However it may seem, these two facts—the interruption of immigration and the accumulation of capital—cannot be considered independently of each other. The inquiry opened by the Social Museum of Argentina (La immigracióninmigración despues después de la guerra, Museo Social Argentino, "Bol. Mensual," viii, 1919, nos. 85-90) show that a speedy restoration of immigration is expected in the Republic. Certainly it seems clear that the political and social insecurity in Europe, the misery of the old world, will probably enhance the attractions of Argentina. We must remember, however, that the stream of emigration from Europe to the Republic in the nineteenth, and the beginning of the twentieth, century was provoked by a complex combination of economic conditions which were closely related to each other. High wages in Argentina were connected with the high interest on money; that is to say, in other words, with the scarcity of capital. The future will decide whether immigration, and the rapid progress of colonization and production, which characterize pre-war Argentina can be adjusted to the policy of accumulation of capital to which the war has condemned the country.
[CONTENTS]
- [INTRODUCTION]
- [ILLUSTRATIONS]
- [MAPS]
- [CHAPTER I]
THE NATURAL REGIONS OF ARGENTINA - The physical environment—Colonization and the natural regions—The struggle with the Indians—Argentine unity—Argentina and the world.
- [CHAPTER II]
THE OASES OF THE NORTH-WEST - The inhabited zones of the Andes in the north-west—Valles, Quebradas, Puna—The irrigation of the valles—The historic routes—Convoys of stock—The breeding of mules and the fairs—The struggle of the breeders against drought—The Sierra de los Llanos.
- [CHAPTER III]
TUCUMÁN AND MENDOZA - Tucumán and the road to Chile—The climate and the cultivation of the sugar-cane—The problem of manual labour—Irrigation at Mendoza—Water-rights—Viticulture—Protection and the natural conditions.
- [CHAPTER IV]
THE EXPLOITATION OF THE FORESTS - Manual labour on the obrajes—The land of the bañados and the agricultural cantons of Corrientes—The timber-yards of the Chaco and the tannic-acid works of the Paraná—The exploitation of the maté—The forestry industry and colonization.
- [CHAPTER V]
PATAGONIA AND SHEEP-REARING - The arid tableland and the region of glacial lakes—The first settlements on the Patagonian coast and the indigenous population—Extensive breeding—The use of pasture on the lands of the Rio Negro—Transhumation.
- [CHAPTER VI]
THE PLAIN OF THE PAMPAS - The limits of the prairie—The rains—The wind and the formation of the clay of the Pampas—The wind and the contour—The zones of colonization on the Pampas—Hunting wild cattle and primitive breeding—The sheep-farms—The ranches—The region of "colonies"—The region of lucerne, maize, and wheat—The combination of agriculture and breeding—The economic mechanism of colonization—The exchanges between the different zones of the Pampas.
- [CHAPTER VII]
ROADS AND RAILWAYS - Roads on the plain—The salt road—The "trade route"—Transport by ox-waggons—Arrieros and Troperos—Railways and colonization—The trade in cereals—Home traffic and the reorganization of the system.
- [CHAPTER VIII]
THE RIVER-ROUTES - The use of the river before steam navigation—Floods—The river plain—The bed of the Paraná and its changes—The estuary and its shoals—Maritime navigation—The boats on the Paraná.
- [CHAPTER IX]
THE POPULATION - The distribution of the population—The streams of emigration to the interior—Seasonal migrations—The historic towns—The towns of the Pampean region—Buenos Aires.
- [BIBLIOGRAPHY]
- [NOTES]
- [INDEX]