Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Like all Latin American countries, Argentina has a tumultuous history, one
tainted by periods of despotic rule, corruption and hard times. But its his-
tory is also illustrious, the story of a country that fought off Spanish coloni-
al rule and was once among the world's economic powerhouses. It's a
country that gave birth to international icons such as the gaucho, Evita Per-
ón and Che Guevara. Understanding Argentina's past is paramount to un-
derstanding its present and, most importantly, to understanding Argentines
themselves.
Native Peoples
Many different native peoples ranged throughout what became Argentina. On the pampas
lived the hunter-gatherer Querandí; in the north the Guaraní were semisedentary agricul-
turalists and fishermen. In the Lake District and Patagonia, the Pehuenches and Puelches
gathered the pine nuts of the araucaria; while the Mapuche entered the region from the
west as the Spanish pushed south. Today there are several Mapuche reservations, espe-
cially in the area around Junín de los Andes.
Until they were wiped out by Europeans, there were indigenous inhabitants as far south
as Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), where the Selk'nam, Haush, Yahgan and Alacaluf
peoples lived as mobile hunters and gatherers. Despite frequently inclement weather they
wore little or no clothing, but constant fires kept them warm and gave the region its name.
Of all of Argentina, the northwest was the most developed. Several indigenous groups,
notably the Diaguita, practiced irrigated agriculture in the valleys of the eastern Andean
foothills. Inhabitants were influenced by the Tiahuanaco empire of Bolivia and by the
great Inca empire, which expanded south from Peru from the early 1480s. In Salta
province the ruined city of Quilmes is one of the best-preserved pre-Incan sites.
Argentina's national beer, Quilmes, is named after the now decimated indigenous group
of northwest Argentina. It's also the name of a city in the province of Buenos Aires.
Enter the Spanish
Just over a decade after Christopher Columbus accidentally encountered the Americas,
other European explorers began probing the Río de la Plata estuary. Most early explora-
tions of the area were motivated by rumors of vast quantities of silver. Spaniard Sebastian
