Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Department

History

First Reader

Dr. Mark E. Miller

Second Reader

Dr. Trey Berry

Third Reader

Dr. Kevin Brennan

Abstract

Situated in the southernmost region of South America, encompassing a variety of climates from the frigid Antarctic to the warmest tropical jungles, lies a country that was once a land of hope for many Europeans: Argentina. Currently Argentina is a country of one million square miles-four times larger than Texas, five times larger than France, with more than thirty seven million inhabitants. One third of the people in Argentina live in Greater Buenos Aires, the economic, political, and cultural center. Traditionally having an economy based on the exportation of beef, hides, wool, and corn, Argentina transformed this pattern during the country's boom years -the last decades of nineteenth century toward industrialization and openness to a European model of progress and prosperity.

In the process of consolidation and formation of its own identity as a nation, Argentine liberals in the nineteenth century promoted and fostered European immigration as a way to achieve progress and civilization. However, the influence of these newcomers hindered a true and real sense of Argentine nationalism among its people. What is this land? Who are the Argentine people? Why is Buenos Aires called the Paris of South America?

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