BUENOS
AIRES HISTORY |
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Spaniard seaman Juan Díaz de Solís discovered the La Plata River in 1516 but
his expedition was cut short by an indigenous people's attack in which he
was killed.
The city was first founded as Santa María del Buen Aire on February 2, 1536
by a Spanish gold-seeking expedition under Pedro de Mendoza. The name was
chosen by Mendoza's chaplain, who was a devout follower of the Virgine de
Bonaria (Our Lady of the Fair Winds) of Cagliari, Sardinia. The location of
Mendoza's city was on today's San Telmo. |
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More attacks by the indigenous peoples forced the settlers away and in 1541
the site was abandoned. A second (and permanent) settlement was established
in 1580 by Juan de Garay, after he sailed down the Paraná river from
Asunción.
From its earliest days the success of Buenos Aires depended on trade. The
Spanish administration of the 17th and 18th centuries insisted that all
trade to Europe initially pass through Lima, Peru so that taxes could be
collected. This extravagant deviation frustrated the traders of Buenos Aires
and a thriving contraband industry developed. Unsurprisingly, this also
instilled a deep resentment in porteños towards Spanish authorities.
Sensing this instability, Charles III of Spain progressively eased the trade
restrictions and finally declared Buenos Aires an open port in the late
1700s. These placating actions did not have the desired effect, and the
porteños became even more desirous of independence from Spain. Ultimately,
on May 25, 1810, while the metropoli endured the Peninsular War and after a
week of mostly pacific deliberations, the creole citizens of Buenos Aires
successfully ousted the Spanish Viceroy and established a provincial
government (this date is now celebrated as a national holiday). On July 9,
1816 a congress gathered in Tucumán declared the independence from Spain,
which did not officially recognize it until 1862.
1888 German map of Buenos AiresRailroad construction during the 19th century
only increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed
into its factories. By the 1920s Buenos Aires was a favoured destination for
immigrants from Europe, and large shantytowns started growing around the
city's industrial areas, leading to extensive social problems.
At the same time, Buenos Aires was a multicultural city that ranked itself
with the European capitals.
An aggressive campaign of slum elimination, combined with the development of
a effective public transport system in the 1970s and 1980s alleviated many
of the development problems.
Since the 1970s Argentina and Buenos Aires has been famous for the
desaparecidos, of which the signs could be seen in the Plaza de Mayo (next
to the Casa Rosada) where the mothers of these desaparecidos used to protest.
Buenos Aires hosted the the first Pan American Games which started on
February 25, 1951, as well as the 1950 and 1990 basketball world
championships and the 1978 football (soccer) World Cup (Argentina won the
final on June 25, 1978, defeating the Netherlands by a score of 3-1).
On March 17, 1992 a bomb exploded in the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires
killing 29 and injuring 242. Another explosion, on July 18, 1994 destroyed a
building housing several Jewish organizations killing 96 and injuring many
more. See AMIA bombing.
The Buenos Aires international airport, Ministro Pistarini International
Airport, is located in the suburb of Ezeiza and is often called simply
"Aeropuerto Ezeiza". The Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport is located within
city limits and serves domestic traffic. |
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