page_title: History of Argentina
section_title: Liberal Governments (1862–1880)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Argentina / Liberal Governments (1862–1880)
caption_attribution_description: English: Domingo Faustino Sarmiento as President of Argentina.
context_page_description: The history of Argentina can be divided into four main parts: the pre-Columbian time or early history, the colonial period, the period of nation-building, and the history of modern Argentina.
  Prehistory in the present territory of Argentina began with the first human settlements on the southern tip of Patagonia around 13,000 years ago.
  Written history began with the arrival of Spanish chroniclers in the expedition of Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516 to the Río de la Plata, which marks the beginning of Spanish occupation of 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 one called the 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 Argentine Republic.
context_section_description: The presidency of Bartolomé Mitre saw an economic improvement in Argentina, with agricultural modernization, foreign investment, new railroads and ports and a wave of immigration from Europe. Mitre also stabilized the political system by commanding federal interventions that defeated the personal armies of caudillos Chacho Peñaloza and Juan Sáa. Argentina joined Uruguay and Brazil against Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance, which ended during Sarmiento's rule with the defeat of Paraguay and the annexation of part of its territory by Argentina.
  Despite victory in the war, Mitre's popularity declined severely because a broad section of the Argentine population was opposed to the war due to the alliance with Brazil (Argentina's historic rival) that took place during the war, and the betrayal of Paraguay (which had been until then one of the country's most important economic allies). One of the major hallmarks of Mitre's presidency was the "Law of Compromise", in which Buenos Aires joined the Argentine Republic and allowed the government to use the City of Buenos Aires as the center of government, but without federalizing the city and by reserving the right of the province of Buenos Aires to secede from the nation if conflict arose.
  In 1868 Mitre was succeeded by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, who promoted public education, culture, telegraphs ; as well as the modernization of the Army and the Navy. Sarmiento managed to defeat the last known caudillos and also dealt with the fallout of the Triple Alliance War, which included a decrease in national production due to the death of thousands of soldiers and an outbreak of diseases, such as cholera and yellow fever, brought by returning soldiers.
  In 1874 Nicolás Avellaneda became president and ran into trouble when he had to deal with the economic depression left by the Panic of 1873. Most of these economic issues were solved when new land was opened for development after the expansion of national territory through the Conquest of the Desert, led by his war minister Julio Argentino Roca. This military campaign took most of the territories under the control of natives, and reduced their population.
  In 1880 a trade conflict caused turmoil in Buenos Aires, which led governor Carlos Tejedor to declare secession from the republic. Avellaneda denied them this right, breaking the Law of Compromise, and proceeded to send army troops led by Roca to take over the province. Tejedor's secession efforts were defeated and Buenos Aires joined the republic definitively, federalizing the city of Buenos Aires and handing it over to the government as the nation's capital city.
caption: President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.
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