Wars and turmoil reigned in this country until the 19th and 20th centuries.

At the beginning of the 19th Century, during the Napoleon Wars, Buenos Aires suffered an attack from the English fleet. The population however, fought the enemy in two heroic battles (Reconquista - 1806 - and Defensa - 1807) and obtained a double victory, which was of great historical consequence. The Creoles had up to that moment an indifferent feeling towards the Spanish crown and they also felt to be at the mercy of the Peruvians, but hence, they developed something like a national consciousness. With the overthrowing of the Spanish sovereign in Europe and Napoleon taking his place, the new Spanish colonies remained without a monarch. Hence, also the Vice-Kings of South America lost their influence quickly. On May 25th, 1810, Buenos Aires became independent. First followed a governmental Junta and then a Triumvirat.

Manuel Belgrado, an intellectual who had read the revolutionary works of French philosophers, vowed to improve the educational system of the country. The economic growth of Argentina also asked for free trade regulations. The Creoles were fed up with the indifference of the Spanish in any of the important tasks arising with the new developments. So, after six years of civil war between the royals and the revolutionaries, the independence of the Provinces from Rio de la Plata was proclaimed by the revolutionaries in Tucuman. The leader of this extraordinary movement was José de San Martín, who has since been named the national hero of Argentina; he also liberated other South American countries.

The wars against the Spaniards and the resulting chaos continued on the entire continent for several years. Change came with the taking over of government powers by the reactionary Caudillo Juan Manuel de Rosas, who started 1829 a 23 year long dictatorship. Argentina obtained a new constitution 1853 and was considered a Republic from that point on.

From this point, Argentina existed as a State on paper, it only was lacking the population. The country was practically without people and work force was missing everywhere. So the gates of Argentina were opened towards Europe and its immigrants. Argentina however, had to compromise and adhere to the European economic circumstances in order to become attractive to businesses. The amount of industrialisation in Europe and the new, improved means of transport allowed the new countries to import provisions like wheat and meat from England.

In 1879, General Julio A. Roca, an inconspicuous ruler during the economic boom in Argentina, overtook 375,000 sqkm of Pampa for agricultural use. This was the prosperous start of a healthy trade treaty worldwide of the new exports that Argentina had to offer: meat, cereals and wool. Shortly after, all the most important regions were in the hands of a small, privileged goup, who shared the economic and political powers with each other.