Buenos Aires Province is Argentina's most populous and economically significant province, stretching from the Rio de la Plata estuary to the Atlantic Ocean and the Pampas grasslands. Home to the provincial capital La Plata, the glamorous beach resort of Mar del Plata, the rolling Tandil hills, and the Sierra de la Ventana mountains, the province offers an extraordinary diversity of landscapes and experiences.
Buenos Aires Province has been at the center of Argentine history for over 400 years. From the first Spanish settlements to the battles of independence, from the Conquista del Desierto to waves of European immigration, and from the founding of La Plata to the Peron era, the province's history is the history of Argentina itself.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Buenos Aires.
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1
Indigenous Peoples of the Pampas
The vast Pampas grasslands of what is now Buenos Aires Province were home to several indigenous peoples, principally the Querandies (or Pampas) in the north, the Tehuelche in the south, and later the Mapuche who crossed from Chile. These groups were skilled hunters and horsemen who developed rich cultures adapted to the open grasslands.
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2
Spanish Settlement of the River Plate
Spanish colonization of the Buenos Aires Province region began in the early 16th century. The first permanent settlement at Buenos Aires was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay. Provincial towns like Lujan (1630) and San Antonio de Areco (1728) grew as way-stations on the routes inland.
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3
Argentine Independence and the War of the Gauchos
The May Revolution of 1810 began Argentina's path to independence (formally declared in 1816). The province was wracked by civil wars between unitarios (centralists based in Buenos Aires) and federales (provincial leaders) for decades. Gaucho caudillos like Juan Manuel de Rosas dominated the province.
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4
The Conquest of the Desert
General Julio A. Roca led a series of military campaigns into the Pampas and Patagonia to defeat the remaining Mapuche and other indigenous peoples who had resisted settlement. The 'Conquest of the Desert' opened millions of hectares of Buenos Aires Province to settlement but resulted in the near-destruction of indigenous Pampas cultures.
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5
The Planned Capital
After Buenos Aires city was federalized and separated from the province in 1880, a new capital was needed for Buenos Aires Province. Governor Dardo Rocha oversaw the founding of La Plata on November 19, 1882 — one of the world's first comprehensively planned cities, designed in a diagonal grid pattern inspired by Haussmann's Paris.
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6
The Great Immigration
Buenos Aires Province received millions of European immigrants during the period 1880-1930, transforming its culture, food, architecture, and economy. Italians, Spaniards, Basques, French, Germans, Russian Jews, and Lebanese and Syrian Arabs all arrived in large numbers, particularly in Mar del Plata, Bahia Blanca, and La Plata.
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7
Peronism, Democracy, and the Modern Province
Juan Domingo Peron, born in Lobos, Buenos Aires Province, dominated Argentine politics from 1943-1974 (with a long exile in between). The province saw enormous industrial and agricultural development in the 20th century and remains Argentina's economic powerhouse today.