Abstract
Due to the crisis caused by the Napoleonic occupation of Spain in 1808 and the general fear of independence movements fostered by French and Portuguese agents, the government of the last viceroy of Buenos Aires, Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, by the end of 1809 decided on the expulsion of foreigners from the Viceroyalty of the River Plate. In order to control and expel the foreigners in an efficient way, the government introduced new measures and institutions of surveillance. While, thus far, a foreigner had been accepted as a neighbour (vecino) by integration, and the marriage to a local woman protected him from expulsion, this social practice now lost its significance. Instead, the political conduct and notably the foreigner's nation of origin now became crucial to his acceptance. This process can be understood in the wider sense of the framework of Atlantic history as an attempt by the Spanish Metropolis to regain control over a region were transimperial networks were very active. This article is based on original documents mainly from the Argentinean National Archive in Buenos Aires and on edited sources.
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