Patagonia's People: The Colonists
The colonization method used by the Spanish was quite different
from the one exerted in the United States, which was based upon
rural colonization. In our country the model followed was one
of urban colonization and, as a consequence, huge territories (Patagonia
included) were left unpopulated. This determined to a great extent
the further demographic development of Argentina.
Right from the beginning, the existence of large land extensions
with scarce human presence posed a problem for the governments.
That's why there was a widely adopted criteria that "to govern
is to populate", which led to the adoption of official plans
specifically devised to attract colonists, preferably European.
Within Patagonia, many of them came from Northern Europe, Germans
and Swiss in the Bariloche/Andean
Lakes area, while in the Santa Cruz Province's estancias
they were English and Scottish. At Chubut, there is definitely a
predominance of the Welsh.
Of course there are plenty of Italian and Spanish as well, mainly
in the Rio Negro Valley
zone. They specialized in the planting of fruits and vegetables.
And probably the most important settlers in Patagonia are those
who came from other Provinces within the country who, specially
after the mid twentieth century, populated many urban centers in
the region (which by the way is the one with the largest demographic
growth in the whole of Argentina).
So let's not forget about this: not only in Patagonia but in the
whole country, one of the main challenges for current XXI century
is to achieve a demographic equilibrium. In this aspect, Patagonia
acts like a big mirror of what happens nationwide: Argentina is
one of the less populated countries in the world, though fortunately
with a high level of literacy.
Will Argentina (and Patagonia) become a new pole of attraction
for immigration now just like it was in the past? Let's hope so.
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