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.
Salta Province
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Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, to the north it borders Bolivia and Paraguay and to the west lies Chile. The Atacamas lived in the Puna, and the Wichís, in the Chaco region, the first conquistador to venture into the area was Diego de Almagro in 1535, he was followed by Diego de Rojas. Hernando de Lerma founded San Felipe de Lerma in 1582, following orders of the viceroy Francisco de Toledo, Count of Oropesa, by 1650, the city had around five hundred inhabitants. An intendency of Salta del Tucumán was created within the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, in 1774, San Ramón de La Nueva Orán was founded between Salta and Tarija. In 1783, in recognition of the importance of the city. The battle of Salta in 1813 freed the territory from Spain, gervasio de Posadas created the Province of Salta in 1814, containing the current provinces of Salta, Jujuy, and parts of southern Bolivia and northern Chile. Exploiting internal Argentine conflicts that arose after the Argentine Declaration of Independence, in 1834, Jujuy withdrew from Salta and became a separate province. The borders of Salta were further reduced in 1900, with the loss of Yacuiba to Bolivia. The National Government of Los Andes, constituted from the province in 1902 with a capital at San Antonio de los Cobres, was returned to Salta Province in 1943 as the Department of Los Andes. Antonio Alices painting, La muerte de Güemes, which received a Gold Medal at the Centenary Exposition, is on display at the offices of the Salta Provincial Government. The province is located in the zone and has a warm climate in general. The orientation of the Andes influences the distribution of precipitation within the province, the easternmost parts of the province have a semi-arid climate with a dry winter season. The mean annual temperature and precipitation are 20 °C and 500 millimetres, temperatures can reach up to 47 °C during summers, while they can fall down to −5 °C during winters. The first slopes of the Andes force the moist, easterly winds to rise, provoking very high condensation leading to the formation of clouds that generate copious amounts of rain. The eastern slopes of the mountains receive between 1,000 to 1,500 mm of precipitation a year, although some places receive up to 2,500 mm of precipitation annually owing to orographic precipitation. Most of the precipitation is concentrated in the summer, with winters being dry, the high rainfall on these first slopes creates a thick jungle that extends in a narrow strip along these ranges, creating an area of great species diversity. At higher altitudes on these slopes, the climate is cooler and more humid, with the vegetation consisting of deciduous, between the high altitudes to the east and the low plains to the west lie the valleys
3.
Santiago del Estero Province
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Santiago del Estero, also called Santiago, is a province in the north of Argentina. Neighbouring provinces, clockwise from the north, are Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca, the autochthonous inhabitants of these lands were the Juríes-Tonocotés, Sanavirones and other tribes. Intriguingly, Santiago del Estero is still home to about 100,000 speakers of the variety of Quechua. Quite when the reached the area, and how, remains unclear—it may even have arrived only with the native troops that accompanied the first Spanish expeditions. Diego de Rojas first reached this land in 1542, francisco de Aguirre founded Santiago del Estero in 1553 as the northernmost city founded by Spanish conquistadores coming from the Pacific Ocean. Santiago then passed under different governments, from the intendency of Tucumán to the Audiencia de Charcas, then again to Tucumán, however, the bishop moved to Córdoba in 1699 and the government moved to Salta two years later. Furthermore, the route between Buenos Aires and the Viceroyalty of Peru passed through Tucumán rather than through Santiago. The combination of these circumstances drastically reduced the importance of the city and the territory and, by the beginning of the 19th century, with the creation of the intendency of Salta, Santiago del Estero was transferred to the new intendency of Tucumán. In the middle of the conflict, Santiago del Estero separated from Tucumán in 1820. In 1856 the provincial constitution was formulated, at the beginning of the 20th century Santiago del Estero acquired part of the lands that were the subject of a dispute with Chaco Province. By then the province had four cities and 35,000 inhabitants, the construction of the Los Quiroga dam in 1950 enabled the productivity of the otherwise arid land to be increased by irrigation. Becoming increasingly well-known, the Argentine Dept. of Agriculture commissioned University of Buenos Aires Chemistry Professor Hercules Corti to study the springs, completing his report in 1918, Dr. The province, in 1948, elected a young Peronist activist named Carlos Juárez Governor of the province, Santiago del Esteros central political figure during the late 20th century, Juárez was as energetic as he was ambitious and he soon became indispensable to local politics. A true Caudillo, his amiable demeanor belied a profound ruthlessness and, meanwhile, Santiago del Estero remained one of the poorest provinces in Argentina, falling further behind. Juárez, by the 1990s, was readily ordering his opponents deaths, notably those of former Governor César Iturre in 1996 and of Bishop Gerardo Sueldo in 1998. His wife, Nina Aragonés de Juárez, was hand-picked to replace him, the province is located almost completely in the flat lands of the Gran Chaco, with some depressions. In these depressions lagoons have formed, mainly at Bañado de Figueroa, Bañado de Añatuya, the Sumampa and Ambargasta sierras are the result of the influence of the Pampas at the southwest. The soil, rich in lime and salt, is arid and characterised by semi-deserts, surprisingly, the maximum was of 38°C before 1910, and minima of -5°C, which has increased to -2°C
4.
Catamarca Province
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Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the 2001 census, neighbouring provinces are, Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja. To the west it borders Chile, the capital is San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, usually shortened to Catamarca. Other important cities include Andalgalá, Tinogasta, and Belén, located in an arid and semi-arid climate zone, the scarce water resources determine the human settlement pattern. Agricultural activities are concentrated in the pockets and valleys between the mountains, in the east the population is concentrated around a number of water courses, water being distributed by canals and irrigation ditches. The province is located with the region of Argentina. Mean annual precipitation of the province is around 400 to 500 millimetres which decreases significantly to the west, the province is characterized by the presence of different microclimates based on variations in altitude. In general, there are three different climatic zones found within the province, the northeastern parts of the province has a subtropical highland climate that is characterized by abundant rainfall and high temperatures. Summers are hot while winters are mild with abundant humidity, at the highest peaks of Sierra del Aconquija, snow cover is permanment. Most of the province and its valleys have an arid climate. Within these valleys includes the provincial capital, the climate is characterized by its extreme aridity, large thermal amplitudes. The region is characterized by abundant sunshine with winds predominantly coming from the northeast and southeast, nonetheless, there is large variation between different locations owing to differences in altitude and differences in the relief and altitudes of the surrounding mountains that enclose the valleys. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 500 to 700 millimetres in the parts of the region to less than 150 millimetres in the west. In the arid valleys, mean precipitation is around 160 millimetres. Most of the precipitation occurs during summer, falling as short, mean annual temperatures range between 16 to 18 °C with eastern and central parts having mean annual temperatures of 20 °C. In summer, the temperature is 25 °C although they can reach up to 45 °C. Winters, with a temperature of 10 °C are characterized by frequent frosts. Locations in the west experience colder winters due to their higher altitudes with temperatures that can decrease to −30 °C, during winter, the Zonda Wind occasionally occurs, leading to very dry conditions that can lead to dust storms
5.
Inca Empire
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The Inca Empire, also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire, was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, and possibly the largest empire in the world in the early 16th century. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru, the Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century. Its last stronghold was conquered by the Spanish in 1572, from 1438 to 1533, the Incas incorporated a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean Mountains, using conquest and peaceful assimilation, among other methods. The Incas considered their king, the Sapa Inca, to be the son of the sun, the Inca Empire was unique in that it lacked many features associated with civilization in the Old world. In the words of one scholar, The Incas lacked the use of wheeled vehicles, the Incan economy has been described as feudal, slave, socialist. The economy functioned largely without money and without markets, instead, exchange of goods and services was based on reciprocity between individuals and among individuals, groups, and Inca rulers. Taxes consisted of an obligation of a person to the Empire. The Inca rulers reciprocated by granting access to land and goods and providing food, the Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu, the four suyu. The four suyu were, Chinchaysuyu, Antisuyu, Qullasuyu and Kuntisuyu, the name Tawantinsuyu was, therefore, a descriptive term indicating a union of provinces. The Spanish transliterated the name as Tahuatinsuyo or Tahuatinsuyu, the term Inka means ruler or lord in Quechua and was used to refer to the ruling class or the ruling family. The Incas were a small percentage of the total population of the empire, probably numbering only 15,000 to 40,000. The Spanish adopted the term as a term referring to all subjects of the empire rather than simply the ruling class. As such the name Imperio inca referred to the nation that they encountered, the Inca people were a pastoral tribe in the Cusco area around the 12th century. Incan oral history tells a story of three caves. The center cave at Tampu Tuqu was named Qhapaq Tuqu, the other caves were Maras Tuqu and Sutiq Tuqu. Four brothers and four sisters stepped out of the middle cave and they were, Ayar Manco, Ayar Cachi, Ayar Awqa and Ayar Uchu, and Mama Ocllo, Mama Raua, Mama Huaco and Mama Qura. Out of the side caves came the people who were to be the ancestors of all the Inca clans, Ayar Manco carried a magic staff made of the finest gold. Where this staff landed, the people would live and they traveled for a long time
6.
Mercedes Sosa
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Haydée Mercedes Sosa, sometimes known as La Negra, was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout Latin America and many countries outside the region. She was born on Argentinas Independence Day, with her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by many Latin American songwriters and her music made people hail her as the voice of the voiceless ones, and the voice of America. Her career spanned four decades and she was the recipient of several Grammy awards and nominations and she served as an ambassador for UNICEF. Sosa was born on 9 July 1935, in San Miguel de Tucumán, in the northwestern Argentine province of Tucumán, of mestizo, Spanish, French and she recorded her first album, La Voz de la Zafra, in 1959. Sosa and her first husband, Manuel Óscar Matus, with whom she had one son, were key players in the mid-60s nueva canción movement and her second record was Canciones con Fundamento, a collection of Argentine folk songs. In 1967, Sosa toured the United States and Europe with great success, in later years, she performed and recorded extensively, broadening her repertoire to include material from throughout Latin America. In the early 1970s, Sosa released two albums in collaboration with composer Ariel Ramírez and lyricist Félix Luna, Cantata Sudamericana. She also recorded a tribute to Chilean musician Violeta Parra in 1971, including what was to one of Sosas signature songs. She also increased the popularity of songs written by Milton Nascimento of Brazil and Pablo Milanés, after the military junta of Jorge Videla came to power in 1976, the atmosphere in Argentina grew increasingly oppressive. Sosa faced death threats against both her and her family, but refused for years to leave the country. At a concert in La Plata in 1979, Sosa was searched and arrested on stage and their release came about through international intervention. Banned in her own country, she moved to Paris and then to Madrid, a double album of recordings from these performances became an instant best seller. In subsequent years, Sosa continued to both in Argentina and abroad, performing in such venues as the Lincoln Center in New York. In a poor condition of health for much of the 1990s, in 1994, she played the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. In 2002, she sold out both Carnegie Hall in New York and the Colosseum in Rome in the same year, a supporter of Perón, she favored leftist causes throughout her life. She opposed President Carlos Menem, who was in office from 1989 to 1999, and supported the election of Néstor Kirchner, Sosa was a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Latin America and the Caribbean. Her song Balderrama is featured in the 2008 movie Che, starring Benicio del Toro as the Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, Sosa was former Co-Chair of Earth Charter International Commission
7.
Spanish colonization of the Americas
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The Colonial expansion under the crown of Castile was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Catholic faith through indigenous conversions and it is estimated that during the colonial period, a total of 18.6 million Spaniards settled in the Americas and a further 3.5 million immigrated during the post-colonial era. Spains loss of these last territories politically ended the Spanish rule in the Americas, the Catholic Monarchs Isabella of Castile, Queen of Castile and her husband King Ferdinand, King of Aragon, pursued a policy of joint rule of their kingdoms and created a single Spanish monarchy. Even though Castile and Aragon were ruled jointly by their respective monarchs, the Catholic Monarchs gave official approval for the plans of Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus for a voyage to reach India by sailing West. The funding came from the queen of Castile, so the profits from Spanish expedition flowed to Castile, in the extension of Spanish sovereignty to its overseas territories, authority for expeditions of discovery, conquest, and settlement resided in the monarchy. Columbus made four voyages to the West Indiesas the monarchs granted Columbus the governorship of the new territories and he founded La Navidad on the island later named Hispaniola, in what is present day Haiti on his first voyage. After its destruction by the indigenous Taino people, the town of Isabella was begun in 1493, in 1496 his brother, Bartholomew, founded Santo Domingo. By 1500, despite a death rate, there were between 300 and 1000 Spanish settled in the area. The local Taíno people continued to resist, refusing to plant crops, the first mainland explorations were followed by a phase of inland expeditions and conquest. In 1500 the city of Nueva Cádiz was founded on the island of Cubagua, Venezuela, the Spanish founded San Sebastian de Uraba in 1509 but abandoned it within the year. There is indirect evidence that the first permanent Spanish mainland settlement established in the Americas was Santa María la Antigua del Darién, the Spanish conquest of Mexico is generally understood to be the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire which was the base for later conquests of other regions. Later conquests were protracted campaigns with less spectacular results than conquest of the Aztecs, but not until the Spanish conquest of Peru was the conquest of the Aztecs matched in scope by the victory over the Inca empire in 1532. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire was led by Hernán Cortés, the victory over the Aztecs was relatively quick, from 1519 to 1521, and aided by his Tlaxcala and other allies from indigenous city-states or altepetl. These polities allied against the Aztec empire, to which they paid tribute following conquest or threat of conquest, leaving the political hierarchy. The Spanish conquest of Yucatán was a longer campaign, from 1551 to 1697, against the Maya peoples in the Yucatán Peninsula of present-day Mexico. When Hernán Cortés landed ashore at present day Veracruz and founded the Spanish city there on April 22,1519, Spain colonized and exerted control of Alta California through the Spanish missions in California until the Mexican secularization act of 1833. It was the first step in a campaign that took decades of fighting to subdue the mightiest empire in the Americas. In the following years Spain extended its rule over the Empire of the Inca civilization, in the following years the conquistadors and indigenous allies extended control over Greater Andes Region
8.
Diego de Almagro
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Diego de Almagro, also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, was a Spanish conquistador and a companion and later rival of Francisco Pizarro. He participated in the Spanish conquest of Peru and is credited as the first European discoverer of Chile, Almagro lost his left eye battling with coastal natives in the New World. In 1525 he joined the Pizarro brothers and Hernándo de Luque at Panama for the conquest of Peru, Diego de Almagro was born and raised in Almagro, Ciudad Real, Spain with parents Juan de Montenegro and Elvira Gutiérrez. He married twice, with Ana Martínez and Mencia and got two children, son Diego de Almagro II wih Ana Martínez and daughter Isabel with Mencia. Diego de Almagro arrived in the New World on June 30,1514, the expedition had landed in the city of Santa María la Antigua del Darién, Panama, where many other future conquistadors had already arrived, among them Francisco Pizarro. There are not many details of Almagros activities during this period, De Almagro eventually returned and settled in Darien, where he was granted an encomienda. He built a house and made a living from agriculture, De Almagro undertook his first conquest on November 1515, commanding 260 men as he founded Villa del Acla, named after the Indian place. Due to illness he had to leave behind this mission to the licenciate Gaspar de Espinosa, Espinosa decided to undertake a new expedition, which departed in December 1515 with 200 men, including De Almagro and Francisco Pizarro, who for the first time was designated as a captain. During this expedition, which lasted 14 months, De Almagro, Pizarro, also during this time De Almagro established a friendship with Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who was in charge of Acla. Current historians do not believe that De Almagro was expected to participate in Balboas expedition, De Almagro took part in the various expeditions that took place in the Gulf of Panama, taking part again in Espinosas parties. Espinosa was supported by using Balboas ships, De Almagro was recorded as a witness on the lists of natives whom Espinosa ordered to be carried. De Almagro remained as a settler in the newly founded city of Panama. For four years he stayed there, working at the management of his properties and he took Ana Martínez, an indigenous woman, as a common-law wife. In this period, his first son, el Mozo, was born to them, by 1524 an association of conquest regarding South America was formalized among Almagro, Pizarro and Luque. By the beginning of August 1524, they had received the permission to discover and conquer lands further south. De Almagro would remain in Panama to recruit men and gather supplies for the led by Pizarro. After several expeditions to South America, Pizarro secured his stay in Peru with the Capitulation on 6 July 1529, during Pizarros continued exploration of Incan territory, he and his men succeeded in defeating the Inca army under Emperor Atahualpa during the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532. De Almagro joined Pizarro soon afterward, bringing men and arms
9.
Santiago del Estero
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Santiago del Estero is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 244,733 inhabitants, making it the twelfth largest city in the country and it lies on the Dulce River and on National Route 9, at a distance of 1,042 km north-northwest from Buenos Aires. Estimated to be 455 years old, Santiago del Estero was the first city founded by Spanish settlers in the territory that is now Argentina, as such, it is nicknamed Madre de Ciudades. Similarly, it has officially declared the mother of cities. The city houses the National University of Santiago del Estero, founded in 1973, other points of interest include the citys Cathedral, the Santo Domingo Convent, and the Provincial Archeology Museum. The Santiago del Estero Airport is located 6 kilometres north of the city, the climate is subtropical with a dry season, usually winter and sometimes autumn. It receives an annual precipitation of 600 mm, and the climate is warm. Santiago del Estero and its region are home to about 100,000 speakers of the variety of Quechua. It is one of the few indigenous languages surviving in modern Argentina, after a series of exploratory expeditions from Chile starting in 1543, Santiago del Estero del Nuevo Maestrazgo was founded on July 25,1553 by Francisco de Aguirre. Although it is the oldest city in Argentina, it preserves little of its former Spanish colonial architecture, except for several churches. In 1576, the governor of a province in Northern Argentina commissioned the military to search for a mass of iron. They called the area Heavenly Fields, translated into Spanish as Campo del Cielo, Santiago del Estero stands in the middle of an extensive but largely semi-arid agricultural region. The province, in 1948, elected a young Peronist activist, Carlos Juárez, Santiago del Esteros central political figure during the second half of the 20th Century, he soon became indispensable to local politics. A true Caudillo, his amiable demeanor belied a record of ruthlessness towards opposition figures, the construction of the nearby Quiroga Dam in 1950, eased the citys chronic water shortage and spurred the growth of local agriculture, based on cotton and olives. The citys first school of education, the Instituto Superior del Profesorado, was established in 1953. The city developed a manufacturing sector based on textile mills and other light industry from the 1950s on. Santiago del Esteros population reached 100,000 in 1970, the province, however, remained one of the poorest in Argentina, falling further behind. In 1993, the city made headlines when rioting erupted around the governors mansion
10.
Argentine Northwest
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The Argentine Northwest is a geographic and historical region of Argentina composed of the provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy, La Rioja, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán. The Argentine Northwest comprises very distinct biomes, or geographical and climatic regions, besides the Yungas jungle on the eastern fringe of the region, the only fertile lands are those near the river basins, which have been irrigated extensively. Across millennia the erosive forces of these rivers has created a multitude of red-rock canyons, such as the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Northwest Argentina is predominantly dry and hot and classified as subtropical, owing to its rugged topography, the region is climatically diverse, depending on the altitude, temperature and distribution of precipitation. Consequentially, the vegetation will differ at these different climate types, in general, the climate can be divided into 2 main types, a cold arid or semi-arid climate at the higher altitudes and warmer subtropical climate in the eastern parts of the region. The atmospheric circulation is controlled by the two semi–permanent South Atlantic and South Pacific highs, and a low pressure system east of the Andes. The movement of moist air into the region during the results in very high precipitation. Most of the moisture comes from the east since the Andes block any moisture from the Pacific Ocean, cold fronts that travel northwards to the region can produce precipitation during the summer months and is more prominent in the southern parts of the region. For example, in Tucuman Province, these fronts are responsible for 70% of the rainfall in that province. In contrast, during the months, the Chaco low attracts air masses from the South Pacific high, creating a dry. This effect is more prominent in the months, when the intensity of the cold is more stronger. This leads to enhanced precipitation in the form of thunderstorms during the summer months. At the highest altitudes, westerly winds from the Pacific Ocean can penetrate during the winter months, precipitation in the region is highly seasonal and is mostly concentrated in the summer months in which precipitation decreases from east to west. Precipitation is distributed irregularly owing to relief, as moist air reaches the eastern slopes of the mountains, this moist air raises up vertically, cooling adiabatically, leading to formation of clouds which generate copious amounts of rain. Eastern slopes of the mountains can receive between 1,000 to 1,500 mm of precipitation a year although some places can receive 2,500 mm of precipitation per year owing to orographic precipitation. In the south, the effect is enhanced by advancing cold fronts from the south. The high rainfall on these first slopes creates a jungle that extends in a narrow strip along these ranges. Beyond the first slopes of the Andes into the valleys, the air descends vertically, warming adiabatically, in the temperate valleys, which include major cities such as Salta and Jujuy, they have average precipitation ranging between 500 to 1,000 mm
"Tucumán. The smallest and most densely populated province of Argentina". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
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