From Spain to the River Plate: Migratory Strategies of Spaniards in the Eighteenth Century

MARIANA ALICIA PÉREZ

Early American Studies

Universidad de Pennsylvania, Mc Neil Center of Erarly American Studies

Lugar: Filadelfia; Año: 2013 vol. 11 p. 55 - 71

1543-4273

This essay analyzes how the migratory adventure started for the low-income Spaniards who arrived at the River Plate as from the second half of the eighteenth century and who did not form part of the local commercial, bureaucratic, and military elite, that is to say, those who worked as small merchants, artisans, sailors, soldiers, or day laborers in the New World and whose life resembled that of the rest of popular classes in the River Plate. We especially analyze how the decision to migrate and the strategies to travel to the River Plate of low-income Spaniards were conditioned by the imperial policies of the Bourbons in the second half of the eighteenth century. These policies stimulated economic development in the River Plate region and its connection to Spain, which encouraged many immigrants to travel to the American continent in search for fortune. However, at the same time the Crown discouraged migration by applying a complex series of restrictive regulations regarding who might in fact travel to and settle in the Indies, and there were no systematic migration policies managed by the State. Also, traveling to either Buenos Aires or Montevideo was costly and unaffordable for those people with low incomes. Consequently, immigrants had to develop specific strategies in order to overcome travelling difficulties and settle in the River Plate area: they travelled as stowaways, servants, or sailors. Although these ways of settlement were not legal, they were highly legitimated by the local population and did not prevent immigrants from integrating successfully into society.