The history of Argentina can be divided into four main parts: the pre-Columbian time or early history, the colonial period (1536–1809), the period of nation-building (1810–1880), and the history of modern Argentina.

The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata meaning "River of the Silver", also called "Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was the last to be organized and also the shortest-lived of the Viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. The name "Provincias del Río de la Plata" was formally adopted in 1810 during the Cortes of Cádiz to designate the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.