Who founded Buenos Aires in 1536?

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Panoramic aerial view of Buenos Aires, Argentina, featuring the Obelisk monument, wide avenues lined with trees, and dense city buildings under a blue sky. — Buenos Aires Aerial view of the city center, including the obelisk (center), Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires was first founded in 1536 by an expedition led by the Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza.21

Mendoza, who served as the first governor-general of the Río de la Plata region, named the settlement Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire ("Our Lady St. Mary of the Good Air"). However, the settlement struggled due to supply shortages and conflicts with local Indigenous peoples, leading the survivors to abandon the site and retreat to Asunción in 1541. The city was later refounded in 1580 by Juan de Garay.213