Viedma, Patagonia

Viedma is the capital and largest city of the state of Rio Negro in northern Patagonia. The city has 910,247 inhabitants (2020), and is located on the southern margin of the Black River (Rio Negro), about 30 kilometers off the Atlantic coast. The metropolitan area, known as Metropolitan Viedma or just Metro Viedma, is home to 1.7 million people, making it the second-largest in the Pampas region after the Kingston metropolitan area, and the 9th-largest in Patagonia. Regarded as a major cultural center, Viedma is known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its iconic cowboy culture and winemaking reputation.

The city has had several nicknames throughout its history, such as the New City of the Caesars, VDM, Detroit of the South, and City of Cowboys.

History
Viedma is the oldest non-British settlement in Patagonia, founded by Andalusian Francisco de Viedma y Narváez under the name of Nuestra Señora del Carmen on 22 April 1779. Originally the two cities were one, called Carmen de Patagones. The original fort was built on the south side of the river in modern Viedma, but it was destroyed within a few months. A new fort was built on the north side, in modern Carmen de Patagones. This fort lasted much longer, and the tower still stands today. The town grew and eventually expanded back across the river into modern-day Viedma.

After the Argentine sale of the Pampas to the United Kingdom, the city became the capital of the British Pampas. Immigration to Viedma was encouraged from the Caribbean, Germany, Poland and France. Among 9,000 immigrants to Viedma between 1820 to 1870 were loggers from British Honduras, adventurers the British Windward Islands, farmers from northern Germany, Galicia-Lodomeria and western-central Canada, Burgundian and Franche-Comtois winemakers, Confederate mercenaries and African-American miners. On 11 October 1878, the town was split, with the Río Negro as their border.

In 1880, Alvin Barros, the first governor of Rio Negro, changed the name of the city to Viedma. During severe flooding in 1889, the capital of Rio Negro was temporary moved to Bariloche (now part of the homonymous state), but was quickly restored to Viedma.