Argentina: Historical Dates
| 1516 | Juan Díaz de Solís landed on the shores of the Río de la Plata. |
| 1776 | Buenos Aires thrived as the capital and trade center of the newly declared Spanish Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata. |
| 1816 | Argentina declared its independence from Spain. |
| 1817 | José de San Martín secured Argentina's independence by defeating Spanish forces in neighboring Chile. |
| 1853 | The Constitution of 1853 proclaimed a confederation of Argentine states, but Buenos Aires did not join until 1862. |
| 1877 | Argentina began exporting farm products to Europe. The money from these exports made Argentina one of the world's richest countries by the 1920s, and attracted many immigrants. |
| 1946 | Promising higher wages for workers, Colonel Juan Perón was elected president. |
| 1955 | Perón fled to Spain as the military took power. |
| 1973 | Perón was returned to power in the hopes of reviving Argentina's economy. He died the next year and was succeeded by his wife, Isabel, who was vice president. |
| 1976-1983 | The military again seized power. Thousands of leftist opposition supporters were illegally imprisoned, tortured, and executed in what became known as the Dirty War. |
| 1982 | In April, Argentina invaded the British-held Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Great Britain recaptured the islands a few weeks later. |
| 1983 | Argentina returned to civilian rule. Over the next few years many former military officers were convicted of involvement in the Dirty War. |
| 1989 | Rising inflation forced newly elected President Carlos Saúl Menem to adopt emergency economic measures |
| 1995 | With inflation under control and the economy growing, Argentina joined Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay in founding the Southern Cone Common Market, a free-trade organization. |
| 1996 | Budgetary shortfalls induced Congress to grant President Menem emergency economic powers allowing him to raise and impose taxes without congressional approval |