The "Telégrafo Mercantil, Rural, Político, Económico e Historiográfico del Río de la Plata" (in Spanish, "Merchant, rural, political, economic and historiographic telegraph of the Río de la Plata") was the first

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

edited in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. It was founded on 1 April 1801 by Francisco Cabello y Mesa and

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...

, and approved by viceroy Avilés.

In the Telegraph collaborated leading figures of the era. Manuel José de Lavardén published in first issue of the newspaper his "Ode to the Paraná". Thaddäus Haenke published numerous articles about his travels. The lawyer, journalist and poet Domingo de Azcuénaga y Basavilbaso, worked with some writings.

Juan José Castelli Juan José Castelli (19 July 176412 October 1812) was an Argentina, Argentine lawyer who was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which led to the Argentine War of Independence. He led an ill-fated military campaign in Upper Peru. Juan Jo ...

, Pedro Cerviño, Luis José de Chorroarín, and many others, found room in the newspaper to disseminate their ideas and creations. The ''Telegraph'' expanded in Buenos Aires the use of the word "Argentine" to refer to everything related to the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), 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, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

zone or

, so that the newspaper is considered one of the origins of the

name of Argentina ''Argentina'' (an Italian adjective meaning "silvery") is ultimately derived from the Latin '' argentum'' "silver" and the feminine of the adjectival suffix '' -inus''. The first use of the name ''Argentina'' can be traced back to the first voy ...

. Its pages offered not only

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...

s, but also gave rise to poetry, local color notes, general information, and trade matters in the territories of the

Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * India was governed by the Governor-General and Viceroy of India from 1858 to 1947, commo ...

. The ''Telégrafo Mercantil'' of 11 October 1801, for example, featured an announcement that the area around

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

would be open for hunting for leather and hides from the following: vizcachas, deer, foxes, skunks, otters abundant in coastal streams and the Riachuelo, as well as wild dogs (whose hides are used for boots), swans, partridges and seagulls (for their feathers). The periodical faced economic problems early on, however, as well as disputes with the colonial authorities, who looked askance at the writers' criticism and satire of their manner and policy. The newspaper ceased publication in October 1802; 110 issues had been published, as well as numerous special issues and supplements.

External links

Las dos fundaciones del periodismo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telegrafo Mercantil Defunct newspapers published in Argentina Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata Spanish-language newspapers Publications established in 1801 Publications disestablished in 1802 Mass media in Buenos Aires 1801 establishments in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata 1802 disestablishments in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

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