Buenos Aires History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pedro de Mendoza

Juan Diaz de Solis actually arrived in Argentine before Mendoza, but he was killed by Charrua natives. Mendoza named the city Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre, which means City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Fair Winds. It was shorted to Buen Ayre and eventually Buenos Aires.

Answer: Attacks by native people

The Charrua people who lived in the Rio de la Plata were notoriously violent toward European settlers and other native tribes. Many Spanish settlers lost their lives in war against the Charrua and other tribes. Eventually, the Spanish managed to defend themselves against attacks from both Charrua and others once Juan de Garay refounded the city in 1580 in a nearby spot. Today, the location of the original Buenos Aires and the Garay's are both part of the city.

Answer: Illegal contraband

The Spanish severely restricted what Buenos Aires and the rest of the Spanish New World could trade and with who. Since the Spanish were constantly being attacked by pirates off the South American coast, they would only sail into Venezuela before traveling by land or river to Lima, Peru, which served as a distribution center for the rest of Spanish territory.

It took a very long time for goods to reach Buenos Aires and payment took even longer. The Argentines set up a contraband industry for faster payment and trade.

Answer: Porteños

Porteños literally means people of the port city. However, because of the harsh Spanish trade rules, porteños felt ostracized and hindered and began to resent Spanish rule. King Charles III of Spain attempted to ease tensions between the Argentines and Spanish by lifting the trade barriers, but it failed and the porteños began moving toward independence in the early 19th century, influenced by the French Revolution.

Answer: Britain

The British and the Spanish were the two largest European powers in the Americas and they constantly fought for territory and power. The British were able to hold Buenos Aires for 46 days before being defeated by Santiago de Liniers.

Answer: Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros

Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros was seen as an unpopular leader with close ties to Spain. In Europe, Spain was fighting the Peninsular War, which saw the Spanish monarchy lose considerable power. The Argentines seized the opportunity to remove Cisneros while he was powerless.

Answer: False

The Congress of Tucuman actually took place in San Miguel de Tucumán and despite popular belief, Argentina was not a nation at this time. The Congress of Tucuman declared Argentina independent of Spain but it instead became part of United Provinces of South America, with parts of Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. Argentina did not became the nation it looks like until the Argentine Confederation was formed in 1831 when it broke away from the others.

Answer: Casa Rosada

The Casa Rosada actually is two buildings, a post office and executive mansion. The post office was completed first - in 1879. The Casa Rosada is one of Buenos Aires most visited buildings as it is located in the Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires' oldest town square and a key popular location for civil disobedience and demonstration.

Answer: The Argentine Military

Juan Peron had the support of poor workers, many of whom emigrated to Argentina from other areas of South America. At the same time, Peron had no support from the military or religious groups, mainly the Catholic Church. During the Feast of Corpus Christi two days before the bombing, many priests took the time to condemn Peron. On June 16, Peron's supporters were protesting in the Plaza de Mayo when the military used planes to bomb them, killing 364 people.

Answer: To find information about their missing children

During the Dirty War of the 1970s and 80s, the Argentine government sought to quell political dissent. The government and supporters killed tens of thousands of people, mostly younger students and journalists. Another common tactic was kidnapping the babies and children of those who opposed the government.

The children were either killed, sent overseas or given to pro-government Argentine families. The children who disappeared are called "desaparecidos." Mothers marched in the Plaza de Mayo demanding answers and to bring international awareness to the situation.

It was believed at the time that anywhere from 7,000 to 30,000 people disappeared, but in 2003 the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons put the number at 13,000.