The Conquest of the Desert (Spanish: Conquista del desierto) was a military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s with the intent to establish Argentine dominance over Patagonia, which was inhabited by indigenous peoples. Under General Roca, the so-called Conquest of the Desert extended Argentine power into Patagonia and ended the possibility of Chilean expansion there. European settlers turned the conquered lands into a breadbasket which made Argentina an agricultural superpower in the early 20th century. The Conquest is commemorated on the 100 peso bill in Argentina.
Jens Andermann has noted that contemporary sources on the campaign indicate that it was genocide by the Argentine government against the indigenous tribes.Others perceive the campaign as intending to suppress specifically those groups of Indians that refused to submit to the law and carried out brutal attacks on civilian settlements.The Indians frequently raided frontier settlements and stole horses and cattle, slaughtered the men defending their livestock and captured women and children, who were enslaved or offered as brides to the warriors.This recent argument – usually summarized as "Civilization or Genocide?"– questions whether the Conquest of the Desert was really intended to exterminate the Indians.
Read more about Conquest Of The Desert: Background, Alsina's Campaign, Roca's Campaign, The Final Campaign, Border Clashes
Famous quotes containing the words conquest of the, conquest of, conquest and/or desert:
“The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)
“While I am in favor of the Government promptly enforcing the laws for the present, defending the forts and collecting the revenue, I am not in favor of a war policy with a view to the conquest of any of the slave States; except such as are needed to give us a good boundary. If Maryland attempts to go off, suppress her in order to save the Potomac and the District of Columbia. Cut a piece off of western Virginia and keep Missouri and all the Territories.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“While I am in favor of the Government promptly enforcing the laws for the present, defending the forts and collecting the revenue, I am not in favor of a war policy with a view to the conquest of any of the slave States; except such as are needed to give us a good boundary. If Maryland attempts to go off, suppress her in order to save the Potomac and the District of Columbia. Cut a piece off of western Virginia and keep Missouri and all the Territories.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants keep on digging. Most people don’t. They establish contact with the soil, absorb so much vernal vigor that they can’t stay in one place, and desert the fork or spade to see how the rhubarb is coming and whether the asparagus is yet in sight.”
—Hal Borland (1900–1978)