Rivadavia's genesis can be traced to the naval arms races between Chile and Argentina which were spawned by territorial disputes over their mutual borders in Patagonia and Puna de Atacama, along with control of the Beagle Channel.

The United Kingdom's Royal Navy bought the two Constitución-class pre-dreadnought battleships that were being built for Chile, and Argentina sold its two Rivadavia-class armored cruisers under construction in Italy to Japan.

[5] These ships, which were designed to carry the heaviest battleship armament in the world at the time,[6] came as a shock to the navies of South America,[5] and Argentina and Chile quickly canceled the 1902 armament-limiting pact.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Augusto Montes de Oca, remarked that even one Minas Geraes-class ship could destroy the entire Argentine and Chilean fleets.

With further border disputes, particularly with Brazil near the Río de la Plata (River Plate), Argentina made plans to contract for their own dreadnoughts.

[1][10] Laid down on 25 May 1910, Rivadavia was launched and christened on 26 August 1911 by Isabel, the wife of the Argentine Minister to the United States Rómulo Sebastián Naón.

[11] It was reported in January 1913 that apart from the usual fitting-out requirements for Rivadavia and her sister ship ARA Moreno, two Victrola phonographs apiece were included as part of the official specifications.

[14] On a 30-hour endurance trial starting the next day, Rivadavia damaged one of its turbines and had to put in at President Roads, one of Boston Harbor's deep-water anchorages.

[15] Over the course of their construction, Rivadavia and Moreno had been the subject of rumors that Argentina would accept the ships and then sell them to Japan, a fast-growing military rival to the United States, or to a European country.

[16] The rumors were partially true; some in the government were looking to get rid of the battleships and devote the proceeds to opening more schools,[17] and The New York Times reported in late 1913 that the country had received several offers from interested parties.

Neither did they want to exercise a contract-specified option that gave the United States first choice if the Argentines decided to sell, as naval technology had already progressed past the Rivadavia class, particularly in the adoption of the "all-or-nothing" armor scheme.

[19][A] Rivadavia was commissioned into the Armada de la República Argentina on 27 August 1914 at the Charlestown Navy Yard,[20][21] although it was not fully completed until December.

After crossing the ocean, they split up, with Rivadavia mooring at the French port of Brest while Moreno took part in the British Coronation Review in Spithead.

[20] While Rivadavia made an official visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1939, Argentina remained neutral for the majority of the Second World War, and the aging dreadnought saw no active service.

[20] Its next cruise came after the war ended (29 October to 22 December 1946), when it called on countries in the Caribbean and northern South America, including Trinidad, Venezuela, and Colombia.