An English House in Alexandra Colony, Santa Fe, Argentina, 1870-85

DOSZTAL IRENE

Archaeologies of the British in Latin America

Springer lnternational Publishing AG

Año: 2018; p. 99 - 120

In this chapter, we present the history and archaeology of an English settlement in the north of Santa Fe Province, Argentina, named Alexandra Colony. Thomson Bonar & Co.?a London bank signing the contract with governor Simon de Iriondo to establish the settlement in 1870?financed this project of colonization. The name of the colony was the banks? tribute to the princess of Great Britain, Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Victoria?s daughter-in-law. The colony?s main thoroughfare was named Prince of Wales Street, and the central square was called ?Queen Victoria,? thus replicating the English imperial symbols in Santa Fe Province. The agreement established the bank executives? commitment to settling the colony in a span of five years with 400 families of European immigrants. To achieve this goal, the colony built a managerial headquarters called ?Casa Central de Administración.? In this residence lived successive members of the administration, individuals who combined commercial, domestic, and social activities (Dosztal and Chiavazza 2016). We describe here the characteristics of the contract, the execution of the project?its advances and setbacks?and the reasons for the sale of the colony. Although the great project of agricultural colonization failed, Alexandra Colony persisted due to the combination of intensive agriculture with the rules of British imperialism. This historical context is enriched by archaeological research that provides insights into the lifestyles of the ordinary people whose lives were not recorded in official history books.We will analyze in particular the characteristics of the house and the ceramic remains discarded there to recreate how the space was used in the main house. This house was the place where daily life evolved, and the ceramic remains allow us to identify its specific spheres. In addition, manufacturing techniques provide chronological and stylistic information useful for deducing the consumption behaviors and trading patterns of the time. The ceramic analysis was completed by comparing the assemblage with collections studied by others (e.g., Burton 1904; Sussman 1977; Majewski and O?Brien 1987; Miller 1991; Miller and Hunter 1990; Schávelzon 1991, 2001; Hunter and Miller 1994; Brooks 2005). Equally useful were investigations completed at similar archaeological sites also associated with English colonies (e.g., Campbell and Furey 2007; Gibson 2010).