477 



ARGENTINE CONFEDERATION. 



ARGENTINE CONFEDERATION. 



478 



of Buenos Ayres, who scoured the whole country aa far south as the 

 Rio Negro, killed many thousands of the Indians, and rescued 1500 

 whites who had been captured in the predatory expeditions of the 

 natives. By a treaty which Rosas compelled them to make, no tribe 

 of Indians has any right to inhabit any part of the province ; and none 

 are to cross the border without a pass. They do not however pay very 

 strict regard to the treaty ; aud in the present unsettled state of the 

 province it is not possible to enforce their obedience. These southern 

 tribes are divided into innumerable petty tribes or families, each 

 governed by its own cacique, or vlmene, who occasionally claims by 

 hereditary title, but has little authority except in time of war, when 

 all submit implicitly to his direction. 



Political Divifiont and Population. Under the Spanish dominion 

 the countries now comprehended within the Argentine Confederation 

 were divided into four intcndencias, Buenos Ayres, Cordova, Tucuman, 

 and Salta. When these countries obtained their independence, a 

 new division was made in 1813 and 1814,'but as the physical character 

 of the country had not been attended to in making this division, some 

 of the new states again divided: at present there are 13 states. It 

 was originally intended to unite them all under a central government, 

 but tlie attempt, though more than once repeated, did not succeed 

 until 1834, when a voluntary compact was entered into between Buenos 

 Ayrec , Entre Rios, Corrientes, and Santa FS, which formed the basis 

 of the present Argentine Confederation, to which the other provinces 

 have since given in their adherence. The provinces are not however 

 bound by any positive constitution ; they seem to govern themselves 

 more or less independently of each other, though united for national 

 purposes in a general confederation. 



The population of the 13 provinces of the Argentine Confederation 

 was estimated by Sir Woodbine Parish in 1837 at from 600,000 to 

 675,000 ; he estimates it to have increased in 1847 to 820,000. On 

 the other hand, Mr. McCann observes, as the result of his inquiries of 

 the authorities in the provinces, that civil war, the prohibition of the 

 slave trade, and other causes, have not merely prevented the increase 

 of the population of the provinces, but caused an actual decrease. 

 He estimates the population in 1848 at 506,000. We append the 

 statements of each : 



Parish. 

 320,000 



20,000 



10,001 



40,000 



90,000 



50,000 



45,000 



80,000 



80,000 



26,000 



20,000 



45,000 



25,000 



Buenos Ayrc* 

 Santa F 

 Entre Kios 

 Corricntes 

 Cordova 

 Santiago 

 Tucuman 

 Salta . 

 Catamarca 

 La Rioja 

 San Lui 

 Mendoza 

 tiun Juiiu 



McCann. 



200,000 

 18,000 

 22,000 

 32,000 

 65,000 

 45,000 

 45,000 

 50,000 

 25,000 

 17,000 

 20,000 

 35,000 

 22,000 



IM,OM 



*96,000 



This is exclusive of independent Indians within the territory claimed 

 by the confederation. The number of the La Plata Indians is variously 

 estimated at from 50,000 to 100,000, but this estimate includes those 

 hi the territories south of the Negro, and of course beyond the limits 

 of the Argentine Confederation. Within those limits the number is 

 probably under 50,000. 



Manufacturti. The most important branch of manufacturing indus- 

 try is that of ponchoi, or oblong square pieces of woollen cloth, with 

 a hole in the middle, to pass the head through ; they are used by the 

 gauchos and other people an cloaks. The finest are made of vicuna 

 skins, in the town of Santiago del Estero. Some woollen fabrics for 

 men's and women's dresses are also made, as well as saddle-cloths. In 

 some parts gome coarse cotton cloth was formerly made by the country 

 people for their own use, but this branch of domestic industry has 

 been nearly abandoned since the introduction of British manufactures. 

 The wearing apparel, knives, ipurs, and even household goods, of 

 the peasantry are now almost exclusively of British manufacture. 



Commerce. The internal commerce of the states is considerable, as 

 most of them have some products which are either not at all or only 

 to a small amount raised in the neighbouring states. Thus the cotton 

 of Corrientes and of Catamarca, aud the wines and brandies of Rioja, 

 Son Juan, and Mondoxn, are transported from the places where they 

 are grown, to the states which are most distant from them. Under 

 the Spanish dominion great numbers of horses and mules (60,000) 

 were annually sent to Peru and Bolivia, but at present the number 

 exported to those countries is comparatively small. The commerce 

 by land with Chili is not considerable, being almost limited to the 

 exports of the state of Mendoza, which have been already mentioned. 



The maritime commerce of these countries, while they were under 

 the sway of Spain, was not great. The official valuation of the average 

 imports from 1792 to 1796, inclusive, did not exceed 2,(J06,754 Spanish 

 dollars (586,5202.), though every article was sold at an exorbitant price. 

 Since these countries have obtained their independence, and hav 1' '< n 

 accessible to the vessels of all nations, the imports have increased very 

 much. But this commerce has experienced great interruptions and 

 vicissitudes. Between 1821 and Ib25 it was in the most nourishing 



state. From 1826 to 1828 foreign vessels were excluded by the Bra- 

 zilian blockade. After that time the country was distracted by civil 

 ware and political revolutions. Another interruption was caused by 

 the blockade of the British and French squadrons. Before the Brazilian 

 blockade, the port of Buenos Ayres was the only place whence the 

 produce of these states was sent to foreign countries ; but since that 

 time great part of the northern provinces have sent their produce to 

 Monte Video, and received foreign merchandise by the same way. In 

 1825 the imports of Buenos Ayres amounted to 1,575.0002.; in 1851 

 they were 2,110,0002. Of this the imports from Great Britain amounted 

 to about 900,0002., of France to 500,0002., and of the United States to 

 200,0002. 



The goods imported from Great Britain into Buenos Ayres consist 

 of cotton cloth, plain and printed calicoes, linens, woollens, and silks ; 

 also hardware and cutlery, coarse and fine earthenware, gloss, iron 

 and steel, leather, tin and pewter wares, and tin-plates, arms and 

 ammunition, and a number of minor articles. From France ore 

 imported wines, superfine cloth and linens, merinos, cashmeres, silks 

 and cambrics, lace, gloves, shoes, silk stockings, looking-glasses, fane, 

 combs, perfumery, and jewellery. From Germany are imported cloth, 

 linens, and cottons ; from Holland, cloth, linens, gin, butter and cheese, 

 and Westphalia hams; from Belgium, arms, especially swords and 

 pistols ; and from Sweden, iron, cordage, canvass, pitch, tar, and deals. 

 From the Mediterranean, Sicilian and Spanish produce are sent, of 

 which the most important are the cheap red wines of Sicily, the 

 common wines of Catalonia, brandies, olive-oil, maccaroni, and dried 

 fruits. They were formerly brought by British vessels from Gibraltar, 

 but are now mostly carried in Sardinian ships. From Spain are 

 imported some verges and silks, velvets, and Spanish snuff. Formerly 

 great quantities of paper were brought from Spain, but that article is 

 now gent from Genoa. From the United States of North America are 

 imported spirits, soap, sperm candles, dried and salt provisions, 

 tobacco, furniture, and deals, as well as unbleached cotton cloths. 

 Brazil sends to Buenos Ayres tobacco, sugar, coffee, cacao, and rice ; 

 and a great quantity of the mate', or Paraguay tea, of an inferior 

 description. From China are brought in British vessels tea, silks, 

 crapes, nankeens, wearing-apparel, tortoise-shell, earthenware, matting, 

 and some minor articles. Havauua sends to Buenos Ayres sugar, 

 coffee, and tobacco. 



The exports from Buenos Ayres in 1837 amounted in value to 

 1,268,3562.; in 1851 they had increased to 2,126,7062. Of these the 

 greatest increase was in hides, which had increased in number 

 1,600,000, and in wool, which had increased in weight 12,000,000 Ibs. 

 The value of the hides exported in 1851 was 1,300,5702. ; that of 

 tallow, the next in amount, was 217,6902., and of wool 190,0602. 



Mules ore occasionally exported to the West Indies and to the. island 

 of Mauritius. The other articles exported are brought to Europe 

 except the jerked beef, which goes to the Spanish West Indies and 

 Brazil ; the corn and flour, which are exported to Brazil, and a con- 

 siderable portion of hides, horns, wool and sheep-skins, which are 

 carried to the United States of North America. 



The greater number and tonnage of vessels which annually enter 

 the port of Buenos Ayres belong to Great Britain, and next to the 

 United States. 



More copious particulars on the commerce of the Argentine Con- 

 federation are given in Sir Woodbine Parish's valuable book on Buenos 

 Ayres and the provinces of the Rio de la Plata, from which these 

 statistical facts are taken. The commerce of the several provinces 

 will be noticed under their respective titles. 



J/ittory. Though Amerigo Vespucci sailed along the coast before 

 the end of the 15th century, it does not appear that he observed the 

 wide sestuary of the Rio de la Plato. It was discovered by Juan 

 Diaz de Solis, who was sent to these parts in 1512, by the Spanish 

 government, and he took possession of it, but did not form a 

 settlement. 



Sebastian Cabot was sent from Spain, in 1530, to make discoveries 

 in South America. He traversed the La Plata, and following the 

 course of the Rio Paranit to its confluence with the Paraguay, sailed 

 up the first-mentioned river, but being prevented from proceeding 

 far by shoals and cataracts, he entered the Paraguay, which he 

 ascended to a point above the place where Asuncion is situated. He 

 built also a small fort at the place where the Rio Tercero, or rather 

 the Carcaraftal, joins the Parana 1 (32 30' S. lat.), which he called 

 Santo Spiritu, which however was destroyed by the Indians soon after 

 his departure. The favourable account that he gave of the country 

 called Paraguay induced the Spaniards to send a considerable force 

 to these parts under the Adelontado Don Pedro de Mendoza, in 

 1534, who built a fort near the spot on which the town of Buenos 

 Ayres now stands ; pjid he then sailed to Paraguay to found the 

 town of Asuncion. The fort was soon destroyed by the Indians. 

 The Spaniards concentrated their forces in Paraguay, and from 

 thence they gradually began to establish their settlements over the 

 country. 



In 1573, Don Juan de Garay founded the town of Santa Fd. In 

 the meantime other Spaniards, who for some time before had held 

 undisturbed possession of Alto Peru, or the present republic of 

 Bolivia, advanced southward, passed the Abra do Cortaderas, and 

 founded Salta, Tucuman, and Cordova, about the same time that 



