History of Rosario

The permanent settlement of Rosario began in 17th century. There was no clear foundation date. The first landowner was Captain Luis Romero de Pineda.
On 27 February 1812, General Manuel Belgrano hoistered the newly created Argentine flag on the shores of the Paraná, for the first time.
Until the 1850s Rosario was a small village. On 5 August 1852 Rosario was declared a city after a request by Justo José de Urquiza. By 1880, Rosario had become the first export outlet of Argentina; in 1887 it had about 50,000 inhabitants. It was even declared the federal capital in three occasions, but each time was rejected.
In the last 15 years of the century, the city doubled in population, in part owing to immigration. Demographic growth took its toll of bad living conditions, epidemics and labour explotation.
In 1946 Rosario supported Juan Perón's rise to power. In 1969 workers and students took the streets to protest against the dictatorship. During it, started in 1976, hundreds of citizens disappeared by the government.
In 1983 Argentina returned to democratic rule. Hyperinflation caused an economic collapse of the country in 1989. Under the Menem administration the situation became worse. In 1995 a large part of Rosario's population fell under the poverty line.
Since the recovery of the national economy that followed the 2001 collapse, Rosario's economic situation has improved.