The South American Center of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers: Circulation of British Engineers in South America, 1920–1949

Abstract

British migration to Argentina was a phenomenon that occurred at the end of the nineteenth century, reaching its peak between 1850 and 1880. The circulation of British professionals, however, took place during the first half of the twentieth century as part of the migratory phenomenon framed in the context of a second phase of imperialism, the large number of British engineers, and the demand of South-American countries to develop their railways. This migratory process of professionals implied the transmission of knowledge and technology transfer, as well as a response from local engineering communities. The Institution of Locomotive Engineers and its center in Argentina are a clear example of the evolution of the forms of association characteristic of the nineteenth century, but also of the structuring, organisation, and expansion of the circulation of British engineers.