“¡Pobres Negros!” The Social Representations and Commemorations of Blacks in the River Plate from the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the First Half of the Twentieth (and Beyond)

Authors

Roberto Pacheco, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

History

First Advisor's Name

Víctor Uribe

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Aurora G. Mrcillo

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

John Clark

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Noble D. Cook

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

Latin American History, Collective Memory, Afro-Platines, Argentina, Uruguay

Date of Defense

5-1-2015

Abstract

To counter regnant arguments in the historiography about the putative historical “forgetting” of Afro-Platines in their nations, “‘¡Pobres negros!’” explores the various social representations and commemorations devoted to blacks in the River Plate over the period from the mid-1800s to the 1930s. While never uniformly or consistently positive, over the nineteenth century these social remembrances nevertheless experienced a radical transformation. Early intellectual nation builders among the Generation of 1837 associated blacks with the forces of social, political, and cultural “barbarism.” These representations remained a part of the national memory until well into the late 1800s in liberal and progressive circles. For these thinkers, European immigration was the solution to all of Argentina’s ills.

However, starting in the middle of the nineteenth century, blacks in Argentina and Uruguay became the objects of more favorable remembrances, especially among nationalists. Blacks were now often depicted and historically remembered (and reimagined) as Platine Creoles and national heroes. Their white compatriots remembered that Afro-Platines, for instance, fought for and died defending their nations, and often lamented the fate of the “Poor blacks!” By dying for the cause of national sovereignty, blacks were seen as having vanished from the national scene and became the convenient objects of Creole nostalgia. National leaders like Bartolomé Mitre, the founder of the modern Argentine state and its historiography, nostalgically recalled and reimagined them as loyal patriots and heroes. Especially in Argentina, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, this nostalgia was further encouraged by the social and political problems often blamed on foreigners, Jews, and radicals (i.e., non-Argentines). In this socio-political climate, therefore, Afro-Platines were fondly depicted in sites of social memory as loyal sons of the nation, as opposed to foreign anti-patriots and subversives. Even if incorporated as inferiors into the national imaginary, Afro-Platines were nonetheless variously commemorated by Creole elites at the turn of the nineteenth century (and, indeed, beyond).

Identifier

FIDC000116

Comments

To Whom It May Concern:

The long poem at the beginning is an epigram and belongs in the Roman numeral pages as preliminary matter.

Quotation marks throughout the text are to indicate words or phrases borrowed from other sources and are thus required to avoid plagiarism charges.

Italicized words are from foreign language(s) as per "Chicago Manual Style" required by my department and committee.

Recommended Citation

Pacheco, Roberto, "“¡Pobres Negros!” The Social Representations and Commemorations of Blacks in the River Plate from the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the First Half of the Twentieth (and Beyond)" (2015). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2184.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2184