Richard and Lynda Todd Missionaries in Argentina

 A Brief History

Before the Europeans arrived in Argentina in the 16th century, there were two main native groups that existed. A people known as the Diaguita lived in the north, close to Bolivia and the Andes, while farther south, there existed a tribe of people known as the Guarani. Both of these groups of people independently developed the cultivation of maize. The Diaguita are renowned for having successfully prevented the Inca people from expanding their empire into Argentina.

These natives began a successful resistance against colonization and rule by the Spanish. The first Spaniard invader, Juan de Solis, was killed in 1516 by native armies, who also successfully defended Buenos Aires. The natives managed to hold off the Spanish conquest until the end of that century, when Buenos Aires was finally secured by the Spanish.

Despite the success in the military field, the native peoples were extremely weakened by the introduction of diseases from Europe and soon their threat to the Spanish was minimal. Spain however largely ignored Argentina and Buenos Aires, was forbidden to trade with foreign countries, leaving it wide open for smugglers to thrive here.

The British attacked Buenos Aires in 1806, after Spain had been defeated by Napoleon. The colony in Argentina managed to resist Britain's attacks without any assistance. This act of strength and courage helped to encourage the region's growing sense of independence.

The Spanish King, Ferdinand VII, was captured by the French in 1808 and Argentina fell completely under the rule of the local viceroyalty. This transfer of power was incredibly unpopular with the locals, who took to the streets in rebellion against this move and declared their loyalty to the captive king.

By 1816, there was a deep division between Argentina and Spain. A group of separatists decided to declare the country's independence. Jose de San Martin, along with Simon Bolivar, is credited with freeing Argentina from Spanish rule.

The early days of Argentina’s new-found independence was marked by conflict between two political groups: the Unitarists and the Federalists. The Unitarists wanted a strong central government, while the Federalists wanted local control.

Argentina was taken over by the military and fell victim to a host of problems over the next century. These included: economic crisis, corruption, human rights abuse and their defeat in 1982 in the Falklands War.

Democracy was restored in 1983 and the country began to stabilize. Today, Argentina is a mix of ethnicities with over one third of the population living in the capital, Buenos Aires. The urban communities account for almost 90 per cent of the entire population, with indigenous tribes such as the Quechua, in the northeast, and the Mapuche, in Patagonia, struggling for survival.