Agricultural colonies in Argentina
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Agricultural colonies in Argentina were a demographically and economically important part of the evolution of the country. The Argentine government, faced with large areas of fertile land that were unpopulated or settled by aboriginal tribes (unassimilated and considered undesirable for progress), encouraged
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an
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
, welcoming settling agreements with countries, regions and associations abroad. Starting in 1853, President
Justo José de Urquiza Justo José de Urquiza y García (; October 18, 1801 – April 11, 1870) was an Argentine general and politician who served as president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860. Life Justo José de Urquiza y García was bo ...
encouraged the establishment of agricultural colonies in the Littoral region (western
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
and north-eastern Pampas, the area of influence of the Paraná and
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
rivers). The national government signed a contract with an agency led by entrepreneur Aarón Castellanos. The first immigrants brought by this colonization contract arrived in Rosario, Santa Fe, on March 24, 1854. The first formally organized agricultural colony was
Esperanza, Santa Fe Esperanza is a city in the center of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It had about 36,000 inhabitants at the and it is the head town of the Las Colonias Department. Esperanza is at the heart of the most important dairy district of the countr ...
, formed by 200 families from Switzerland,
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,
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,
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,
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and
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who arrived during January and February 1856. The production potential of these colonies can be measured by the fact that, in 1874, Argentina had to import wheat, while by 1880 the agricultural colonies were enough to supply the country's internal needs, and at the end of the 19th century Argentina was the world's first exporter.


Jewish migration

Many other immigrants were
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s, fleeing
pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
s in Europe and sponsored by
Maurice de Hirsch Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth (german: Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth; french: Maurice, baron de Hirsch de Gereuth; 9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896), commonly known as Maurice de Hirsch, was a German Jewish financier and phila ...
's
Jewish Colonization Association The Jewish Colonisation Association (JCA or ICA, Yiddish ייִק"אַ), in America spelled Jewish Colonization Association, is an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigratio ...
; they were later termed "
Jewish gauchos Jewish gauchos ( es, gauchos judíos, lad, gauchos djudíos) were Jewish immigrants who settled in fertile regions of Argentina in agricultural colonies established by the Jewish Colonization Association. The association was established by Baron M ...
". Starting in 1880, Argentine governments had a policy of massive immigration, and the
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
tendencies of the Roca administration were instrumental in making
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s fleeing
pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
s in Europe feel welcome. The first such Jewish colony was Moïseville (now the village of
Moisés Ville Moisés Ville ( yi, מאָזעסוויל) is a small town (''comuna'') in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, founded on 23 October 1889 by Eastern European and Russian Jews escaping pogroms and persecution. The original name intended for the t ...
, Santa Fe). In the 1880s and 1890s,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
's Baron
Maurice de Hirsch Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth (german: Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth; french: Maurice, baron de Hirsch de Gereuth; 9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896), commonly known as Maurice de Hirsch, was a German Jewish financier and phila ...
organized a campaign to relocate two-thirds of Jews in the
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n Empire. Argentina was publicized as a destination for Jews: Alberto Gerchunoff, a Russian Jew who migrated to Argentina, recalled seeing print articles about the Jewish migration to Argentina in Tulchin, Russia, in 1889. In 1891, Hirsch established the
Jewish Colonization Association The Jewish Colonisation Association (JCA or ICA, Yiddish ייִק"אַ), in America spelled Jewish Colonization Association, is an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigratio ...
to coordinate the purchase of land to accommodate Jewish migrants (''see''
Jewish gauchos Jewish gauchos ( es, gauchos judíos, lad, gauchos djudíos) were Jewish immigrants who settled in fertile regions of Argentina in agricultural colonies established by the Jewish Colonization Association. The association was established by Baron M ...
). The Jewish population in Argentina grew and prospered in the ensuing years (''see''
History of the Jews in Argentina The history of the Jews in Argentina goes back to the early sixteenth century, following the Jewish expulsion from Spain. Sephardi Jews fleeing persecution immigrated with explorers and colonists to settle in what is now Argentina, in spite o ...
).
Leon Pinsker yi, לעאָן פינסקער , birth_date = , birth_place = Tomaszów Lubelski, Kingdom of Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = Odessa, Russian Empire , known_for = Zionism , occupation = Physician, political activ ...
, in his book Autoemancipation (1882) and
Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern po ...
, in his book The Jewish State (''
Der Judenstaat ''Der Judenstaat'' (German, literally ''The State of the Jews'', commonly rendered as ''The Jewish State'') is a pamphlet written by Theodor Herzl and published in February 1896 in Leipzig and Vienna by M. Breitenstein's Verlags-Buchhandlung. It ...
''), evaluated Argentina as a potential destination for the oppressed Jews of Eastern Europe. Some sources maintain that Herzl proposed that the Argentina project be given priority over settlement in Palestine. The Zionist records attest to the fact that Herzl did consider Argentina, as well as present-day Kenya, as alternatives to Palestine. Also,
Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and ...
and his
Jewish Territorialist Organization The Jewish Territorial Organisation, known as the ITO, was a Jewish political movement which first arose in 1903 in response to the British Uganda Offer, but which was institutionalized in 1905. Its main goal was to find an alternative territory ...
(ITO) split off from the main Zionist movement; the territorialists' aim was to establish a Jewish homeland wherever possible. The ITO never gained wide support and was dissolved in 1925, leaving Palestine as the sole focus of Zionist aspirations.


References

* Monografias.com
''Historia Argentina - Período 1880–1916.''
*

2009-10-24) {{DEFAULTSORT:Agricultural Colonies In Argentina Economic history of Argentina History of agriculture in Argentina Demographics of Argentina Settlement schemes