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First Founding of Buenos Aires

Type Event Region South America Time 1536–1541

In February 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founded Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire on the south bank of the Río de la Plata;…

Timeline

  1. 1535–1536Río de la Plata estuary · Río de la PlataCharles V appointed Pedro de Mendoza governor of New Andalusia (La Plata), ordering him to found a city and block Portuguese southward expansion. About a dozen ships with over a thousand members set out in 1535, and after storms along the Brazilian coast entered the estuary in early 1536.
  2. 1536Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire · Río de la PlataMendoza built a palisade and crude streets on high ground south of the river, naming it Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire, the origin of the later name Buenos Aires. This was the first Spanish town established at the estuary, intended as a port for reaching the South American interior.
  3. 1536–1541First Buenos Aires settlement · Río de la PlataConflict with indigenous peoples such as the Querandí cut off supplies, and the colonists fell into famine and epidemic. Mendoza fell ill and returned in 1537, dying at sea in the Atlantic. Most survivors moved to Asunción, founded in 1537. In 1541 Irala ordered the estuary post destroyed and burned, ending the first founding.

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