| Port History Buenos Aires was founded in 1536 by a Spanish expedition, but the settlement was destroyed by local Indians. Survivors escaped to the fort at Asuncion. In 1580, Juan de Garay refounded Nuestra Senora Santa Maria del Buen Aire. Settlers harvested new generations of farm animals left by the first European inhabitants. The Port of Buenos Aires grew slowly over the next 200 years. A good port, it was not favored by Spanish royalty who preferred Lima as their official port. The residents of Buenos Aires, called porteños, thrived. By the early 1700s, they were exporting grain, cattle hides, and dried beef throughout Argentina, Brazil, and the Caribbean. In 1810, the porteños declared independence from Spain. In 1880, the Port of Buenos Aires was made the federal capital for the nation. After 1850, capital from Britain and labor from Spain and Italy led the country to become one of the world's largest agricultural exporters. Then immigrants from Eastern Europe and Germany arrived, further changing the city's character. After World War I, money poured into the city. The ruling elite decided to transform it into the �aris of South America,?building a subway system and many broad avenues. The infrastructure constructed at that time remains, and today's city infrastructure suffers severe strain. After 1930, migrants from the interior arrived to meet labor needs, creating an underclass of mestizo Argentines who founded shanty towns in the suburbs. This underclass has exacerbated the city's problems. Urban poverty, combined with aging infrastructure, continues to present difficult challenges for the country into the 21st Century. Port Commerce The Port of Buenos Aires is South America's largest, but port facilities are old and inefficient. Serious improvement proposals have met with little success. The Port of Buenos Aires has five terminals for container, bulk, general cargo, and passengers. Terminals 1 and 2 offer 2800 acres, almost 900 yards of berth at a depth of 32 feet, and annual capacity of almost 480 thousand TEUs. Terminal 3 offers about 1600 acres, 640 yards of berths at a depth of 32 feet, and annual capacity of 120 thousand TEUs. Terminal 5 offers about 2400 acres, about 540 yards of berths at a depth of 32 feet, and annual capacity of 450 thousand TEUs. In 1998, the Port of Buenos Aires handled about 1.2 million TEUs of cargo. Cruising and Travel Opened in 2001, Terminal 4 is the city's passenger terminal. It's about a half-mile from the city center. World travelers voted the Port of Buenos Aires the second most desirable city to visit after Florence, Italy. Still the Paris of South America, the Port of Buenos Aires has a European look and feel and a variety of cultural attractions and shopping opportunities. San Telmo is a quaint and popular neighborhood from the colonial era that attracts many tourists every year. Many popular cruise lines stop at the Port of Buenos Aires every year to deliver tourists for city visits or on stop-overs before Antarctica. Among those are Silversea, Costa Cruceros, Cunardline, Royal Caribbean, Mediterranean Shipping Cruises, Carnival, and Celebrity-Cruises. Terminal 4 is also a multi-purpose terminal designed to handle cargo like machinery, steel pipes, steel plates, heavy lifts, fruits, paper, livestock, bulk and project cargo. |
