Buenos Aries Essays -- essays research papers fc

The capital of the country, Buenos Aires is also Argentina's leading city in population, commerce, and industry. It is located near the Atlantic Ocean coast, on the broad Rà ­o de la Plata, an estuary at the mouth of the Paranà ¡ and Paraguay rivers. The early Spanish colonists named the city for the "good winds" that brought them to the port. Today about 10 million people live in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, one of the largest in the world. The city proper makes up a federal district, and its mayor is appointed by the nation's president. The city is not a part of Buenos Aires province, which surrounds it. The City--Its People and CommerceGreater Buenos Aires is made up of many settlements that grew together. The oldest European center lay in the neighborhood of the present Plaza de Mayo, a large plaza in the downtown area. Streets in the city were laid out according to a grid pattern described in the Cà ³digo de las Indias, a legal document followed by the Spaniards in settling the Western Hemisphere. The original grid is today surrounded by Balcarce, 25 de Mayo, Viamonte, Libertad, Salta, and Estados Unidos streets. Growth of the city first followed the high elevations, along which ox- and horse-drawn two-wheeled carretas carried freight and which the modern main avenues and the rail lines also follow. The most recent developments in the city are the industrial sectors that extend from the old center southward, such as Dock Sud, La Boca, Barracas, Pinero, and Lanà ºs. The Paranà ¡ River plays an important role in the life of Buenos Aires. Oranges, grapefruit, cherries, plums, and vegetables are raised in its delta area. Vacation housing is widespread, and on weekends thousands of people fill the area to engage in recreational activities. The Paranà ¡ not only provides recreation, but also links the hinterlands with Buenos Aires and supplies water to the population. The central business district has high-rise office buildings and retail stores. Automobiles are not allowed on the Calle Florida, and shoppers roam its elegant stores, coffee houses, and hotels. The nearby Calle Reconquista is the financial center. Outside the central business district much of the surrounding city has attractive cobblestone streets bordered by large, elegant houses and small shops. Many parks and local shopping districts blend in with the residential areas. Various... ...ce of hostile Indians. It was not until 1580 that Juan de Garay, a colonist from Asuncià ³n, established what became the first permanent community at Buenos Aires. The city did not really begin to develop, however, until the late 1700s. In response to British and Portuguese expansion in the area and increased smuggling, Buenos Aires was made the seat of a Spanish viceroyalty in 1776. In the early 19th century Buenos Aires was a major center for the movement to free the country from Spain. The city leaders had foreseen great economic advantages from the free trade that independence would bring. After independence the city grew rapidly as the center of Argentine political power. In 1880 it was made the permanent capital of the republic. Through World War I the city benefited from a stable economy and substantial foreign immigration. During and after World War II heavy industrial growth contributed to the city's expansion and reinforced its political and economic dominance of the country. Population (1986 estimate), federal district, 2,924,000. BibliographyComptons Encylcopedia Online - Aol Keyword: ComptonsThe Learning Company - Aol.Keyword: LearnMagellan Maps - Yahoo.com: maps