History
Argentina was populated entirely by indigenous communities up until the mid 16th century, when the first of the conquistadors arrived from the North and West and the Spanish colonisation began. The first cities were established along the Camino Real, the silver trail from Potosí, and a century later, around the Atlantic coast. The Napoleonic invasion provoked the fall of the monarchy and colonial order in 1810 and a Revolution that spread from Buenos Aires to the interior. Independence was declared in 1816 but the revolution failed to secure the economic and political order of the old viceroyalty.
The influx of European capital and immigrants coincided with the arrival of a national ruling class in 1880. Despite a sustained demand for wool, cereal and meat from abroad and the millions of hectares of Pampas tied up in the export economy, the fluctuations of the international market meant that Argentina’s unstoppable economic growth was not lineal. Following the political reform of 1912, the country experienced its first period of mass democracy and Radicalism. The sons of educated immigrants played a central role in this profound cultural change that formed the nation’s early identity.
Before the Crash of ’29, Argentina, the agricultural exporter, began to convert itself into an industrial country. The first Peronist government (1946/1955) encouraged political and social integration of vast previously excluded sectors of society and improved social rights, all the while demonstrating a growing authoritarianism. The developmentalist policies of the 60s helped industrial growth and provoked the arrival of multinational companies in Argentina. Socially, an ever bigger middle class confirmed the cultural revolution that was taking place in the cities.
The context of the Cold War gave way to recurrent authoritarianism which evolved into military coups and illegitimate governments. The coup of 1976 unleashed a violent military dictatorship which resulted in the “disappearance” of thousands of Argentines. It was only after the controversial Falklands War (1982) that democracy returned indefinitely (1983).
The 90s saw a profound change in the country’s economic, state and social structures, which culminated in an unprecedented financial and social crisis in 2001. Since then, political and financial order has been restored by devaluing the peso and prioritising local industry. Employment and exports (soya) have increased, and for the first time in its history, Argentina has positioned itself as one of the world’s principal tourist destinations.
