Argentina (Discord: Map Game)

Argentina (i/ˌɑːrdʒənˈtiːnə/;  Spanish:  [aɾxenˈtina]), officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina), is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. Sharing the bulk of the Southern Cone with its neighbor Chile to the west, the country is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. The country is subdivided into twenty-three provinces (Spanish: provincias, singular provincia) and one autonomous city (ciudad autónoma), Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital of the nation (Spanish: Capital Federal) as decided by Congress. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system.

Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded human presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century. Argentina rose as the successor state of the Vice-royalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas vice-royalty founded in 1776. The declaration and fight for independence (1810–1818) was followed by an extended civil war that lasted until 1861, culminating in the country's reorganization as a federation of provinces with Buenos Aires as its capital city. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with massive waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural and demographic outlook. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century.

After 1930, Argentina descended into political instability and periodic economic crises that pushed it back into underdevelopment, though it nevertheless remained among the fifteen richest countries until the mid-20th century. Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and G-20 major economies. It is also a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization, Mercosur, Union of South American Nations, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Organization of Ibero-American States. It is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of "very high". Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector,  Argentina is classified as a high-income economy. As of 2039, it is at war with the Peru-Bolivian Empire in a coalition with Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay, in the last stages of World War III.

Name and Etymology
The description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536.

In English the name "Argentina" probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, but Italian. Argentina (masculine argentino) means in Italian "(made) of silver, silver coloured", probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine "(made) of silver" > "silver coloured" already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the feminine form of argentin and derives of argent "silver" with the suffix -in (same construction as Old French acerin "(made) of steel", from acier "steel" + -in or sapin "(made) of fir wood", from OF sap "fir" + -in). The Italian naming "Argentina" for the country implies Argentina Terra "land of silver" or Argentina costa "coast of silver". In Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said l'Argentina (It cannot be for the proper noun in French for example).

The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, such as Giovanni Caboto. In Spanish and Portuguese, the words for "silver" are respectively plata and prata and "(made) of silver" is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin.

The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region and the foundation of Buenos Aires. Although "Argentina" was already in common usage by the 18th century, the country was formally named "Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata" by the Spanish Empire, and "United Provinces of the Río de la Plata" after independence.

The 1826 constitution included the first use of the name "Argentine Republic" in legal documents. The name "Argentine Confederation" was also commonly used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the country's name as "Argentine Republic", and that year's constitutional amendment ruled all the names since 1810 as legally valid.

In the English language the country was traditionally called "the Argentine", mimicking the typical Spanish usage la Argentina and perhaps resulting from a mistaken shortening of the fuller name 'Argentine Republic'. 'The Argentine' fell out of fashion during the mid-to-late 20th century, and now the country is simply referred to as "Argentina".

In the Spanish language "Argentina" is feminine ("La [República] Argentina"), taking the feminine article "La" as the initial syllable of "Argentina" is unstressed.

Pre-Discord Era
Main Article: History of Argentina

Peru-Bolivian War of Aggression
In mid-2032, Peru had united with Bolivia beyond their intended schedule, forming the Peru-Bolivian Empire, showing support for the then newly-formed Pact of Steel, alarming much of South America, considering the imperialistic ideologies of the Pact and the increased strength of the Unified Peru-Bolivia. The Peru-Bolivian Empire was only fully realised in the beginning of 2033, with their first move being to implement a military draft, increasing tensions as it was made clear that the young Empire has imperialistic intentions. However, due to no military action on its behalf and to prevent World War III spreading to South America, Argentina and Brazil initially made no diplomatic re-action, an act made futile by 2035.

In the first months of 2035, the Peru-Bolivian Empire launched an unannounced invasion of Ecuador, sending South America into chaos and prompting Brazil and Argentina to declare war on the Empire and mobilise their militaries. The invasion shocked Mexico and much of the Latin American community, with Mexico threatening to cut diplomatic and economic ties with the Empire, who proceeded to ignore the threats and continued their invasion despite the risk of an economic crash. Due to this, Mexico decided to assist Brazil and Argentina, encouraging their Latin American allies to do so, and secretly deployed two brigades of marines, all volunteers, onto Brazilian soil to help the war effort. Despite the efforts of Brazil and Argentina, in the initial stages of the war the Empire had so far managed to resist all attempts to halt their advances and in tow weeks, reached the capital of Ecuador, Quito. This act prompted outcry from many Alliance and Neutral Nations, with the strongest outcries from Romania. With the fall of Ecuador, the Peru-Bolivian Empire conducted an invasion of Paraguay.

Outraged at the continued aggression of Peru-Bolivia, Mexico cut diplomatic and economic ties with them, causing Peru-Bolivia's oil supply to decrease, made worse by increased efforts to push into both Argentina and Brazil. Along with this, Mexico formed the Latin American Coalition to combat the Empire. WIP

Geography
Main article: Geography of Argentina

History (Before 2017):
Main Article:  Politics of Argentina

Discord-Era
In the years to come...WIP

Demographics
In the 2039 census, Argentina had a population of about 52,091,130, due to lowering birth-rates and the Peru-Bolivian War of Aggression.

History (Before 2017):
Main Article: Culture of Argentina

Discord-Era
In the years to come...WIP