Argentina stretches from the hot, subtropical north all the way to Tierra del Fuego at the far southern tip of South America. The Andes run all the way down its western border with Chile. In the middle lie the Pampas, huge flat grasslands where cattle graze, and in the south lies Patagonia, a windy land of steppe, lakes and glaciers.
People lived here for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. Buenos Aires grew into the capital of a Spanish viceroyalty, and in 1816 the provinces declared their independence. In the late 1800s and early 1900s millions of European immigrants arrived, most of them Italians and Spaniards, and they shaped the food, the accent and the music of the country.
Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.
Argentina's story runs from hunters who painted their hands on cave walls in Patagonia, through three centuries of Spanish rule, to independence in 1816 and a great wave of European immigration. The 20th century brought prosperity and also hard times, including a military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983 and a war over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) in 1982. Since 1983 Argentina has been a democracy.
From about 7300 BC, hunters in Patagonia began stencilling their hands on the walls of a cave above the Pinturas River, by blowing paint through bone pipes. They kept adding hands and hunting scenes until about AD 700. The cave is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On 2 February 1536 the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza founded a settlement on the Río de la Plata. Hunger and conflict with the local peoples were so severe that the settlers abandoned it in 1541 and moved up the river to Asunción.
Spain created a new viceroyalty with its capital in Buenos Aires. It covered roughly today's Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, and made Buenos Aires one of the most important cities in Spanish South America.
On 9 July 1816 a congress meeting in the city of Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America, today's Argentina. The house where it met is now a national monument, and 9 July is Independence Day.
On 28 July 1865, 153 settlers from Wales landed from the ship Mimosa at the spot where Puerto Madryn now stands. They founded farms along the Chubut River, and Welsh chapels, tea houses and the Welsh language can still be found in towns such as Gaiman.
In September 1947 Congress passed Law 13,010, which gave women the same political rights as men. Eva Perón, 'Evita', campaigned for the law, and women voted in a national election for the first time in 1951.
On 2 April 1982 Argentine forces landed on the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Islas Malvinas. Britain sent a task force, and after 74 days the Argentine forces surrendered on 14 June. 649 Argentine and 255 British service members and 3 islanders died. The two countries still disagree about who the islands should belong to.
On 13 March 2013 Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected pope and took the name Francis. He was the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit pope. He led the Catholic Church until his death on 21 April 2025.
Cook one of the recipes, print the large-print pack about Argentina, and finish with the big-screen quiz or the words crossword. Grandchildren can colour the flag.
