Argentina 1879: The Desert Campaign and the Subjugation of the Pampas

In 1879, Argentina's President Nicolás Avellaneda and General Julio Argentino Roca launched the 'Conquista del Desierto' — a military campaign to clear the Pampas and Patagonia of indigenous peoples who had resisted expansion for centuries. This episode traces the brutal marches, the use of telegraph and Winchester rifles, the role of Calfucurá's successor Namuncurá, and the aftermath: the seizure of 15,000 leagues of fertile land, the near-extermination of the Mapuche, Ranquel, and Tehuelche nations, and the consolidation of Buenos Aires' control over the interior. We also reflect on how this 'solution to the Indian problem' became the foundation of Argentina's agricultural wealth and its enduring legacy of inequality.

#ConquistaDelDesierto #JulioArgentinoRoca #NicolásAvellaneda #Mapuche #Ranquel #Tehuelche #Calfucurá #Namuncurá #Patagonia #Pampas #ArgentineHistory #History #FexingoHistory #IndigenousResistance #19thCentury #MilitaryHistory #SouthAmerica #Genocide

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