Surnames/tags: Argentina 15_Nations_Tour Notables
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Geography
The Argentine Republic is located in the southern portion of South America, sharing the bulk of the Southern Cone with the nation of Chile. It is the eighth-largest country in the world, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the second-largest country in South America after only Brazil. Argentina consists of twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires, the federal capital and the nation's largest city. Argentina also claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and a portion of Antarctica.
Demographics
Argentina, with a population of over 46 million people, ranks second only to the United States among countries of the world that have received the most immigrants in modern history. As such, Argentina has developed into a multiethnic and multilingual society, with most Argentines being of European descent with a significant indigenous component. Native cultures are still represented in the country mainly by the Mapuches, the Kollas, the Wichís, and the Tobas, which together represent about 1.5% of the total Argentine population. Argentina has no national language, although the Spanish language is the only one used in the wording of laws and other official documents, thus making it the nation's de facto official language. Nearly 50% of Argentinians practice Roman Catholicism, with another 10% practicing other forms of Christianity. Almost 40% of the country claims to identify with no formal religious denomination, with only about 1% practicing non-Christian faiths.
History
Until the period of European colonization, Argentina was relatively sparsely populated by a wide number of diverse cultures, some dating back as far as the Paleolithic period. By the time the first Europeans arrived in the region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo Vespucci, it is estimated that there were than about 300,000 people belonging to numerous indigenous civilizations, cultures, and tribes then living in the territory known today as Argentina.
In 1553, Francisco de Aguirre founded the first Spanish settlement of Santiago del Estero. Other settlements quickly followed. But by the end of the 16th century, the Spanish Empire had shifted its attention away from Argentina and its long-term economic potential, in favor of the immediate wealth to be had from the silver and gold mines of Bolivia and Peru. Argentina then became a part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1776, when it became known as the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, with Buenos Aires as its capital. It should be noted that a significant African population, primarily of Bantu origin, was forcibly brought into Argentina as slave labor between the 17th and 19th centuries.
The 1810 May Revolution overthrew the Viceroy and replaced him with what has come to be known as The First Junta, a new government in Buenos Aires composed by locals. Soon, the French-Argentine Hippolyte Bouchard brought his fleet to wage war against Spain overseas, attacking Spanish California, Spanish Philippines, Spanish Chile, and Spanish Peru. He also secured the diplomatic recognition of Argentina from Hawaiian King Kamehameha I, making Hawaii the first nation to recognize Argentina's independence. On 9 July 1816, the Congress of Tucumán formalized a Declaration of Independence from Spain, which is now celebrated in Argentina as Independence Day. Decades of turmoil followed, however, and it wasn't until 1861 that Bartolomé Mitre was elected as the first president of a truly unified Argentina. It was he and his immediate predecessors who set up the basis of the modern Argentine State.
In 1880, Argentina began emphasizing liberal economic policies which led to a massive wave of European immigration and a near-reinvention of Argentine society. Immigration in the 19th century and early 20th century included Europeans (mainly Italian and Spanish) who were focused primarily on colonization, along with significant currents of Arabs and Jews, as well as people from nearby countries including Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. In more recent times, Argentina has seen increased immigration from eastern Europe, the nations of Korea, China, and Japan, and many countries across South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean.
Resources
Click here for a list of resources relevant to Argentine genealogical research:
This resource page is part of the 15 Nations Argentina Project.
RESOURCES
- WikiTree: Argentina Project
- BYU Genealogical Research Guide to Argentina (65 page PDF)
- Wikipedia: Argentina
- Wikipedia: Administrative divisions of Argentina
- Wikipedia: Culture of Argentina
- Wikipedia: Demographics of Argentina
- Wikipedia: History of Argentina
- Wikipedia: Languages of Argentina
- Wikipedia: Religion in Argentina
- Wikipedia: Index of Argentina-Related Articles
- Church and other records for British/Protestants in Argentina https://argbrit.org/
- Family Search Wiki: Argentina Genealogy
- Family Search: Argentina Baptisms, 1645-1930 (Records in Spanish)
- Family Search: Argentina Marriages, 1722-1911 (Records in Spanish)
- Family Search: Argentina National Census, 1869 (Records in Spanish)
- Family Search: Argentina National Census, 1895 (Records in Spanish)
- Ancestry.com: Ancestry Databases for Argentina
- Ancestry.com Argentina Select Baptisms, 1642-1912 (Records in Spanish) ($)
- Ancestry.com Argentina Select Marriages, 1722-1911 (Records in Spanish) ($)
- Ancestry.com: Argentina National Census, 1869 (Records in Spanish) ($)
- Ancestry.com Argentina National Census. 1895 (Records in Spanish) ($)
- Ancestry.com: Buenos Aires City Census, 1855 (Records in Spanish) ($)
MyHeritage: Argentina, Baptisms, 1645-1930 (Records in Spanish) ($) MyHeritage: Argentina, Marriages, 1722-1911 (Records in Spanish) ($)
- Cindy's List: Resources for Central and South America
- Facebook: Investigación Genealógica en Argentina (In Spanish)
- The Family History Guide: Argentina Research and Records
- WorldGenWeb: Argentina GenWeb
- Centro de Estudios Migratorios Latinoemricanos (for the main immigration period, about 1880 to 1945)
- Entry of Passengers to Argentina (19th Century)
- Genealogía Familiar (Spanish)
- Genealpgia Familiar Documents Page (Spanish)
Notable Argentines
In the below list, columns can be sorted by clicking on the arrow button in any category heading box. A "C" in the final column denotes a Notable who has been successfully connected to the Big Tree. "N/C" stands for Not Connected.
Notable | Born | Died | Claim to Fame | Photo | C |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carlos Saavedra Lamas | 1878 | 1959 | First Latin American Nobel Peace Prize Laureate | ![]() | C |
José María Sobral | 1880 | 1961 | Antarctic Explorer | ![]() | C |
Violet Jessop | 1887 | 1971 | Survivor of the Titanic, Britannic, and Olympic shipwrecks | ![]() | C |
Victoria Ocampo | 1890 | 1979 | Magazine Publisher / Writer | ![]() | C |
Antonio Berni | 1905 | 1981 | Artist | ![]() | C |
Alberto Zorrilla | 1906 | 1986 | Olympic Swimmer | ![]() | C |
Libertad Lamarque | 1908 | 2000 | Actress | ![]() | N/C |
Juan Manuel Fangio | 1911 | 1995 | Formula 1 Driver | ![]() | C |
Raúl Alfonsín | 1927 | 2009 | Father of Modern Argentine Democracy | ![]() | C |
Isabel Sarli | 1929 | 2019 | Glamor Model / Actress | ![]() | C |
Quino | 1932 | 2020 | Cartoonist | ![]() | N/C |
Mercedes Sosa | 1935 | 2009 | Folk Singer | ![]() | N/C |
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner | 1953 | LIVING | Current Vice President of Argentina | ![]() | N/C |
Alberto Fernández | 1959 | LIVING | Current President of Argentina | ![]() | N/C |
Emiliano Sala | 1990 | 2019 | Footballer | ![]() | N/C |
10 More Notable Argentines
Notable | Born | Died | Claim to Fame | Photo | C |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bernardo Houssay | 1887 | 1971 | 1st Latin American Nobel Laureate in the Sciences | ![]() | N/C |
Luis Ángel Firpo | 1894 | 1960 | Boxer | ![]() | N/C |
Leanor Fini | 1907 | 1996 | Painter | ![]() | N/C |
Atahualpa Yopanqui | 1908 | 1992 | Folk Musician | ![]() | N/C |
Lolita Torres | 1909 | 2002 | Film actress and singer | ![]() | N/C |
Alberto Ginastera | 1916 | 1983 | Classical music composer | ![]() | N/C |
Omar Sívori | 1935 | 2005 | Football Player | ![]() | N/C |
Alejandra Pizarnik | 1936 | 1972 | Poet | ![]() | N/C |
Norma Cappagli | 1939 | 2020 | 1st Argentine Miss World | ![]() | N/C |
Carlos Reutemann | 1942 | 2021 | Formula One Race Car Driver and Politician | ![]() | N/C |
- WikiTree 15 Nations Global Tour: Back to Argentina Feb 24, 2023.
- 15 Nations Global Tour: Argentina Wrap-up Feb 14, 2023.
- WikiTree 15 Nations Global Tour: ARGENTINA (Stop #2) Jan 24, 2023.
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