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THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC
THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC
BY PIERRE DENIS BRAZIL Translated, and with an Historical Chapter by Bernard Miall . With a Supplementary Chapter by Dawson A. Vindin , a Map and 36 Illustrations Cloth, 15/- net. Third Impression "Altogether the book is full of information, which shows the author to have made a most careful study of the country."— Westminster Gazette. T. Fisher Unwin Ltd London THE FALLS OF THE YGUASSU Thirteen miles above the confluence with the Paraná. Like the Paraná at the Salto Guayra, the river cuts throu
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
In the following chapters I have endeavoured to indicate the essential aspects of colonization in modern Argentina: the conquest of the soil by man, the exploitation of its natural resources, the development of agriculture and cattle-breeding, and the growth of the population and enlargement of the urban centres. For a new country like Argentina it is not convenient to adopt the strictly regional plan which seems to be the best means of giving a complete and methodical description of the histori
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MAPS
MAPS
I. ARGENTINA: THE NATURAL REGIONS II. IRRIGATION IN THE WEST AND NORTH-WEST OF ARGENTINA III. THE CATTLE-BREEDING AREAS IV. DENSITY OF THE MAIZE CROP V. DENSITY OF THE WHEAT CROP VI. THE RAILWAYS VII. ESTUARY OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA [Pg 16] [Pg 17] The Argentine Republic...
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CHAPTER I THE NATURAL REGIONS OF ARGENTINA
CHAPTER I THE NATURAL REGIONS OF ARGENTINA
The physical environment—Colonization and the natural regions—The struggle with the Indians—Argentine unity—Argentina and the world. The South-American continent is divided, from west to east, into three great zones. The lofty chains of the Andes stretch along the Pacific coast; at the foot of these are immense alluvial tablelands; further east are the level plains of the Atlantic coast. The eastern zone, the tablelands, ends southward at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. It enters Argentine ter
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CHAPTER II THE OASES OF THE NORTH-WEST AND PASTORAL LIFE IN THE SCRUB
CHAPTER II THE OASES OF THE NORTH-WEST AND PASTORAL LIFE IN THE SCRUB
The inhabited zones of the Andes in the north-west— Valles , Quebradas , Puna —The irrigation of the valles —The historic routes—Convoys of stock—The breeding of mules and the fairs—The struggle of the breeders against drought—The Sierra de los Llanos. The whole life and wealth of the arid provinces of north-western Argentina depend upon irrigation; the water-supply definitively settles the sites of human establishments. The water resources are irregularly distributed. They are especially abunda
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CHAPTER III TUCUMÁN AND MENDOZA THE GREAT INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES
CHAPTER III TUCUMÁN AND MENDOZA THE GREAT INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES
Tucumán and the road to Chile—The climate and the cultivation of the sugar-cane—The problem of manual labour—Irrigation at Mendoza—Water-rights—Viticulture—Protection and the natural conditions. The great industrial forms of cultivation, the sugar-cane and the vine, gave a new aspect to the scenery of Tucumán and Mendoza at the end of the nineteenth century. The increase of population and wealth which they entailed was so sudden, the economic advance so swift, that the owners of vineyards and th
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CHAPTER IV THE EXPLOITATION OF THE FORESTS
CHAPTER IV THE EXPLOITATION OF THE FORESTS
Manual labour on the obrajes —The land of the bañados and the agricultural cantons of Corrientes—The timber-yards of the Chaco and the tannic-acid works of the Paraná—The exploitation of the maté —The forestry industry and colonization. From the Andes of Tucumán and Salta to the banks of the upper Paraná in the province of Misiones the north of Argentina is now a vast timber-yard for the exploitation of the forests. It resounds everywhere with the axe. This exploitation of the forest is of early
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CHAPTER V PATAGONIA AND SHEEP-REARING
CHAPTER V PATAGONIA AND SHEEP-REARING
The arid tableland and the region of glacial lakes—The first settlements on the Patagonian coast and the indigenous population—Extensive breeding—The use of pasture on the lands of the Rio Negro—Transhumation. The northern limit of the Patagonian region passes to the north of the Colorado, in the latitude of the Cerro Payen and of the ridge which leads from Malarüe to the Rio Grande in the sub-Andean zone (36° S. lat)., and to the Sierra de Lihuel Calel in the southern part of the Pampa province
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CHAPTER VI THE PLAIN OF THE PAMPAS
CHAPTER VI THE PLAIN OF THE PAMPAS
The limits of the prairie—The rains—The wind and the formation of the clay of the Pampas—The wind and the contour—The zones of colonization on the Pampas—Hunting wild cattle and primitive breeding—The sheep-farms—The ranches—The region of "colonies"—The region of lucerne, maize, and wheat—The combination of agriculture and breeding—The economic mechanism of colonization—The exchanges between the different zones of the Pampas. The Pampean landscape is doubtless one of the most uniform in the worl
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CHAPTER VII ROADS AND RAILWAYS
CHAPTER VII ROADS AND RAILWAYS
Roads on the plain—The salt road—The "trade route"—Transport by ox-waggons— Arrieros and Troperos —Railways and colonization—The trade in cereals—Home traffic and the reorganization of the system. The chapter devoted to primitive breeding and the transport of cattle contains a sketch of the network of routes over the Andes. One cannot expect to find in the scheme of routes over the Argentine plains the stern and obvious influence of natural conditions. The surface of these plains is, as a whole,
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CHAPTER VIII THE RIVER-ROUTES
CHAPTER VIII THE RIVER-ROUTES
The use of the river before steam navigation—Floods—The river plain—The bed of the Paraná and its changes—The estuary and its shoals—Maritime navigation—The boats on the Paraná. The problem of the use of the river-routes of the Paraná and the Paraguay is not of interest to Argentina alone. It affects the whole history of colonization in South America. The very name of the Rio de la Plata is a reminiscence of the anxieties of the early navigators who landed there, chiefly in search of a route to
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CHAPTER IX THE POPULATION
CHAPTER IX THE POPULATION
The distribution of the population—The streams of emigration to the interior—Seasonal migrations—The historic towns—The towns of the Pampean region—Buenos Aires. A large-scale chart of the mean density of the population for each province—like those which were published in the latest Argentine Census-reports—has no geographical value for the west and north-west, where oases of slight extent are separated by vast desolate stretches, deserted because of the lack of water. In the Pampean region, on
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1. Periodicals.
1. Periodicals.
Of the periodicals published in Argentina, and partly or wholly devoted to the study of the land and its development, the principal are:— Boletin del Instituto Geografico Argentino (Buenos Aires, since 1879; vol. i, 1879, vol. ii, 1881; one vol. yearly from 1881 to 1901; has appeared irregularly since). Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina (Buenos Aires, 2 vols, yearly from 1876). Revista de la Sociedad Geografica Argentina (Buenos Aires, only appeared from 1883 to 1889). Boletin de la Aca
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2. Maps.
2. Maps.
The maps published in the eighteenth century (D'Anville's map, 1733, in the Lettres édifiantes , 19th collection, Paris, 1734: Bellin's map in vol. ii of the Histoire du Paraguay of the R.P.P.F.X. de Charlevoix, Paris, 1756, 3 vols., etc.) are based upon information collected by the Jesuit missionaries. D'Azara's map (1809) shows a remarkable advance. Important corrections of D'Azara's map are found in Woodbine Parish's map (1838). Brackebusch's two maps are essential documents: Mapa del interio
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3. Statistics.
3. Statistics.
A summary of the chief statistics is published annually in The Argentine Yearbook (from 1902 at Buenos Aires; from 1909 at Buenos Aires and London). The Anuario de la Dirección General de Estadistica , which has appeared since 1880 in one, two or three vols. quarto, gives the figures of trade, immigration, agriculture, railways, navigation, etc. (last volume consulted is for 1914, Buenos Aires, 1915). In the third volume of the Anuario for 1912 will be found a list of the publications of the Dir
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4. General Descriptions.148
4. General Descriptions.148
The scientific study of this part of South America may be traced back as far as D'Azara. His observations are collected in Don Felix de Azara, Voyages dans l'Amérique méridionale , published by Walckenaër (Paris, 1809, 4 vols. in 12 mo and atlas) and Descripción e historia del Paraguay y del Rio de la Plata , published by D. Agustin de Azara (Madrid, 1847, 2 vols. octavo). The Voyage dans l'Amérique méridionale of Alcide d'Orbigny contains his observations on the Paraná, the province of Corrient
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5. North-West Argentina.
5. North-West Argentina.
The most complete general work on irrigation is that of E. A. Soldano, La irrigación en la argentina (Buenos Aires, 1910, octavo). See also C. Wouters, "La irrigación en el valle de Lerma" ( An. Soc. Cient. Argentina , lxvi, 1908, pp. 117-145). The best description of the Puna de Atacama and the country of the Valles is in Eric Boman, "Antiquités de la région andine de la Republique Argentine et du désert d'Atacama" ( Mission scientifique G. de Crequi, Montfort, et E. Senechal de la Grange , Par
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6. Tucumán and Mendoza.
6. Tucumán and Mendoza.
On Tucumán see Emilio Lahitte, La industria azucarera, apuntes de actualidad (Buenos Aires, 1902). The best source of the economic history of the sugar industry is the file of the Revista azucarera ("organa de los cultivadores de caña y fabricantes de azucar," Buenos Aires). On Mendoza, "Investigación vinicola" (Buenos Aires, 1903, Anales , Min. Agric., Sección Comercio, Industrias, y Economia, i, No. 1)....
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7. Forestry Industries.
7. Forestry Industries.
Rudolf Leutgens, "Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Quebracho-Gebietes in Argentinien und Paraguay" ( Mitteil. Geogr. Ges. Hamburg , xxv, 1911, pp. 1-70)....
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8. Patagonia.
8. Patagonia.
Apart from Villarino's journey on the Rio Negro in the eighteenth century, the first journey across the Patagonian tableland is that of G. Chaworth Musters, At Home with the Patagonians (London, 1871). In the early volumes of the Bol. Inst. Geog. Argent. will be found the results of various explorations between 1878 and 1885 by Argentine travellers. With this group of documents, which provided the first material for his conclusions, we may associate the geological studies of Florentino Ameghino,
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9. The Pampean Region.
9. The Pampean Region.
The occupation of the western part of the Pampa between 1875 and 1880 led to a fairly large amount of research. The most important work is the Informe oficial de la Comisión cientifica agregada al Estado Mayor General de la Expedición al Rio Negro , vol. iii, Geologia , by Dr. Ad. Doering (Buenos Aires, 1882). We must also notice G. Avé-Lallemant, "Excursión al Territorio indio del Sud" ( Bol. Inst. Geogr. Argent. , ii, 1881, pp. 41-49); D. Dupont, "Notas geograficas sobre el païs de los Ranquel
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10. The Railways.
10. The Railways.
For the history of the railways see Rebuelto, "Historia del desarollo de los ferrocarriles argentinas" ( Bol. Obras Publicas , vol. v, 1911, pp. 113-172, vol. vi, 1913, pp. 1-48 and 81-110, and vol. viii, 1913, pp. 1-32), and the entire series of the Boletin de Obras Publicas . A sort of annual of the Argentine railways has been published every year since 1906 under the title Killik's Argentine Railway Manual (London, 1 vol. with map, last issue 1918)....
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11. The Paraná.
11. The Paraná.
E. A. S. Delachaux, "Los problemas geograficos del territorio Argentino" ( Rev. Univ. Buenos Aires , 1906, v), includes a study of the floods of the Paraná. The chief source is the memoir of Repossini, "Memoria sobre el rio Paraná" ( Bol. Obras Publicas , vol. vi, 1912, pp. 141-168 and 254-264, vol. vii, 1912, pp. 31-48 and 163-186, and vol. viii, 1913, pp. 33-99). It contains on a reduced scale the map issued by the Ministry of Public Works, which is not available in France. The defect is suppl
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12. Population.
12. Population.
Besides municipal and provincial censuses, there have been three general censuses: First census made in 1869, one folio volume published in 1872. I have only been able to consult Oficina del Censo . Informe sobre la operación y resultado del Primer censo argentino (Buenos Aires, 1870, octavo). Second census of the Argentine Republic, May 10, 1895 (2 vols, quarto, Buenos Aires, 1898). Tercer Censo Nacional levantado el 1º de junio de 1914 (10 vols, quarto, Buenos Aires, 1916-1917). Only the fifth
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NOTES
NOTES
1 I take the opportunity to thank M. J. B. Teran, who undertook to edit these chapters, and to express, with him, my satisfaction that events have falsified his rather pessimistic predictions as regards the author. 2 See E. A. S. Delachaux, "Las regiones fisicas físicas de la República República Argentina," Rev. Museo Plata , XV , 1908, pp. 102-131. 3 Holmberg, "La Flora de la Republica República Argentina," in the Secundo Censo de la Republica República Argentina , vol. i. (Buenos Aires, 1898).
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