The Ensenada de Barragán ("Barragán's Bay, or Cove") is a small bay on the
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...
, some southeast of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. The area is in the
Ensenada district of
Buenos Aires province
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
, centred on the city of the
Ensenada. The old cove has partly silted since the 17th century, and the area is now considered to be part of ''Isla Santiago'' (Santiago Island).
The coastal region was first mapped by
Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
in 1520 in his trip around the world; the bay itself was settled by
Hernandarias in the early 17th century. In 1629, the land was sold to Antonio Gutiérrez Barragán, hence its toponymy. The town itself was founded in 1801.
Until the middle of the 19th century, the bay provided a good natural port. The cove was fortified by the Spanish governors, and later by the
Viceroys of the River Plate, several times with batteries and a defensive wall. The place came to be known as "Fuerte Barragán" (Fort Barragán, see below).
With the foundation of the new capital of Buenos Aires province (
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
) in 1882, a new port was built between
Ensenada and the nearby town of
Berisso
Berisso is a city and the head town of the '' partido'' of Berisso in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the Greater La Plata urban area and has a population of approximately 95,021 as of 2001.
People
Berisso was founded by Ital ...
. The port relies on a dredged channel cutting through the silt of Barragán Bay and Santiago Island (and another natural channel called "Río Santiago") to connect
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
with the River Plate. The new haven is now known as ''Port of La Plata'', and it is mostly used for industrial freight.
Fuerte Barragán: A defensive battery on the River Plate
On 2 January 1801 Viceroy
Marqués de Avilés granted Colonel Pedro Cerviño the settlement of a town at the Ensenada de Barragán. He was also responsible for building the first defensive wall at Fuerte Barragán (''Fort Barragán''), as well as its eight-cannon battery.
The ''Ensenada de Barragán'' played an important role during the
British invasions of the Rio de la Plata. In June 1806, Fort Barragán was commanded by
Santiago de Liniers
Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, Order of Montesa, KOM, Order of Malta, OM (July 25, 1753 – August 26, 1810) was a French People, French officer in the Spain, Spanish military service, and a viceroy of ...
and repulsed the first landing of the British under General
Beresford; the invading army was forced to come ashore at
Quilmes
Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the Quilmes Partido, eponymous county. With a population of 230 ...
, some upstream. On the second
British invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...
in June 1807, however, the fort was left unmanned and it was captured by Lieutenant-General
Whitelocke.
The fort was rebuilt under the direction of
Pedro Benoit
Pedro Benoit (February 18, 1836 – April 4, 1897) was an Argentine architect, engineer, and urbanist best known for designing the layout of the city of La Plata.
Life and times
Pedro Benoit was born in Buenos Aires in 1836 to María Josefa ...
in 1855 and again by the
Buenos Aires province
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
in 1911. Since 1985, it is a ''Historic Museum'' managed by the municipality of
Ensenada.
External links
History of Ensenada, Province of Buenos Aires
Municipality of Ensenada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barragan cove
Bays of Argentina
La Plata basin