• We have found that to get the best out of the great historical city of Buenos Aires it is helpful to understand the history of Argentina.  In our experience, it is history that moulds a people and their culture, more so Buenos Aires than any other city we have visited over the last 20 years.
  


• The summary you read here gives just a glimpse of the important historical milestones from the XVI century to recent times.  What you really begin to understand from this summary is that Buenos Aires for much of the time since the XVI century is Argentina:


• Amerigo Vespucci  may have visited the region now called Argentina in 1502 and discovered a landmass that is modern South America went further south than ever imagined, his accounts lead to much controversy, as seafarers of the period crossing the south Atlantic thought they would reach Asia (the Indies).
  


• Christopher Columbus had found great fame for his discovery and we believe that the Spanish throne looking to protect its interests in the region may have suppressed Vespucci’s ships log and his personal diaries before their full publication.
  


• This deception made Vespucci seem dishonourable, trying to steal his Portuguese predecessors thunder and much written about this matter but two British accounts blame the Spanish throne - well of course.
  


• However, Vespucci never went to sea again and Spain bestowed the new and very grand title of Chief Navigator of Spain upon him.
  


• In 1507, Martin Waldseemüller produced an incredible work of the time, Universalis Cosmograpia, a world map on which he named a new continent ‘America’ a homophone of Amerigo Vespucci’s first name.  The Spanish throne stated that a book published as reference to the map held ‘dubious information.’  Even if he had failed to publish contemporaneous logs and diaries, his work would prove too accurate, even by modern standards.  It is telling that dropped the title America from later works.
  


• Juan Díaz de Solís was an accomplished Portuguese seafarer and traitor to his Country.  He fled to Spain before British Agents in Lisbon uncovered his treachery in 1504.  On the death of Vespucci, he became Pilot Major in the Spanish navy and planned a major expedition to the area south of the Indies.
  


• In 1515, Juan Diaz de Solis sailed straight for the east coast of South America and navigated directly to its largest and most important estuary, arriving at the Rio del la Plata in 1516 and originally naming it Mar Dulce or Sweet Sea.  
  


• Some accounts state that his expeditionary force perished after an attack by local tribes, some accounts suggest the men eaten alive - unlikely.  More likely, this traitor, who may have stolen Vespucci’s thunder probably, suffered mutiny.
  


• The Mar Dulce (the modern Río de la Plata) later played host to Magellan who arrived in 1520, followed by Sebastian Cabot in 1526.
  


• Sebastian Cabot discovered the Paraná and Paraguay rivers and established the fort of Sancti Spíritus (the first Spanish settlement in the Plata basin).  He also sent home reports of the presence of gold and silver.
  


• In 1528, Cabot met another expedition from Spain under Diego García, commander of a ship from the earlier Solís expedition.  Both Cabot and García had planned to sail for the Moluccas but altered their courses, influenced by excited tales of the Enchanted City of the Caesars (a variant of the Eldorado legend), which later incited many explorations and conquests in Argentina.  While Cabot was preparing to search for the fabled city, a surprise attack by the Indians in September 1529 wiped out his Sancti Spíritus settlement.
  

History of Argentina - Articles:
Argentina´s Road to Independence
Building Modern Argentina
Argentina Today

Read the complete Buenos Aires Guide:
Safety in Buenos Aires
Where is Buenos Aires?
The history of Buenos Aires
Tourism in Buenos Aires  
Shopping Buenos Aires
Bars and restaurants in Buenos Aires
Travel around Buenos Aires
Spring Gets Buenos Aires into its Groove
Buenos Aires Stay Survival Guide Buenos Lesson One
Buenos Aires Travel: Public Buses

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Searching for rentals in Buenos Aires
Cheap apartments in Buenos Aires
Find luxury apartments in Buenos Aires
Vacationing in apartments for rent in Buenos Aires

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