The Great European Immigration Wave to Argentina was the period of greatest immigration in Argentine history, which occurred approximately from the 1860s to the 1960s, when more than six million Europeans arrived in Argentina. The massive wave (second only to the US in number) consisted largely of Italian and Spanish immigrants, with other major groups being French, ethnic Germans, Arabs, Basques, Poles, Ukrainians, Irish and Jews. To a lesser extent, other communities included Russians, Yugoslavians, Armenians, Welsh, Turks, Hungarians, English, Czechoslovaks, Swiss, Portuguese and various others.
The impact of the immigratory wave on the country's future demographic and cultural composition (specially in its capital city, the point of reception) can be judged by the fact that in the early 1800s the population of Buenos Aires did not exceed 40,000, the rest of the national territory (specially the surrounding region of the Pampas and Patagonia) virtually unpeopled. By 1895, foreigners had outnumbered natives in the city of Buenos Aires, and in Santa Fe province, almost 42% of its population was foreign. This rapid influx of European migrants led to immense population growth in Argentina. This was reflected in the national censuses: in 1869 the population amounted to around one million seven hundred and forty thousand inhabitants; in 1895 it had more than doubled, with nearly four million, and in 1914 it doubled again, with almost eight million.
The migrants have been incredibly influential in the demographic makeup of Argentina. The ethnic structure of Argentina drastically changed, with genetic studies currently ranging the European contribution between 60% and 80%. The percentage of urban population almost doubled from 28% in 1869 to 57% in 1930. Also, Europeans introduced many concepts such as labor unions, socialism, radicalism and anarchism into the country's political zeitgeist.Devoto, F.J. (April 1989). "Argentine migration policy and movements of the European population (1876–1925)". Estud Migr Latinoam. 4 (11): 135–58. PMID 12282850.
Causes
Context in Europe
The main factor behind the great wave of immigration to Argentina was the rise of steamship technologies. It greatly facilitated inter-oceanic migration, and made Europe much more vulnerable to mass emigration from any event affecting society. By the end of the 19th century, ocean travel became quite affordable, and the travel time between European ports and Buenos Aires had significantly shortened. In the 1830s, crossing the Atlantic from Italian ports like Genoa or Livorno in sailboats took more than fifty days. But with steamships, the journey was cut to between 18 and 24 days.
Also, Europe was undergoing a period of turmoil which caused mass emigration. Key events included the outbreak of World War I and World War II along with their consequences, the Spanish Civil War, the Armenian Genocide, the pogroms in the Russian Empire and other acts of antisemitism.
Economically, the instability caused by the Long Depression (1873-1899) was one of the main reasons for so many to migrate. The crises had a huge impact in the agricultural sector, as the price of grain in 1894 was only a third what it had been in 1867. In Spain, the commercial break with France at the beginning of the 1890s was fundamental as well, since it closed the market to which most of its agricultural production was directed. This caused the ruin of a large part of the Spanish peasantry, with many being forced to emigrate.
Italy is a notable example of the economic difficulties faced during that time, with many Italian agricultural laborers living close to starvation. Since the cost of transoceanic transport had significantly decreased, wheat from the United States reached the Italian market at prices much more competitive than domestic production. The effect of this wave of early globalization in Italy, as in other countries, was economic stagnation and increasing social conflicts. About a quarter of the population relied on charity in one form or another. Also, the unification of Italy in 1861–70 broke down the feudal land system that had survived in the south since the Middle Ages (especially where land had been the inalienable property of aristocrats, religious bodies or the king). However the breakdown of feudalism and redistribution of land resulted in many remaining landless and plots being too small, and in turn more unproductive when land was subdivided among heirs. Moreover, Francesco Crispi launched a trade war against France from 1888 to 1898, and it resulted in an economic disaster for Italy.
The Second Industrial Revolution also had a negative impact on some parts of the European population. Technological innovation ruined the traditional activities of many rural laborers and artisans, who chose emigration as an alternative to proletarianization and sought to practice their activities in their destination countries. In Northern Italy the spread of the mechanical loom harmed peasants who carried out work at home with hand looms.
Context in Argentina
While Europe was going through this instability, Argentina was going through a process of political pacification and consolidation of its institutions, giving an end to an era marked by several civil wars. Argentina experienced its period of greatest economic growth up to that time, due to the huge influx of money caused by the rise of the agroexport model. Argentina possessed an untapped wealth of natural resources that created high demand for both skilled and unskilled labor.
In comparison to many other Latin American countries at that time, Argentina offered significantly higher wage opportunities for immigrants, which were also higher than those in some of the main source countries like Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Therefore, many Europeans went to Argentina in search of better living conditions.
Policies promoting immigration
From the 1850s into the early 1900s, Argentina's national policy was one of maximizing immigration:
The idea of attracting European immigration to Argentina was one of the central themes in Juan Bautista Alberdi's book "Bases and points of departure for the Political Organization of the Argentine Republic", from which the Argentine Constitution of 1853 would adopt several ideas. Alberdi wrote in his work the famous phrase "To govern is to populate" since he saw immigration as "a means of progress and culture for South America".La inmigración europea, según Sarmiento y Alberdi
According to Alberdi, immigration was one of the keys to Argentina's potential development. Because when immigrants of industrialized countries would settle in Argentina, they could help making possible the transformation of Argentina it into an advanced nation. Alberdi believed in what he called "the education of things," which consisted of educating by example and by teaching concrete skills, rather than by formal teaching.
Thus, inspired by Alberdi's work, the 1853 Constitution in its article 20 and 25 said the following:
Former president and thinker Domingo Faustino Sarmiento also believed that European immigration would develop Argentina. He argued that Argentina's great dilemma was between civilization and barbarism. As many thinkers of his time, he identified civilization with Europe, which he saw as the source of progress for Argentina in his famous essay "Facundo". While according to him, barbarism was related to the rural, the indigenous and the gaucho, whose culture was backward. This dilemma, according to him, could only be resolved with the triumph of "civilization" over barbarism.
On October 1, 1869, during the presidency of Sarmiento, Law No. 346 on "Citizenship and Naturalization" was passed. The spirit of this law was to significantly ease the naturalization of foreigners into Argentina. The novelty was that it did not establish a distinction between Argentines and citizens for the exercise of political rights, defining Argentines as "all individuals born or to be born in the territory of the Republic, no matter the nationality of their parents" and also as "children of native Argentines who, having been born in a foreign country, opt for Argentine citizenship". Therefore, a strong Jus Soli and a Jus sanguinis were both established.
During the presidency of Nicolás Avellaneda, in 1876, the Immigration and Colonization Act of 1876 was passed and promulgated. The law consists of 121 chapters, half of them dedicated to immigration, and the other half to colonization. Article 45 stated that every immigrant, provided that they "sufficiently demonstrated his good conduct and his aptitude for any industry, art or useful trade", had the right to be housed and maintained at the expense of the State for five days following his disembarkation. In addition, the Public Authority was also responsible for his transfer to the place in the country he chose as residence. On the other hand, when the immigrant so desired, he could obtain employment through the Labor Office. Also, if the immigrant was going to the interior of the country and there was an Immigration Commission at the destination, it had to provide the immigrant with accommodation and food for a period of up to ten days.
Favorable geography and culture
Geographically, Argentina has easy access to the Atlantic Ocean, its Pampa region is one of the most fertile and extensive areas for cultivation on the planet and its temperature is temperate such as that in most of Europe. Culturally, Argentina, having been part of the Spanish Empire, maintained a culture somewhat similar to that of Europeans. These favorable conditions would encourage foreigners to emigrate to Argentina.
Effect of European immigration
Demographic
Between 1870 and 1914, 5.9 million Europeans migrated to Argentina, with 3.2 million of them staying. As a result of the immigration wave, Argentina's population was roughly four times larger in 1914 than it was in 1870. While immigrants came from all over Europe, the three most represented countries of origin were Italy, Spain, and France. Collectively, immigrants from these three countries accounted for over 5 million immigrants. While the population increased, Argentine citizenship did not. Legal citizens made up 2.2% of the entire immigrant population by 1914. However, Argentina's Citizenship Law gave citizenship to all persons born in Argentina. The immigrants themselves did not become citizens, but their children did, which would create a new middle class.
Economic
Economically, Argentina benefited from European immigration. During the wave of European immigration, Argentina's percentage of world GDP grew from 0.99% to 2.42% as a result of immigrant labor. Immigration helped connect Argentina to the global economy, as a 10% increase in immigrants from a particular origin country was roughly equal to an 8% increase in exports to that country. With the influx of laborers, Argentina was able to expand its agricultural production and exportation. The agricultural sector was equipped to handle the increase in laborers, as many rural property owners had uncultivated farm land. By renting their land to immigrants, many rural towns were able to flourish with the cultivation of large land worked by European immigrant families.
Beyond production, immigrants also aided Argentina's industrialization efforts. 70% of immigrants lived in urban areas in 1914, which was a ten percent increase over a twenty year period. The increase in production additionally created a need for increased transportation networks. To build these networks, Argentina again sought and supported immigrant labor. In 1905, Argentine railroad companies sponsored the immigration of more than 20,000 Italians.
Social