Buenos Aires rather than Asunción is chosen to be capital of the new Spanish viceroyalty of La Plata

After a public meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentinians set up an autonomous local government in opposition to Spanish forces

José San Martín becomes commander of the patriot army of Argentina, replacing Manuel Belgrano

Spanish forces at Rancagua defeat a Chilean army commanded by Bernardo O'Higgins, who escapes across the Andes into Argentina

The independence of Argentina is formally proclaimed, dropping any pretence of remaining loyal to the Spanish king

The newly independent republic of Argentina takes possession of Las Islas Malvinas (the Falklands)

The independence of Uruguay is agreed in the Treaty of Montevideo between Brazil and Argentina

Britain ejects the Argentinians from the Falklands and begins the process of settlement with British farmers

Juan Manuel de Rosas becomes dictator of Argentina and imposes a brutally repressive conservative regime

In an Argentinian civil war, Urquiza defeats the dictator Rosas and is subsequently elected president (in 1854)

At Pavón the provincial troops of Buenos Aires defeat the Argentinian national army, emphatically demonstrating the power of their city

The Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano López starts a war against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay which eventually kills more than half his population

The Argentine Rural Society is founded as the exclusive preserve of Argentina's oligarchy

Buenos Aires is finally accepted as the permanent capital city of Argentina

Electoral reform is introduced in Argentina, with universal male suffrage and a secret ballot

An underground railway opens in Buenos Aires, the first subway in Latin America

The election of Hipolito Irigoyen as president begins sixteen years of radical government in Argentina

Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges publishes his first collection of poems, Fervor de Buenos Aires ('Fervour of Buenos Aires')

A military coup removes Hipolito Irigoyen from the presidency in Argentina

Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges publishes A Universal History of Infamy, one of the first examples of magic realism

The German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled after a battle with Allied ships near the river Plate

Power is seized in Argentina by a new military junta, the Group of United Officers

Jorge Luis Borges publishes Fictions, a collection of short stories

Juan Perón, professed friend of the poor in Argentina, is arrested by brother officers

A mass demonstration by trade unions in Buenos Aires results in the release of Perón