Initial Conquest

    Juan Díaz de Solís was a Portuguese explorer who first landed in Argentina in 1516 and claimed the land for Spain. He unveiled the mystery over the land of Argentina to latter conquerers.(B)
    Due to its lack of mineral wealth, Spaniards overlooked Argentina in the first place during the colonial period. However, the city of Buenos Aires grew rapidly because British established illegal trade between Argentina and Brazil. Spain was worried that Britain would exert total control over trade and collect more taxes if its power continued to expand.(D)
    Two main streams of Spanish colonists settled in Argentina. One was the Spaniards who came from Peru and Chile by crossing over the Andes, and occupied the areas along the Andes. The other came from Europe (Spain, France, Britain, Italy and Germany) and settled in Buenos Aires.(C) In 1600s, Spain’s economy declined, so Spain had to sell a large portion of land in Argentina. The Spanish people who were born in Latin America and rich Europeans bought the land from Spain and built numerous estates. Spanish government kept interfering in wealthy landowners’ business. Spain imposed high taxes on landowners, but they wanted to control the trade and keep their wealth. The resentment against Spanish ruling increased and people wanted to establish their own government.(B)

Colonial Latin America