In 1516, Juan Díaz de Solís commanded the first expedition to reach the area populated mainly by Guaraní aboriginals, but his expedition was attacked and Solís perished in the adventure.
Sebastián Gaboto established in 1527 the Sancti Spiritu fort upstream of the Paraná River, and in 1536 Pedro de Mendoza reached further north into the basin of the river, searching for the Sierras of Silver.
Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón founded on April 3, 1588 San Juan de Vera de las Siete Corrientes ("Saint John of Vera of the Seven Currents"), which was later shortened to Corrientes. The "seven currents" refer to the seven peninsulas on the shore of the river at this place, that produced wild currents that made difficult the navigation of the river through this part.
Nevertheless, its position between Asunción in present Paraguay, and Buenos Aires made it an important middle point, specially because of its 55-metre-high lands that prevent flooding when the water level rises.
In 1615 Jesuits settled near the Uruguay River. In 1807 the city resisted the British invasions. During the Argentine War of Independence it was in permanent conflict with the centralist government of Buenos Aires, but the War of the Triple Alliance united them after the city was attacked by Paraguayan forces in 1865
