Contemporary Argentina

• 1982: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), administered by the United Kingdom; defeat leads to the collapse of the military junta.
• 1983: Democracy is restored.
• 1989–1999: President Carlos Menem implements market‑oriented reforms and large‑scale privatisations; the Convertibility Plan (1991) tames hyper‑inflation but increases external debt.
• 1991–1992: Under the Convertibility Law, Argentina adopts the peso convertible at a one‑to‑one parity with the US dollar; new banknotes begin circulating in 1992.
• 1999: Fernando de la Rúa of the centre‑left Alianza coalition wins the presidency, inheriting roughly USD 110–120 billion in public debt amid recession.
• 2001: A severe economic crisis sparks default on foreign debt, widespread unemployment and social unrest, leading to presidential resignations and the rise of the piqueteros movement.
• 2003–2007: Néstor Kirchner serves as president.
• 2007–2015: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner succeeds him, expanding social programmes, subsidising energy and transport, and nationalising key industries while clashing with the media, judiciary and business sector.
• 2010: Argentina becomes the first Latin American country to legalise same‑sex marriage nationwide.
• 2014: Argentina enters a selective default after failing to settle with hold‑out creditors owed USD 1.3 billion.
• 2015–2019: President Mauricio Macri pursues fiscal austerity, lifts currency controls and signs a USD 57 billion IMF standby agreement amid renewed debt pressures.
• 2019–2023: President Alberto Fernández tackles the COVID‑19 pandemic, restructures debt and grapples with persistently high inflation.
• 2023: Libertarian economist Javier Milei wins the presidency, pledging to downsize the state, dollarise the economy and abolish the central bank.
• 2024–2025: The Milei administration pushes rapid deregulation, deep spending cuts and legislative reforms; inflation initially spikes but starts to recede, provoking both mass protests and support rallies while IMF negotiations continue.