colony · South America

Governorate of Tucumán

1563 CE – 1782 CE · capital Santiago del Estero

The Spanish governorate of northwestern Argentina, a chain of towns linking the River Plate to the silver mines of Upper Peru.

Origins

Spanish settlers from Peru and Chile founded Santiago del Estero in 1553, the oldest surviving city in Argentina. In 1563 Philip II created the Governorate of Tucumán, Juríes and Diaguitas, separating it from Chile and placing it under the Audiencia of Charcas, with Santiago del Estero as capital.

Rule and society

Governors founded a series of towns, including San Miguel de Tucumán in 1565, Córdoba in 1573, Salta in 1582 and San Salvador de Jujuy in 1593. The economy supplied mules, cattle, textiles and foodstuffs to Potosí. The Diaguita and Calchaquí peoples resisted in the Calchaquí Wars until the 1660s. The Jesuits founded the University of Córdoba in 1613, the oldest in Argentina, and ran estancias in the region.

Decline and legacy

Tucumán became part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. In 1782 the intendancy reform divided it into the intendancies of Salta del Tucumán and Córdoba del Tucumán, which later became the provinces of northwestern Argentina.

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Governorate of Tucumán. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/governorate-of-tucuman
MLA
“Governorate of Tucumán.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/governorate-of-tucuman. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Governorate of Tucumán.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/governorate-of-tucuman.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Governorate of Tucumán’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/governorate-of-tucuman (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻