The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

462
AMAZONIA AND LA PLATA.
smouldering embers. At the close of the Spanish rule, the vast region now form-
ing the Argentine Republic had probably not more than 400,000 inhabitants,
whereas the first census taken in 1857 returned as many as 1,837,500, exclusive
of about 100,000 Indians.
Since that time no general census has been taken, but a total of over 4,000,000
may be inferred from a study of the local statistics. But even this is insignificant
compared with the vast extent of the territory. Doubtless only a few scattered
groups of settlers could find support on the elevated Andean plateaux, the
Salinas (salt wastes) of the central provinces, or the arid stony steppes of Patagonia.
But the Parana-Uruguay Mesopotamia, the Missions, the north-western plains
and valleys, the Cordoba uplands, the Pampas grazing grounds, lastly, the upper
valleys of all the rivers flowing to the Atlantic, constitute a domain at least
400,000 square miles in extent, where even 100,000,000 human beings would
constitute but a small population, regard being had to the immense resources of
the land. By natural increase such a number could scarcely be attained in a
period of four centuries, at least according to the present rate of growth. As far
as can be judged from the scanty data available, the average mortality would
appear to be about two -thirds of the births, which corresponds to a yearly increase
of not more than 50,000.
Immigration.
But since the middle of the nineteenth century this increase has been doubled
and in favourable years even tripled by the swelling tide of immigration. In
1889 over 289,000 were landed at Buenos Ayres, and of these as many as 250,000
remained in the country. Larger views are entertained on this subject in Argen-
tina than in Brazil, till recently a land of slave labour, and despite local jealousies,
immigration is regarded in the Plateau regions as a recruiting ground of future
fellow-citizens. So early as 1811, one year before the abolition of the slave trade
in Buenos Ayres, Pivadavia spoke of attracting foreign settlers, " not only to
increase the labour market, but as an element of civilisation."
During the first decade no returns were made of the foreigners who came to
found new homes in the Argentine lands ; but since the year 1857 a regular
census is taken of all the immigrants arriving at Buenos Ayres, either directly or
by the route of Monte Video. After deducting the number of emigrants from
the country, and the probable mortality of the unmarried amongst the new arrivals,
during the first years of their residence, statisticians have concluded that the
Republic has been enriched to the extent of about a million permanent settlers in
Argentina.
Moreover, thousands and thousands making their way to the Transatlantic
seaboard by other and more expensive routes, but not classed in the category
of immigrants, have also established themselves in the La Plata regions. Nor
must those Chilian settlers be overlooked who cross by the passes of the Cordilleras
down to the eastern slopes, and who already constitute the great majority of the
Andean population within the Argentine frontiers.