If you’ve ever visited Buenos Aires, you’ll no doubt have walked along the famous street, 9 de Julio, at some point. If so, you may have wondered where the iconic street got its name from!
On the 9th of July, Argentina celebrates its day of independence – the day during which Argentina gained independence from Spain. What we now know as Argentina used to be a Spanish colony, but then went on to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations of its time.
The Birth of Argentina and the Spanish Colonisation
Argentina was first discovered by the Spanish in 1513, during an expedition led by Spanish navigator, Juan Díaz de Solís. It wasn’t until 1536, however, that the first European settlement was founded in the area. This settlement was founded by another Spanish explorer, Pedro de Mendoza, and was given the name ‘Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire’ (known today as Buenos Aires). The famous Obelisco was built in 1936 to commemorate 400 years since the first founding of Buenos Aires.
This early version of Buenos Aires faced many hardships and difficulties, mainly involving conflicts with indigenous tribes and a lack of resources. Consequently, the settlement was soon abandoned. In 1580, however, Buenos Aires was reborn and established formally by another Spaniard, Juan de Garay, marking the true beginning of the Spanish colonisation of Argentina. Under Garay’s leadership, Buenos Aires became an important trading hub and began to grow and expand exponentially.
Over the next 200 years, the Spanish continued to expand across Argentina, moving deeper and deeper into the country. In 1617, the city of Córdoba was also founded, and would become the control centre for the interior of Argentina. Many ranches and mines were opened, as the Spanish continued to increase industry and trade opportunities for Argentina.
In 1776, King Carlos III of Spain began to reorganise the distribution of his empire in South America, with the formation of the Virreinato del Río de la Plata, which encumbered not only Argentina, but also Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and parts of Brazil. The previous governor of Buenos Aires, Pedro de Cevallos, was named Virrey (ruler) of the newly-formed Virreinato, and its creation led to a rise in the population of Buenos Aires, as well as a huge urban expansion. The aim of the reorganisation was to strengthen Spanish control over the region and further increase production in Argentina.
It’s also important to bear in mind that at this point, Argentina wasn’t officially called Argentina just yet – many did use the word to refer to the country though. The land which is now known as Argentina was first known as part of the Virreinato de Perú, and then later as part of the Virreinato del Río de la Plata. Before that point, the land was mainly indigenous, with no existing urban settlements. To make things more simple though, I’ll keep referring to Argentina as such.
La Revolución de Mayo
The weakness of the Spanish Empire was first shown when the British attempted to invade Buenos Aires on two occasions in the early 1800s. The Spanish Empire proved incapable of defending its own territory, with local militias being forced to hold back the British on their own (albeit successfully). At the same time, the French had also invaded Spain and managed to capture King Carlos IV and his son, further contributing to the downfall of the Spanish Empire.
These events led to the Revolución de Mayo of 1810, where on May 25th, a local government was established known as the Primera Junta. This marked the formal beginning of self-governance in Buenos Aires and the rejection of Spanish control – as such, May 25th is also celebrated as a national holiday in Argentina.
From this point on, Argentina would start to be known as Las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata (The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata).
Following the Revolución de Mayo, several other provinces of the Virreinato declared autonomy from Spanish rule, however, at this point, formal independence hadn’t been declared and many internal conflicts still existed. It wasn’t until the formation of the Congreso de Tucumán (Congress of Tucumán) that this began to change.
The picture above shows the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires. The monument in the middle is the Pirámide de Mayo, built in 1910 to commemorate the Revolución de Mayo.
El Congreso de Tucumán and the Declaration of Independence
The Congreso de Tucumán was held in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, in northern Argentina. Representatives from various provinces within Las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata gathered together to decide on the future of the region.
On 9th July, 1816, the Congreso de Tucumán finally declared independence of the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata, signing the Declaration of Independence from the Spanish Empire. It was also at this point that Argentina became officially known as Las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata. It took until 1863 for Spain to actually formally recognise Argentina’s independence though.
Also, despite declaring independence, many internal conflicts continued to fester within South America, with José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar leading military campaigns against Spanish loyalists and opposition forces, ensuring the sovereignty of the newly-formed Argentina. In the following years, Argentina would also continue to expand into Patagonia. General Julio Argentino Roca led a military campaign in the south of Argentina in an attempt to put down resistance of indigenous tribes in the area, which further extended national control over the land.
In 1880, Buenos Aires was federalised and became the capital of the Argentine Republic. The capital of the newly-formed Argentina had been a topic of debate for quite some time. Buenos Aires had already been declared as the capital in 1827 during the presidency of Rivadavia. This, however, was rejected strongly by the other provinces of the region, who argued that the political and economic centre of Argentina shouldn’t be the same as it was during the Virreinato. Other cities such as Córdoba, Rosario and San Nicolás de los Arroyos were considered too.
Since 1853 and the signing of the Argentine Constitución, the land would begin to be known officially as the República Argentina.