A brief intro to Argentina

(en.wikipedia.org)
Updated: 2009-08-23 17:51

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires.It is the second largest country in South America and eighth in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico, Colombia and Spain are more populous.

Its continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south containing 2,766,890 km² (1,068,302 sq mi). Argentina borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentina claims the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, which are controlled by the United Kingdom.

Political map of Argentina showing the area it controls. The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) are a British overseas territory but are claimed by Argentina.

Argentina has the second-highest Human Development Index and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity in Latin America. Argentina's nominal GDP is the 30th largest in the world; but when purchasing power is taken into account, its total GDP makes it the 23rd largest economy in the world.

The country is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country or as a secondary emerging market by the World Bank. Argentina is also a one of the G20 major economies.

History

The history of Argentina can be divided into four sections: the pre-Columbian time, or early history (up to the 16th century), the colonial period (roughly 1516 to 1810), the independence wars and the early post-colonial period of the nation (1810 to 1880) and the history of modern Argentina from around 1880.

The beginning of prehistory in the present territory of Argentina began with the first human settlements on the southern tip of Patagonia around 13,000 years ago. The written history began with the arrival of Spanish chroniclers with the expedition of Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516 to Río de la Plata river, which marks the beginning of Spanish domination in this region. In 1776 the Spanish Crown established the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, an umbrella of territories from which, with the Revolution of May 1810, began a process of gradual formation of several independent states, including that carried the name United Provinces of Río de la Plata. With the declaration of independence on July 9, 1816 and the military defeat of the Spanish Empire in 1824, a federal state was formed in 1853-1861, known today as the Republic of Argentina.

Previous page 1 2 3 Next Page