Buenos Aires: History, Former Names & Timeline

Port on the River Plate, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and today of Argentina.

Map showing Buenos Aires in 1700 — Border map for 1700. See the world in 1700.

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<p style="font-size:13px;margin:4px 0 0">Interactive map: <a href="https://chronicamaps.com/en/city/buenosaires">Buenos Aires: History, Former Names &amp; Timeline</a> · Chronica Maps</p>

Former names of Buenos Aires

From	Name	Note
1580	Buenos Aires

Timeline of Buenos Aires

Year	Event
1536	Pedro de Mendoza makes a first settlement, soon abandoned
1580	Juan de Garay refounds the city
1776	Becomes capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
1810	The May Revolution
1816	Argentina declares independence

Who ruled Buenos Aires

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

Period	State
500 BC–1491	Pampas cultures
1492–1499	Günün a atük (Günün a küna)
1500–1782	Pampas cultures
1783–1814	Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
1815–1879	United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
1880–today	Argentina

Famous people of Buenos Aires

Lived	Person
1778 – 1850	José de San Martín	Leader of South American independence

Nearby cities

Montevideo · about 203 km

Questions about Buenos Aires

Which states have ruled Buenos Aires?

On the historical border maps from 500 BC to today, Buenos Aires lies within 5 different states: Pampas cultures, Günün a atük (Günün a küna), Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Argentina.

What are the key dates in the history of Buenos Aires?

1536: Pedro de Mendoza makes a first settlement, soon abandoned. 1580: Juan de Garay refounds the city. 1776: Becomes capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. 1810: The May Revolution. 1816: Argentina declares independence.

Which famous people are connected with Buenos Aires?

José de San Martín (leader of south american independence, 1778 – 1850).

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.