Río Negro Province: Encyclopedia II - Río Negro Province - History

Río Negro Province - History

Puelches, Picunches and Vuriloches tribes of the Tehuelche aboriginal group lived in the area before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores. Pushed by the Spanish, the Araucanos crossed the Andes from Chile mixing with local ethnics.

Ferdinand Magellan was the first explorer to visit the coasts of the provinces in 1520. Priest Nicolás Mascardi founded the Jesuit mission Nuestra Senora de Nahuel Huapi in 1670 at the shore of the Nahuel Huapi Lake, at the feet of the Andes range.

In 1779 Francisco Fernández de Viedma founded both Mercedes de Patagones (current Viedma) and Carmen de Patagones (Buenos Aires Province) on opposite sides of the Río Negro River's mouth.

After the May Revolution there was a first attempt to relegate the aboriginals of the area, but it was not until the Conquest of the Desert commanded by General Julio Argentino Roca that the local inhabitants were reduced and the constant danger of their attacks eliminated. Francisco Moreno started his exploration of the Patagonia at the Nahuel Huapi Lake area to later adventure further south.

By the beginning of the 19th century, many settlements such as San Carlos de Bariloche, General Roca and Choele Choel were already constituted and received French and German immigration, and other such as Cipolletti, Ingeniero Huergo and others installed in the Alto Valle region. Soon the production of fruits became the main economical activity, and the railway connected the Alto Valle with the ports on the Atlantic Ocean.

Río Negro acquired status of province on December 10, 1957.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki