Spanish settlement in Argentina, that is the arrival of
Spanish emigrants in
Argentina, took place firstly in the period before Argentina's independence from
Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, the
Spanish Empire was the sole colonial power in the territories that became Argentina after the 1816
Argentine declaration of independence. Thus, before 1816, a great part of the
European settlers in Argentina were from Spain, and they carried the
Spanish colonial administration, including religious affairs, government, and commercial business. A substantial Spanish-descended
Criollo population gradually built up in the new cities, while some mixed with the
indigenous populations (
Mestizos), with the
Black slave population (
Mulattoes), or with other European immigrants.