City (pop., 2001: city, 2,776,138; metro. area, 12,046,799), capital of Argentina. Located on an estuary of the Río de la Plata in east-central Argentina, about 150 mi (240 km) from the Atlantic Ocean, it is nevertheless a major port.
First colonized by the Spanish in 1536, it was not permanently settled until 1580. It became the seat of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. In 1853 the city and the surrounding area that made up the province of Buenos Aires refused to recognize a new constitution approved by the country's other provinces and began fighting with them intermittently over control of the Argentine government. After being made a federal district and Argentina's capital, it settled its wars with the other provinces (1880) and by World War I (1914–18) had become a thriving port. The country's largest and most influential city, it is an important industrial and transportation centre.
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