The Civilization and

Barbarism Barbarism, barbarity, or barbarous may refer to: * Barbarism (linguistics), a non-standard word, expression, or pronunciation ** Hybrid words, formerly called "barbarisms" * Any society construed as barbarian ** Barbarian invasions, a period of m ...

was a dichotomy used during the Argentine Civil War by the Unitarian Party. The dichotomy can be found in books such as ''

Facundo ''Facundo: Civilization and Barbarism'' (original Spanish title: ''Facundo: Civilización y Barbarie'') is a book written in 1845 by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, a writer and journalist who became the second president of Argentina. It is a corner ...

'', by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, or ''

The New Troy ''Montevideo, or the new Troy'' (french: Montevideo, ou une nouvelle Troie) is an 1850 novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is a historical novel about the Uruguayan Civil War, where the Uruguayan presidents Manuel Oribe and Fructuoso Rivera disputed t ...

'' by the contemporary French

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

, who wrote it based on reports by the Unitarian

Melchor Pacheco Melchor may refer to: * Melchor (name) * Melchor Island in Chile *Melchor Ocampo, Nuevo León, a municipality in Mexico * Melchor Ocampo, State of Mexico, a town and municipality in Mexico * Villa de Tututepec de Melchor Ocampo, a town and municipal ...

. In this dichotomy, "civilization" makes reference to the values and ideas of Europe, and "barbarism" to the rejection of them. Unitarians thought that Buenos Aires should impose those values to the other regions of the country. The Federal party thought instead that the country should follow its own traditions and develop their own political systems, allowing autonomy to each region.

See also