Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0015/00152.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 34KB | 550 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00152}
$Pretitle{273}
$Title{Argentina
Chapter 1A.   Historical Setting}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Elizabeth de Lima-Dantas}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{de
spanish
rio
new
aires
buenos
colonial
argentina
la
spain}
$Date{1987}
$Log{Colonial Church*0015201.scf
Figure 2.*0015202.scf
}
Country:     Argentina
Book:        Argentina, A Country Study
Author:      Elizabeth de Lima-Dantas
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1987

Chapter 1A.   Historical Setting

[See Colonial Church: Colonial church in mountains of Cordoba Province]

     The Spanish discivery, conquest, and settlement of the area of
present-day Argentina began in the early sixteenth century. Two distinct flows
of exploration converted into the area: one directly from Spain, the other
from previously conquered areas of South America. The early centers of Spanish
colonial rule were located to the northwest of present-day Argentina, in areas
where mineral wealth was readily available. Northwestern Argentina developed
links to the mining areas of present-day Bolivia, but coastal Argentina
remained a backwater for most of the colonial period. The effective
occupation of the Rio de la Plata basin was eventually prompted by the threat
of Portuguese encroachment from Brazil. A new colonial administrative unit,
the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, was created in 1776, marking the
beginning of Buenos Aires' preeminence in Argentina.

     The era of the viceroys initiated the struggle for Argentine
independence, which was achieved in 1810 as a result of a combination of
internal and external factors prompted by the Napoleonic Wars in Europe.
Between 1810 and 1829 Argentina experienced intense competition between the
interior and the city of Buenos Aires. This was followed by a period of
predominance of the interior landed interests over the port city.

     The dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas (1829-52) was characterized by
harsh military rule, censorship, and complete domination of "enlightened"
Buenos Aires by the "barbarous" interior. Rosas' instruments of government
were repression and terror, generating strong opposition to his regime, which
finally collapsed owing to increasing foreign political and economic
pressures.

     After a long stretch of dictatorial rule, the majority of Argentines
longed for representative government. In 1853 Argentina produced one of the
most liberal constitutions in the world. However, the tenacious rivalries
between portenos (residents of Buenos Aires) and provincial interests created
a protracted institutional battle that divided the country until 1880, when
Buenos Aires finally joined the other provinces and became the capital of the
Argentine Republic.

     The period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was
characterized by major economic and social transformations resulting from
massive European immigration to Argentina and general technological
improvements in agriculture, transportation, and communications. It also
marked the emergence of popular political forces representing the
criollo-immigrant classes, which opposed the traditional landed elite. The
period roughly corresponding to World War I was important for the
consolidation of Argentine political life, the growth of the national economy,
and the recognition of the significance of the masses in the political
process. By the end of the 1920s Argentina was suffering the effects of the
Great Depression; agricultural prices declined, and foreign investors shied
away from the country.

     The following decade brought a new set of actors represented by the
professional military of middle-class origin, which played an important role
in Argentine politics during the next half-decade. Juan Domingo Peron changed
the course of Argentine history after World War II by training generations of
politicians in the art of political manipulation of the labor force. Peron's
political legacy was embodied in the Peronist movement-Justicialismo-that
remained a major force in Argentine politics long after World War II.

     Argentina witnessed two formative periods under Rosas and Peron: the
consolidation of landwoning interests in the mid-nineteenth century and that
of urban industrial interests in the mid-twentieth century. Based upon these
foundations, after 1955 the country faced an internecine struggle to
redistribute income and wealth among the predominant export sector and other
interest groups, even for a short time, which directly influenced the course
of Argentina's political and economic development. During recurrent periods of
economic stagnation when export prospects and living standards deteriorated,
distributional claims often were settled at the expense of required austerity
measures and democratic institutional arrangements. The armed forces were
often compelled to intervene and halt the ensuing economic chaos and political
turmoil that resulted. Political changes were primarily characterized by new
political arrangements between traditional forces such as the export sector,
the military, the middle classes, and the labor organizations rather than by
the introduction of new groups to the political spectrum.

     The fall of the second Peronist administration in 1976 led to seven long
years of authoritarian rule in Argentina. The period of 1976-83 was similar to
that of 1829-52, when Rosas held absolute power over the entire nation. Both
eras were distinguished by growing nationalism, armed repression, terror, and
despair. As the end of the Rosas regime led to a period of national
consolidation, so Argentina embarked on a new phase of civilian-led democratic
reorganization with the 1983 election of Raul Alfonsin to the presidency. At
the time of Alfonsin's December inauguration, however, Argentina remained
plagued by the aftermath of the 1982 South Atlantic War; the still unresolved
boundary dispute with Chile over the Beagle Channel; an ailing economy
handicapped by a US$40 billion foreign debt; and the legacies of the thousands
of people who had been abducted, tortured, and killed in the military
government's "dirty war" against subversion during the previous decade.

Discovery and Colonization, 1492-1810

The Native Peoples of Argentina

     The Spanish conquistadores encountered high civilizations in the New
World in the area of present-day Mexico and in the Andean region. At the time
of the Spaniards' arrival in the sixteenth century, the territory of present-
day Argentina was inhabited by native populations that lacked the
sophistication of the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas. In areas of northwestern
Argentina, however, the ruins of stone buildings attest to the former
presence of more sedentary groups that were under Inca influence. Because of
the difficulties of classifying all Argentine native peoples according to
linguistic and anthropological characteristics, most scholars have agreed upon
a classification based on their geographic distribution.

     The extinct Diaguitas, or Calchaquians, were native warriors who
inhabited the mountains of the Argentine Northwest (present-day provinces of
Jujuy, Catamarca, Tucuman, La Rioja, and Salta), a region characterized by its
arid climate. They were organized in tribes under the control of a chief.
Their dwellings, which were made of stones piled without mortar to secure
them in place, were located in densely populated villages. Agriculture and the
manufacture of pottery were primary occupations, and their diet consisted of
maize, peas, gourds, and native fruits.

     The Matacos-Mataguayos, Chorotes, Guaycurues, and Chiriguanos were the
most important tribes that inhibited Argentina's Gran Chaco forests (in the
present-day provinces of Chaco, Formosa, Santiago del Estero, northern
Cordoba, and northern Santa Fe). They were nomadic fishermen and hunters whose
main activity was textile manufacturing. They also built canoes from the
trunks of trees and knew how to produce fire by rubbing together two pieces of
wood.

     Th