1.
Argentina
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
2.
Spanish Colonial architecture
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These two visible aspects of the city are connected and complementary. The 16th century Laws of the Indies included provisions for the layout of new settlements in the Americas. The new churches and mission stations, for example, aimed for maximum effect in terms of their imposition and domination of the buildings or countryside. In order for that to be achievable, they had to be strategically located - at the center of a square or at a higher point in the landscape. The Spanish Colonial style of architecture dominated in the early Spanish colonies of North and South America and it is sometimes marked by the contrast between the simple, solid construction demanded by the new environment and the Baroque ornamentation exported from Spain. Mexico, as the center of New Spain - and the richest province of Spains colonial empire - has some of the most renowned buildings built in this style. With twenty-nine sites, Mexico has more sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list than any country in the Americas. Some of the most famous cities in Mexico built in the Colonial style are Puebla, Zacatecas, Querétaro, Guanajuato, the historic center of Mexico City is a mixture of architectural styles from the 16th century to the present. The Metropolitan Cathedral – built from 1563 to 1813 in a variety of including the Renaissance, Baroque. The rich interior is mostly Baroque, during the late 17th century to 1750, one of Mexicos most popular architectural styles was Mexican Churrigueresque. These buildings were built in an ultra-Baroque, fantastically extravagant and visually frenetic style, Antigua Guatemala in Guatemala is also known for its well preserved Spanish colonial style architecture. The city of Antigua is famous for its well-preserved Spanish Mudéjar-influenced Baroque architecture as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches dating from the 16th century. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Ciudad Colonial of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, founded in 1498, is the oldest city in the New World and a prime example of this architectural style. San Juan was founded by the Spaniards in 1521, where Spanish colonial architecture can be found like the Historic Hotel El Convento, also, Old San Juan with its walled city and buildings are very good examples, and in excellent condition. According to UNESCO, Quito, Ecuador has the largest, best-preserved and it was the first city that was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List, along with Kraków, Poland in 1978. The historic district of city is the sole largest and best preserved area of Spanish Colonial architecture in the world. The idea of laying out a city in a pattern is not unique to the Spanish. In fact, it never started out with the Spanish colonizers and it has been traced back to some ancient civilizations especially the ancient cities of the Aztec and Maya, and also Ancient Greeks
3.
Plaza
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A plaza /ˈplɑːzə/ is an open urban public space, such as a city square. The plaza might be enough to serve as a military parade ground. At times of crisis or fiesta, it was the space where a large crowd might gather, like the Italian piazza, the plaza remains a center of community life that is only equaled by the market-place. A plaza de toros is a bullring, in modern usage, a plaza can be any gathering place on a street or between buildings, a street intersection with a statue, etc. Todays metropolitan landscapes often incorporate the plaza as an element, or as an outcome of zoning regulations, building budgetary constraints. Sociologist William H. Plaza is a Spanish word, cognate to Italian piazza, Portuguese praça, Galician praza, Catalan plaça, Romanian piața, German Platz, the origin of all these words is, via Latin platea, from Greek πλατεῖα plateia, meaning broad. The first purpose-built shopping center in the United States, opened in Kansas City, Missouri in 1922, knowingly took the name of Country Club Plaza and adopted Spanish architectural details. More recently plaza has been used to describe a complex, similar to a shopping mall. Examples, Pantip Plaza, Bintang Plaza, Kuching Plaza, Plaza Las Américas, Plaza de las Estrellas, Central Plaza, Schiphol Plaza, Plazas del Centro Comercial Santafé, The Plaza, and Cityplaza. Central Plaza, in Hong Kong, was for four years the tallest building in Asia, at 78 storeys,374 m
4.
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
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Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the Generation of 1837 and he was particularly concerned with educational issues and was also an important influence on the regions literature. Sarmiento grew up in a poor but politically active family that paved the way for much of his future accomplishments, between 1843 and 1850 he was frequently in exile, and wrote in both Chile and in Argentina. His greatest literary achievement was Facundo, a critique of Juan Manuel de Rosas, while president of Argentina from 1868 to 1874, Sarmiento championed intelligent thought—including education for children and women—and democracy for Latin America. He also took advantage of the opportunity to modernize and develop systems, a postal system. He spent many years in ministerial roles on the federal and state levels where he travelled abroad, Sarmiento died in Asunción, Paraguay, at the age of 77 from a heart attack. He was buried in Buenos Aires, today, he is respected as a political innovator and writer. Sarmiento was born in Carrascal, a suburb of San Juan. His father, José Clemente Quiroga Sarmiento y Funes, had served in the military during the wars of independence, returning prisoners of war to San Juan. His mother, Doña Paula Zoila de Albarracín e Irrázabal, was a pious woman. As a result, she took to selling her weaving in order to afford to build a house of her own, on September 21,1801, José and Paula were married. They had 15 children,9 of whom died, Domingo was the son to survive to adulthood. In Sarmientos own words, I was born in a family that lived long years in mediocrity bordering on destitution, and my father is a good man whose life has nothing remarkable except having served in subordinate positions in the War of Independence. My mother is the figure of Christianity in its purest sense, with her. At the age of four, Sarmiento was taught to read by his father and his uncle, José Eufrasio Quiroga Sarmiento, who later became Bishop of Cuyo. Another uncle who influenced him in his youth was Domingo de Oro, though Sarmiento did not follow de Oros political and religious leanings, he learned the value of intellectual integrity and honesty. He developed scholarly and oratorical skills, qualities which de Oro was famous for, in 1816, at the age of five, Sarmiento began attending the primary school La Escuela de la Patria
5.
Lola Mora
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Dolores Candelaria Mora Vega known professionally as Lola Mora, was a sculptor born in El Tala, Tucumán Province in Argentina. She is known today as a rebel and a pioneer of women in her artistic field, dolores was the daughter of Romualdo Alejandro Mora, a prosperous landowner of Tucumán Province of Spanish origin and Regina Vega. She was the born of seven children, three boys and four girls. Her parents decided that the girls will have too, the best education possible, in 1885, within two days both her parents died. Her older sister Paula Mora Vega married the engineer Guillermo Rucker, at 20 years of age she began painting portraits, but soon turned to sculpting marble and granite. She studied art in her province and then, with a scholarship, in Rome, Italy, studying under Costantino Barbella. In 1900 she returned to Argentina and, with government connections, was commissioned to create two bas-reliefs for the Historical House of Tucumán, as her career developed, her sensual style and her status as a female artist made her controversial. In 1903 her Nereids Fountain, created for the city of Buenos Aires, met bureaucratic problems at the citys Deliberative Council, near the end of her life, she did some extravagant business, and then retired with only a pension to support herself. After her death in Buenos Aires, in poverty and obscurity, friends of hers burned her letters, mementos, one included a system to project films without a screen, as well as systems for mining
6.
President of Argentina
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The President of the Argentine Nation, usually known as the President of Argentina, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the executive of the federal government. Through Argentine history, the office of the Head of State has undergone many changes, current President Mauricio Macri was sworn into office on 10 December 2015. The Constitution of Argentina, along with constitutional amendments, establishes the requirements, powers, and responsibilities of the president and term of office. The origins of Argentina as a nation can be traced to 1776, the Head of State continued to be the King, but he was represented locally by the Viceroy. These Viceroys were seldom natives of the country, by the May Revolution of May 25,1810, the first Argentine autonomous government, known as the Primera Junta, was formed in Buenos Aires. It was later known as the Junta Grande when representatives from the provinces joined and this power was vested in one man when the position of Supreme Director was created by the 1813 National Assembly. The Supreme Directors became Heads of State after Independence was declared on 9 July 1816, in 1819, Congress declared Independence and composed a Constitution. This established a figure, named Supreme Director, who was vested with presidential powers. This constitution gave the Supreme Director the power of appointing Governors of the provinces, due to political circumstances, this constitution never came into force, and the central power was dissolved, leaving the country as a federation of provinces. A new constitution was drafted in 1826 and this constitution was the first to create a President, although this office retained the powers described in the 1819 constitution. This constitution did come into force, resulting in the election of the first President, because of the Cisplatine War, Rivadavia resigned after a short time, and the office was dissolved shortly after. A civil war between unitarios and federales ensued in the following decades, in this time, there was no central authority, and the closest to that was the Chairman of Foreign Relations, typically the Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires. The last to bear this title was Juan Manuel de Rosas, in 1852, Rosas was deposed, and a constitutional convention was summoned. This constitution, still in force, established a federal government. The term was fixed as six years, with no possibility of reelection, the first elected President under the constitution was Justo José de Urquiza, but Buenos Aires seceded from the Argentine Confederation as the State of Buenos Aires. Bartolomé Mitre was the first president of the country, when Buenos Aires rejoined the Confederation. In 1930, and again in 1943,1955,1962,1966 and 1976, in 1966 and 1976, federal government was undertaken by a military junta, where power was shared by the chiefs of the armed forces
7.
United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata
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It comprised most of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata dependencies and had Buenos Aires as its capital. It is best known in Spanish-language literature as Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata, the Argentine National Anthem refers to the state as the United Provinces of the South. The Constitution of Argentina recognises Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata as one of the names of the country. The United Provinces of South America were bordered on the south by the populated territories of the Pampas and Patagonia, home to the Mapuche, Ranquel. To the north, the Gran Chaco was populated by the Guaycuru nations, to the northwest, across the Upper Peru, lay the Spanish Viceroyalty of Perú. Across the Andes, to the west, was the Spanish-controlled Captaincy General of Chile, to the northeast was Colonial Brazil, a part of the Portuguese Empire, later the Empire of Brazil in 1821. The change from the Viceroyalty into the United Provinces was not merely a change of governors, the main influences in this were the Enlightenment in Spain, promoting new ideas, and the Peninsular War that left Spain without a legitimate king after the Abdications of Bayonne. The concept of separation of powers became a tool to prevent despotism. The new political situation generated great political conflict between the cities for two reasons, first, the vacatio regis removed the sovereignty from the King of Spain, but there was no clear view about who and how would be able to claim such sovereignty. The vertical organization of the absolutist monarchy was compromised as well, the other source of conflict was the nature of the new governments, which declared themselves to be provisional during the Kings absence but were making strong changes in the political organization. As it faced resistance in some quarters, the revolution soon turned to be a War of Independence. These conflicts involved coups détat, mutinies, politically motivated trials, banishments and imprisonments, ever since the revolution, there were serious conflicts among diverging views regarding the political organization of the provinces. As the latter gained the upper hand, the Primera Junta grew to incorporate delegates from the provinces in 1811. However, as it became evident that such an arrangement was not effective enough to lead the war efforts, infuriated by the passivity of Buenos Aires, Artigas declared war on Buenos Aires while he was losing to the Portuguese. Similarly, the Federal League effectively came to an end when its constituent provinces rejoined the United Provinces, Artigas, defeated by the Portuguese, retreated to Entre Ríos. From there, he denounced the Treaty of Pilar and entered into conflict with his former ally governor Ramírez, the former Protector of the Free Peoples was exiled in Paraguay until his death. The Eastern Province was annexed by Portugal to its Brazilian dependences in 1821, the result of the wars was the independence of the provinces. Misiones Orientales was de jure recognized as Brazilian, following the outcome of the Cisplatine War, pachecos partner Luis Vernet established a toehold in the islands in 1826 and a fledgling colony in 1828
8.
Argentine War of Independence
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On July 9,1816, an assembly met in San Miguel de Tucumán, declared full independence with provisions for a national constitution. The territory of modern Argentina was part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, with its city in Buenos Aires. Modern Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia were also part of the viceroyalty, the vast area of the territory and slow communications led most populated areas to become isolated from each other. The wealthiest regions of the viceroyalty were in Upper Peru, Salta and Córdoba had closer ties with Upper Peru than with Buenos Aires. Similarly, Mendoza in the west had closer ties with the Captaincy General of Chile, Paraguay was isolated from all other regions. This created a rivalry between the Criollos, people born in America, and the peninsulares, people arrived from Europe. The ideas of the American and French Revolutions, and the Age of Enlightenment, the full prohibition imposed by Spain to trade with other nations was also seen as damaging to the viceroyaltys economy. The population of Buenos Aires was highly militarized during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires was captured in 1806, and then liberated by Santiago de Liniers with forces from Montevideo. Fearing a counter-attack, all the population of Buenos Aires capable of bearing arms was arranged in military bodies, a new British attack in 1807 captured Montevideo, but was defeated in Buenos Aires, and forced to leave the viceroyalty. The transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil generated military concern and it was feared that the British would launch a third attack, this time allied with Portugal. However, no military conflict took place, as when the Peninsular War started Britain, Javier de Elío created a Junta in Montevideo and Martín de Álzaga sought to make a similar move by organizing a mutiny in Buenos Aires, but the local military forces intervened and thwarted it. Spain appointed a new viceroy, Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, and Liniers handed the government to him without resistance, the military conflict in Spain worsened by 1810. The city of Seville had been invaded by French armies, which were already dominating most of the Iberian Peninsula, the Junta of Seville was disestablished, and several members fled to Cádiz, the last portion of Spain still resisting. They established a Council of Regency, with political tendencies closer to absolutism than the former Junta and this began the May Revolution in Buenos Aires, as soon as the news was known. The military gave their support to the request, forcing Cisneros to accept, the discussion ruled the removal of viceroy Cisneros and his replacement with a government junta, but the cabildo attempted to keep Cisneros in power by appointing him president of such junta. Further demonstrations ensued, and the Junta was forced to resign immediately and it was replaced by a new one, the Primera Junta. Buenos Aires requested the other cities in the viceroyalty to acknowledge the new Junta, the precise purpose of these deputies, join the Junta or create a congress, was unclear at the time and generated political disputes later. The Junta was initially resisted by all the locations around Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Montevideo, Paraguay
9.
May Revolution
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The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25,1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, the result was the removal of Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros and the establishment of a local government, the Primera Junta, on May 25. It was the first successful revolution in South American Independence process, the May Revolution was a direct reaction to Spains Peninsular War. In 1808, King Ferdinand VII of Spain abdicated in favor of Napoleon, on February 1,1810, French troops took Seville and gained control of most of Andalusia. The Supreme Junta retreated to Cadiz and dissolved itself, and the Council of Regency of Spain, news of these events arrived in Buenos Aires on May 18, brought by British ships. Viceroy Cisneros tried to maintain the status quo, but a group of criollo lawyers. Delegates denied recognition to the Council of Regency in Spain and established a junta to govern in place of Cisneros, to maintain a sense of continuity, Cisneros was initially appointed president of the Junta. However, this caused much popular unrest, so he resigned under pressure on May 25, the newly formed government, the Primera Junta, included only representatives from Buenos Aires and invited other cities of the Viceroyalty to send delegates to join them. This resulted in the outbreak of war between the regions that accepted the outcome of the events at Buenos Aires and those that did not. As similar events occurred in other cities of the continent. A formal declaration of independence was issued at the Congress of Tucumán on July 9,1816. The United States declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776 led criollos to believe that revolution, the fact that Spain aided the colonies in their struggle against Britain weakened the idea that it would be a crime to end ones allegiance to the parent state. The ideals of the French Revolution of 1789 spread across Europe, the overthrow and execution of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette ended centuries of monarchy and removed the privileges of the nobility. Liberal ideals in the political and economic fields developed and spread through the Atlantic Revolutions across most of the Western world, however, the spread of such ideas was forbidden in the Spanish territories, as was the sale of related books or their unauthorized possession. Spain instituted those bans when it declared war on France after the execution of Louis XVI, news of the events of 1789 and copies of the publications of the French Revolution spread around Spain despite efforts to keep them at bay. Many enlightened criollos came into contact with authors and their works during their university studies. Books from the United States found their way into the Spanish colonies through Caracas, owing to the proximity of Venezuela to the United States, the Industrial Revolution started in Britain, with the use of plateways, canals and steam power. This led to increases in the productive capabilities of Britain
10.
Argentine Declaration of Independence
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What today is commonly referred as the Independence of Argentina was declared on July 9,1816 by the Congress of Tucumán. In reality, the congressmen who were assembled in Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America, the Federal League Provinces, at war with the United Provinces, were not allowed into the Congress. At the same time, several provinces from the Upper Peru that would become part of present-day Bolivia, were represented at the Congress. The 1810 May Revolution followed the deposition of the Spanish king Ferdinand VII by the Napoleonic French, the revolution ended the authority of the Viceroy Cisneros and replaced it with the Primera Junta. When the Spanish monarchy resumed its functions in 1819, Spain was determined to control over its colonies in the Americas. Moreover, the royalists from Peru had been victorious at the battles of Sipe-Sipe, Huaqui, Vilcapugio and Ayohuma, in Upper Peru, on April 15,1815 a revolution ended the mandate of Carlos María de Alvear as Supreme Director and demanded that a General Congress be summoned. Delegate deputies, each representing 14,000 inhabitants, were sent from all the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata to the sessions, however, the Federal League Provinces did not send delegates, the Argentine littoral Provinces, and the Eastern Province. The Congress was inaugurated in the city of Tucumán, with 33 deputies, the presidency of the Congress would be rotated monthly. Because the Congress had the freedom to choose topics to debate, the voting finally ended on July 9 with a declaration of independence. This was a concept that was also invoked by the other Spanish American declarations of independence, such as Venezuelas and Mexicos. The president of the Congress at the time was Francisco Narciso de Laprida, subsequent discussions centered on what form of government the emerging state should adopt. The house where the declaration was adopted has been rebuilt and is now a museum and monument, the House of Tucumán
