El Sur del Sur: The Spanish conquest (II)

El Sur del Sur
The Southernmost South

The Way We Are

THE SPANISH CONQUEST

Spanish garments.
F. Paucke.

Populational planning

The planning of cities was based on communication and internal transportation works with a demographic policy which resulted in fairly homogeneous communities in terms of politics, race and religion.

The Hispanic populations started to group together in the north and north-west of the territory, coincidentally with the settlement of Jesuitical and Franciscan missions. At the same time, in some cases the natives withdrew whereas in others they felt attracted to the colonial activities. This assimilation also took place in the social terrain and originated the criollos, that is to say, crossbreeding. The more rebellious practiced the "malón" (sudden attack of territories occupied by white people) until the implementation of the "Desert Conquest". The indigenous population was reduced by 25 per cent in the first century of Spanish domination.

Jesuits.
Drawing.

Colonization

By 1700, there were about 2,500 Europeans in the Viceroyalty. By 1810, they already amounted to 6,000 over a population of 700,000 in the present national territory. Unlike the conquering process developed in the United States, based on the countryside, the Spaniards tended to urban colonization and left unoccupied territories in Chaco, Patagonia and Pampa, which had a decisive bearing on the demographic development.

A vista of Buenos Aires square with the old recova.

The Way We Are

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