Immigration/Immigrant Experience

 

•  In the 16th century, the first immigrants arrived to Argentina: the Spanish.

• Spanish conquest occurred by different routes, from Peru and Chile and by the Río de la Plata.

•  The Spanish arriving from Peru，founded the first cities of the North； Santiago del Estero,Tucumán, Jujuy and Salta.

• Those Spanish from Chile founded Mendoza and San Juan.

• Those Spanish who arrived by ocean founded Asunción and Buenos Aires.

• Spain had settled several villages by the 17th century.

• There was a clear division between the Spanish peninsulares, criollos, and Creoles.

• The Laws of the West Indies prevented Europeans,other than Spanish, from entering America.

• The laws didn't allow entrance to Spanish Moors and Spanish Jews.

• Men from Spain held most of the positions of power in Argentina.

• The Spanish Crown allowed some foreigners like the English, Portuguese, Italian, and French to trade and settle in Buenos Aires.

• Trade to Río de la Plata brought unwilling immigrants, African slaves.    

• Start of 19th century: Almost half of the people in cities like Buenos Aires, Santiago del Estero, andTucumán were black and mulatto.

• The failed English invasions in 1806 and 1807 led to the British soldiers remaining and settling in

  Buenos Aires or inland cities.

• 1825: A group of Scottish immigrants arrived and founded a city called Monte Grande in the province of Buenos Aires.

• The Scottish immigran devoted themselves to dairy farming. They also came to Argentine Patagonia and became sheep herders and ranchers.

• There were a lot of Irish immigrants in Argentina, they settled in the countryside and raised sheep.

• Middle of 19th century, 3,500 Irish had settled in Argentina.

• Around 1850: Several provinces signed contracts with employers to bring peasants from Europe.

• This began the first big colony of immigrants:Esperanza.

• The majority of settlers were Swiss, who spoke French or German，the Italians arrived later.

• 1862: A group of Welsh formed in Wales to settle in Argentina.

•  In1896, the number of admitted Jews was 6,757 and in 1910, the number grew to around 19,000.

• Jews had more than 600,000 hectares of land cultivated in Argentina.

• In 1884: Clemente Cabanettes, a Frenchman who settled in Argentina, traveled to France and returned with a group of almost 200 French peasants.

• The settlers’ crops allowed Argentina to stockpile its own supply of wheat.

• By the end of 1875, Argentina had a supply of wheat to export.

• Around 1880, Arab immigrants arrived from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.These immigrants settled in Santiago del Estero,Tucumán, Salta, La Rioja and Catamarca.They devoted themselves to business in small stores or as peddlers.