From ownership to possession. Cartography of Indigenous Land Use (Buenos Aires, 1860-1910)

LITERAS, LUCIANO

Cluj

Conferencia; European Rural History Organisation Conference 2023 Conference; 2023

European Rural History Organisation

This proposal deals with the issue of indigenous agency during the establishment of the land market in the frontiers of the Pampas and North Patagonia (Argentina). In the 1860s and 1870s, the Argentine government granted “public” lands to private owners across this frontier with indigenous territories. In this historical context, some indigenous groups (commonly known as “indios amigos”) obtained the property title of land. In this paper, I will present a methodological strategy to identify and describe the use and exploitation of land by these groups by analyzing images (maps, topographical records, cadastres, title deeds), nominal records (censuses, church records, military documents), and economic records (cattle brands, livestock bill of sales, financial statements). Specifically, I will look at the cases of indigenous groups that settled in La Barrancosa, Cruz de Guerra, and Veinticinco de Mayo (province of Buenos Aires province) during the 19th century.