Educating a City's Children: British Immigrants and Primary Education in Buenos Aires (1820-1880)

Abstract

Argentina, and Buenos Aires in particular, was a preferred South American destination for great numbers of European immigrants who crossed the Atlantic beginning in the late nineteenth century in search of new opportunities. Most Latin American governments, from the early days of their nations' independence, sought to attract European workers. These newly founded countries considered immigration an essential element for creating a society that would become economically, politically, and socially modern. They hoped to attract mainly foreigners from Northern Europe, among them the British, whom they considered to have superior labor skills and to be accustomed to the habits of order and work the new nation required.