Up until the mid 1800s Argentina was a colony of Spain. After centuries of dominance, Spain’s power was declining throughout the world and it was beginning to lose governance of many of its colonies. In Latin America, Jose San Martin and Simon Bolivar fought to free Peru, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile from Spanish rule. Thereby, the decolonization of Argentina effectively dates back to 1816 with Independence from Spain being declared on July 9, 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán.
In turning our attention to the twentieth century, Argentina continued to try to build into a new, strong, independent country, but retained much of its Spanish culture. Its leaders began trading with Spain and the rest of the world. As time passed, Spain’s influence lessened in spite of ineffective Argentine rulers.