Founding of Buenos Aires by Pedro de Mendoza (1534)

Pedro de Mendoza, appointed adelantado of New Andalusia in 1534, led a Spanish expedition that founded Buenos Aires on 2 February 1536. The settlement was established on the southwest bank of the Río de la Plata, named after the Virgin Mary of the Fair Winds.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Pedro de Mendoza, a Spanish nobleman and soldier, was appointed adelantado governor, captain general, and chief justice of New Andalusia in 1534. This appointment followed the efforts of his relative, María de Mendoza, who facilitated the acceptance of his offer to lead the expedition.

The Founding. Mendoza sailed up the Río de la Plata in 1535 and formally established the city on 2 February 1536. The settlement was named Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre, honoring the Virgin Mary of the Fair Winds, whom sailors credited for guiding them to the coast.

Location and Context. The original settlement was located in what is now the San Telmo district, south of the modern city center. Buenos Aires is situated on the southwest bank of the Río de la Plata, a wide river that connects the port to neighboring regions in South America.

People involved

Sources

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.