Modern Argentina lacked a common political entity until 1776, when the Rio de la Plata viceroyalty was established with its capital at Buenos Aires. As a result of the regulations and schedules of the planning of Spanish America during the 16th and 17th centuries, 13 Hispanic cities were settled, with their respective town councils and hinterlands. This group of cities and hinterlands provided a basis for the federal political structure of the 19th century. Each region was characterized by the homogeneity of its own resources, the persistence of vernacular traditions suited to the local climate, and its builders, masons, and carpenters. The regionalism of the European Baroque would converge with the Argentine vernacular cultural structure. Baroque influences were transmitted through different means, such as books and designs, personal experiences and memoirs, influences from other Latin American centers of Peru and Upper Peru, and through the Jesuit teams. These provided a remarkable synthesis of vernacular traditions and European Baroque forms.