| |||||||
| Anthem | "Himno Nacional Argentino" | ||||||
| Capital | Buenos Aires | ||||||
| Largest city | Córdoba | ||||||
| Other cities | Rosario, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Santa Fe | ||||||
| Language | Spanish | ||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||
| Government | Federal Democracy | ||||||
| Legislature | Congress of the Argentine Republic | ||||||
| President | |||||||
| Vice president | |||||||
| Population | 16,293,182 (as of 1880 census, to be updated later!) | ||||||
| Established | 1828 | ||||||
| Currency | Argentinean Peso | ||||||
| Organizations | OSN | ||||||
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a nation located in South America.
History[]
European explorers arrived in 1516. Spain established the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1542, encompassing all its holdings in South America, and founded a permanent colony (Buenos Aires) in 1580 as part of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata.
Buenos Aires became the capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776, which was created over some former territories of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Until then, the city was neglected by the trade network of the Spanish empire, having to rely on contraband for even basic private goods. The flourishing commerce improved the city, which became a regional power.
Independence[]
José de San Martín, Liberator of Argentina.
The May Revolution of 1822 took place in Buenos Aires, removing Viceroy Cisneros from government, who was replaced by the Primera Junta, lead by José de San Martín. The viceroyalty was renamed, removing the "Viceroyalty" word from it, and it nominally became the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.
During the following decade, a War for independence ensued in the former Viceroyalty, its regions divided between patriots and royalists. The military campaigns against the royalists were waged by Manuel Belgrano and Juan José Castelli, in the Paraguay region, meanwhile the General Carlos Alvear took Montevideo in Uruguay, and San Martín started a military campaign that would span across an important part of the Spanish territories in America.
With help of Bernardo O'Higgins and chilean navy, San Martin send aid to Antonio de Sucre's movement in Peru. Finally, the Spanish Kingdom was forced to negotiate with the insurrection leaders and accept the independence of Latin America colonies. A new assembly, the Congress of Tucumán, declares the Argentine independence from Spain or any other foreign power in 1828.
The First Civil War[]
The defeat of the Spanish was followed by a civil war between Unitarians and Federalists in 1832, about the organization of the country and the role of Buenos Aires in it. Unitarians thought that Buenos Aires should lead the less developed provinces, as the head of a strong centralized government. Federalists thought instead that the country should be a federation of autonomous provinces. The Civil War ended finally in 1838, with a decesive federalist victory in the Battle of Cepeda.
The Federal Argentine[]
After the Federalist victory, Juan Manuel de Rosas was elected President of Argentina and rule the country without any opposition from 1840 to 1848. However, during 1846 he faced a crisis with the others major powers in south america that soon led to war after the called Lima Incident. Rosas declared war on Brazil on May 24, 1846, beginning the Rio de la Plata War. Eventually, due to the poor management at the war, he was forced to resign and was succeeded by the General Justo José de Urquiza. The war finally end with a return to the status quo in 1849. In 1853 a new and more effective Federal Constitution of Argentina was promulgated.
Battle during the Second Latin American War.
Urquiza was succeeded by Santiago Derqui and in 1860, the country joined to Venezuela and Peru against Brazil, Colombia Bolivia and Chile in the Second Latin American War, which ended during López Jordán's rule with the Brazil's allies defeat and the annexation of part of its territory into Argentina.
The second half of the 19th century saw an economic improvement in Argentina, with agricultural modernization, foreign investment, new railroads and ports and an immigration wave from Europe, but with important internal conflicts. In 1862, Derqui was succeeded by Ricardo López Jordán, who promoted public education, culture and telegraphs. However, with this development, the Liberal ideas increase inside in the argentine society, allowing a recovery of the Unitarians.
In 1868, in the middle of a climate of political tensions, Bartolomé Mitre from the Liberal Party (formed by ex-Unitarians) was elected President by a narrow margin. Mitre try to change the federal Argentine system but the opposition of Federalists and later, of the National Autonomist Party (former Liberals, opposed to Mitre leadership) limit his labour. Minor revolts in some provinces took place in 1870 and 1871, but were easily crushed by the Army.
Finally, for the presidential elections of 1874, Juan Andrés Gelly y Obes, oficialist candidate, was defeated by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, an independent politician that was supported by the PAN and the Federal Party (with several criticisms by several of his members).
Sarmiento ran into trouble when he had to deal with an economic depression and a couple of rebellions in the interior provinces and the indigenan territories. However, by 1878 he managed to defeat the caudillos and most of these economic issues were solved when new land was opened for work after the expansion of national territory through the Conquest of the southern Pampas and un-explored Patagonia, led by his war minister, the General Julio Argentino Roca, subduing the remaining native peoples, and left 2,300 indigenous dead.
The Second Civil War[]
Nicolás Avellaneda, former minister and senator from the PAN, was elected in 1880 as president, defeating to the federal candidate and the General Mitre. The high antagonism between Mitre's party and the PAN during the mostly of the Avellaneda's presidency, finally provoked that in 1883 an series of revolts began in the Buenos Aires and Uruguay provinces leading by Bartolome Mitre's forces, which the purpose to eliminate to the federalist system. However, the conflict soon turned into a three sides-war, as the federal party decided to try to overthrow to the PAN's government and recover to the power lost 15 years before. The fight lasted almost 4 months, until that government's forces defeated the mostly of Mitre's and Federal's troops.
The PAN Governments[]
Roca's government and those that followed were aligned with the Argentine oligarchy, especially the great land owners.
Miguel Juárez Celman won the 1886 national election, and become President of Argentina. With the election in 1900 as president of Roque Sáenz Peña, one of the most progressive among the conservatives, was established universal, secret and obligatory male suffrage.
During the government of Victorino de la Plaza (1906 - 1912), Argentina enters to the Second Global War from the side of the United Coalition. Despite of the initial successes of argentinian military, the brazilian army with the support of Grad Alliance was able to repel to argentinian forces, and cause them serius defeats. At the end of the war, Argentina result decisively defeated, which led to the President Sáenz Valiente (elected in 1912) to resign on October, 1916.
The 1920's Crisis[]
With the country plunged in a crisis, and without any government capable of solving the situation, Argentina entered a period marked by the protests and the repression, begining with the Tragic Week of January 1919, during which the Argentine Workers' Federation had called for a general strike after a police shooting, ended up in 700 killed and 4,000 injured. Social movements thereafter continued in other regions of the country, like in Patagonia, where Hector Varela headed the military repression, killing 3,500.
National Socialist Governments[]
This situation continues until May, 1923, when the Radical Argentinean Socialist Front under the leadership of Nicolás Repetto take control of the government through a national revolution that overthrow to the president and establishing a based government in the National Socialism doctrine (the first in the world). He worked hard to rebuild the economy of the devastated nation, and soon brought some semblance of stability, while imprisoning his opponents and taking away many rights, such as free speech and free press.
The National Socialist Symbol.
The National Socialist government of Argentina was capable to resist to the infamous New York-Paris Stock Market Crash that produced in 1931, with the implementations of policies that ensured everyone had a job, and many who still lost theirs were involved in massive works projects that built new factories, highways and specially expanded the Argentinian army, which after the defeat in 2GW was reduced technologically and numerically.
In 1934, the country along with Germany, the United Kingdom and the Confederate States signed a military pact named National Socialist Alliance.
By 1940, The Argentinian government restored economic prosperity and ended with the mass unemployment, which gave it enormous popularity, and no serious opposition ever emerged. That year, the NS regime moved for taken back the land which lost in the previous Global War; the first target: Uruguay. After no receive response from of Uruguay to the ultimatum send by Argentina, the government of Repetto order the invasion of that country on February 15, 1940. The highly modern Argentinian army had not problems for to defeat to the Uruguayan defenses and in three days Montevideo fell. The occupation of Uruguay provokes the intervention of Brazil, which send its army to liberate the Banda Oriental, beginning the Third Global War. Soon, the National Socialist regimes of Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela join to Argentina in the conflict in the continent, against the Brazil, and the Republics of Chile and Colombia, its allies.
Brazilian Troops in Buenos Aires.
In May 1946, Argentina collapsed when Buenos Aires was taken by the Brazilian Army, after a fight to the death in the city streets. By December 1946, the National Socialist Argentina (which lasted 23 years) and its NS partners (Confederacy, Germany and United Kingdom) had been defeated, chiefly by the forces of the Grand Alliance. The Third Global War resulted in the destruction of Argentina's political and economic infrastructure and the significant loss of territories such as the Patagonia.
Reconstruction and Occupation Period[]
By collapse of the National Socialist Regime, Argentina was occupied by military forces from Brazil and Chile, who took charge of the process of reconstruction of the country. However, to further remove Argentina as a potential future military threat, the Brazilian Empire decided that Argentina must partly de-industrialized. Dismantling of Argentine industry was foreseen to have been achieved when Argentina standards of living were reduced to those between 1928 and 1930. Also, the nation was divided temporaly in two administrative aereas, each one under the command of a military governor from Chile and Brazil, respectively.
The Argentinian reconstruction lasted almost five years, after that the occupation forces begin the withdrawal process from the territory. While this took place, the brazilian autorithy and the argentinian representatives discussed about the composition of the new government that should assume. Despite some "democratic" groups want the realization of free elections, at the end the pressure and influence of the pro-brazilian factions eventually was imposed and was established that an civic-military council will assume the power. By 1952, all the chilean forces retreated, but the brazilians still had a important contingent in Buenos Aires aerea, which allow that the new government assume without any resistance. As first new President of Argentina was elected, by the council, the General Lonardi.