Introduction
Pre-Spanish Era
Religious Practices
Political Structure
Material Culture
Spanish Occupation
Material Culture
The Culture after the Spanish Conquest
Religious Influence of the Catholic Spanish and the Remaining Ethnic Groups
Influences of the Protestant Church
Religious Fighting between the Roman Catholic and Protestant Church
Current Economic and Cultural Development
Cultural Development
Introduction
Argentina is considered by Calvert, Donghi and Eidt (2016) as the eighth largest country in the world but is considered to be only third within Latin America (Buenos, 2014). The reason for this is that the land area of Argentina with 2.78 million square kilometers is larger than Mexico and the Texas state combined (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016) or 30% of the size of the United States (Central, 2016). The country is bounded by Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay resulting to a combination of arid climates in the southeast while being subantarctic in the southwest (Central, 2016). The diverse climate was due to the fact that the country has a varied terrain combining rich plains in the north and mountains in the west along (Central, 2016) with forests, tundra, deserts, rivers and an ocean shoreline (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016).
This geographical diversity resulted to the occurrence of various natural sources such as lead, tin, copper, zinc, pampas, iron ore, petroleum, uranium and manganese (Central, 2016). Fifty-three point nine percent of the country’s arable land is used for agriculture while 10.7% are retained as a forest cover while the remainder is used for other purposes (Central, 2016). But despite the perceived advantages of the varied geographical terrain diversity the country is also prone to natural hazards such as earthquakes, windstorms and flooding (Central, 2016). However, despite these potential hazards the country has an estimated population of around 43.88 million as of 2016, the majority of which are living in urban areas while only 8.4% live in rural areas (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). The outcome of the higher percentage for urban development resulted to environmental issues such as deforestation, desertification, soil degradation, and water and air pollution (Central, 2016).
The maximum life expectancy for male individuals is at 74.3 years while the females are older at 80.9 years (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). The longer life span is worsened by a steadily declining birth rate due to the fact that most of the country’s population is clustered at the 25-54 year range (Central, 2016). The result of a larger working-age population is that Argentina is expected to bolster their economic growth along with a higher per capita investment and savings (Central, 2016). But the concentration on economic prosperity by the majority of its citizen’s is expected to slow down the country’s birth rate and resulted to an earlier fertility decline when compared to its neighbors (Central, 2016).
The highest ethnic group at 97% are seen to be of Spanish and Italian descent while those with mixed ancestry is only 3% of the population (Central, 2016). The result of a higher Spanish and Italian ancestry is that Spanish is considered to be the country’s official language while the secondary languages are French, German, Italian, English, and the Quechua and Mapudungun dialects (Central, 2016). No official religion is perceived by Calvert, Donghi and Eidt (2016) to be predominant within the country but this was countered by the CIA (2016) when it revealed that 92% are Roman Catholic but only 20% are religiously practicing. This religious assumption was concurred by the Roman Catholic religion having a special status and support from the state (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). The other religions are Protestant, Jewish and a mixture of others (Central, 2016).
Pre-Spanish Era
The Nations Encyclopedia (2017) disclosed that there were already an estimated 20 Amerindian groups inhabiting the country before the Spanish arrival. Most of these groups are nomadic in terms of culture since they move their dwellings where there are an abundance of game and food (Nations, 2017). Insight guides (2016) disclosed that one of the early inhabitants such as the Incas are perceived as highly creative and self-sufficient as concurred by the archeological ruins of Quilmes. Some of these inhabitant groups are the Incas (Insight, 2016) and the Guardant (Nations, 2017). But the Incas are considered to be the more significant inhabitants since Argentina still uses the Quechua dialect (Von Hagen, 1996).
The reason for Quechua’s continued use is that the Incas normally move out the unreliable individuals of the local population and move in the Quechua speaking settlers (Von Hagen, 1996). However these settlers are not only farmers but also military soldiers, politicians and economic advisors resulting to a continued control by the Incas (Von Hagen, 1996). The Incas still allowed the retention of the dress, customs, and language of the conquered inhabitants in order to facilitate the assimilation of the Inca culture, agricultural practices, language and legal policies (Von Hagen, 1996). But the Incas are not only the main indigenous groups within Argentina since the Diaguita and Guarani are perceived as strong warriors (Geographia, 2012). The Diaguita are considered to be more fearsome than the Incas since they prevented the expansion of the Inca empire into Argentina despite being perceived as excellent maize cultivators (Geographia, 2012).
Religious Practices
The Incas believe that the state and religion are intertwined as seen as the perception that Viracocha was its one true god (Von Hagen, 1996). The true god uses its servant gods to help rule their constituents but the most popular is the sun god Inti (Von Hagen, 1996). The value of the Inca religion is that it does not segregate worshipers based on their financial standing since it encourages the adoption of good conduct, which is “do not steal; do not lie, do not be lazy” (Von Hagen, 1996). This means that noblemen as well as ordinary individuals have a chance of becoming immortal by doing virtuous works (Von Hagen, 1996).
The outcome of the creator god belief is that the indigenous groups are primarily worshiping agricultural spirits (Von Hagen, 1996). The result is that agricultural success is dependent on the loyalty to the religious individual to huaca (Von Hagen, 1996). The temples are suggested by Von Hagen (1996) to be primarily focused on agricultural reliance since it depicted llamas as well as maize plants. The focus on agricultural gods is also seen in the indigenous groups of Diaguita and the Guarani since they are perceived to be agriculturally inclined (Van Hagen, 1996).
Political Structure
The religious aspect of the Inca was also reflected in their colonization strategy where they allowed the retention of the culture, practice and dress of the indigenous people (Von Hagen, 1996). But potential revolutionaries were moved out and docile individuals are retained to be adopted by the Inca settlers (Von Hagen, 1996). The effect is that these individuals are slowly influenced by the Inca culture by enforcing the learning of the Quechua language, which is used for official functions (Von Hagen, 1996). In order to facilitate the enforcement of the Inca culture the settlers are composed of economic facilitators are well as political and military mit’a-konas or officials (Von Hagen, 1996).
Their role is to reveal the benefits of adopting the Inca culture in order to improve the social standing of the conquered population (Von Hagen, 1996). This is further worsened by the use of quipus and rememberers, which were the record keepers of the Inca accomplishments (Von Hagen, 1996). The purpose is to remove the previous accomplishments of the conquered indigenous people so that only the Inca history remains (Von Hagen, 1996), which is a form of brain washing. This is specifically seen in its material culture in the form of its architectural structures, which is seen to be more grandiose than that of the Mayans and the Aztecs (Van Hagen, 1996).
Material Culture
The reason for its grandiose design is that the Incas were able to effectively create structures and foundations from natural rocks and manufactured bricks (Von Hagen, 1996). This is further enhanced by the fact that the architectural marvels of the Inca structures are considered to be highly enduring due to the construction design (Von Hagen, 1996). Some of the most notable structures is the Sacsahuaman in Cusco with a height of 60 feet and a length of 460 meters (Von Hagen, 1996). This includes not only fighting towers but also an efficient water distribution system and underground passages (Von Hagen, 1996), which is considered to be a modern urban planning wonder.
Spanish Occupation
The initial encounter of the Spaniards and the inhabitants was noted to be as early as 1516 when the Spaniards mistakenly thought that the country has silver or gold (Nations, 2017). The Spaniards under Alejo Garcia seeing that the Incas are conquistadors initially attacked the southeast segment of the Inca Realm at 1523 or 1525 with Chiriguano Indians (Von Hagen, 1996). But despite the low number of the Spanish army the Incas were conquered, which may be due to a better military or political strategy (Von Hagen, 1996). This assumption was concurred by the short battle in Cajamarca on November 16, 1532 where Atahualpa was defeated (Von Hagen, 1996). The resulting effect is that the Inca people slowly surrendered despite some local and violent skirmishes until the final conquest of Cusco on November 15, 1533 (Von Hagen, 1996).
The Incas subsequently resisted and raised an army to take over the outlying districts until the final goal of Cusco on April 18, 1536 (Von Hagen, 1996). However, the Spaniards was able to withstand the revolt through superior military skill and resulted in the retention of Cusco (Von Hagen, 1996). The Inca leader Manco II, which is the grandson of Huayna Capac, was able to retreat to Vilcabamba as its military center in order to attack the Spanish strongholds (Von Hagen, 1996). But the abuses of the Spanish conquerors resulted to the defection of renegade Spaniards such as Gomez Perez, which was Manco II’s emissary to negotiate for “New Laws” with the Spanish viceroy, Blasco Nunez Vela (Von Hagen, 1996). The negotiations were brought to a standstill due to the deposition of Nunez Vela and the subsequent death of Manco II under the hands of the renegade Spaniards, which were later killed (Von Hagen, 1996).
Manco II’s sons, Sayri Tupac and Titu Cusi, continued the war with the Spaniards under the Vilcabamba stronghold where they had the upper hand and retained control despite invasion attempts (Von Hagen, 1996). The Spaniards changed tactics and used missionaries such as Friar Diego Rodriguez in 1565 to induce the Inca to surrender, which continued to fail (Von Hagen, 1996). The last of Manco II’s son, Tupac Amaru, along with his principal captains were captured and beheaded by Canari Indians resulting to the end of the Inca empire (Von Hagen, 1996).
But the Incas are not only the main indigenous groups within Argentina since the Diaguita and Guarani are still considered as strong warriors (Geographia, 2012). The Diaguita are considered to be more fearsome since they prevented the expansion of the Inca empire into Argentina despite being perceived as maize cultivators (Geographia, 2012). The reason why the indigenous groups later succumbed to Spanish rule was due to the introduction of foreign diseases from Europe that decreased their population (Geographia, 2012). The conquest of Argentina resulted to neglect from the Spanish conquistadors due to the lower natural resource of silver and gold (Geographia, 2012). In order to control the country the Spanish implemented a restrictive trade policy, which worsened the perception of the colonists to Spanish rule (Geographia, 2012).
The subsequent attempted invasion of the British was easily repelled by the colony and enhanced the growing rebellion against the Spanish rule (Geographia, 2012). Unfortunately the capture of Spain by France led to Argentina being primarily ruled by the local viceroy, which was unpopular to the colonists (Geographia, 2012). An open town meeting was held on 1810, which led to the deposition of the viceroy and the subsequent independence of Argentina by July 9, 1816 (Nations, 2017). General Jose de San Martin, a patriot, led the Spanish revolt by liberating Chile and Peru on 1817 (Geographia, 2012).
Material Culture
The advantage of the Spanish conquest is that the agricultural limitation of Argentina was expanded from the production of maize and llamas (Von Hagen, 1996) to horses, cattle and sheep along with potatoes (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). The result is that the Incas and the indigenous people’s diet expanded to other agricultural food offerings, which was exported to other Latin American countries such as Bolivia (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). The other material cultural influence was the Roman Catholic religion introduced by the Spanish through missions or reducciones as well as the translantic trading with Europe and an independent political structure (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). This was seen in the development of the municipal council or cabildo where Argentine was able to govern itself through the voting of prominent community members (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016).
The Culture after the Spanish Conquest
The biggest mistake perceived by Von Hagen (1996) of the Spanish occupation is that the local viceroy oppressed the Inca and other indigenous group. This was because the indigenous groups are considered to be highly successful at resisting military advances especially by the Incas (Von Hagen, 1996) and the Diaguita (Geographia, 2012). But the success of colonization was due to the fact that conquistadors allowed the indigenous groups to retain their state institutions but modified to fit the need of the conquerors (Von Hagen, 1996). This was further enhanced by the fact that the Spanish rule is largely indirect due to the fact that demands are coursed through chieftains/curacas (Von Hagen, 1996). The result is that the daily life of the indigenous groups were mainly retained but an additional adoption was to the mass settlement of the Spanish colonists, which was previously done by the Incas (Von Hagen, 1996).
The adaption of the indigenous groups to the culture of the Spanish colonists was tempered with the adapted culture of the Incas (Von Hagen, 1996). This is because the Quechua Indians still retain the adopted language of Quechua, which was implemented by the Incas (Von Hagen, 1996). This was seen in the inherent influence of the Incas on the religion, agricultural techniques and even family life of the Quechua Indians (Von Hagen, 1996). Unfortunately, the enforced adoption of abusive government policies imposed by the local Spanish viceroy was considered to be untenable by the indigenous groups (Von Hagen, 1996), which resulted to the revolt. One of the most abusive was the demand for gold and produce by the landowners as well as the retention of a class system (Von Hagen, 1996).
The most insidious effect of the Spanish conquest was the retention of the power of the elite class or landowners over the poor (Nations, 2017). Government policies that were sought to improve the working conditions of the working classes were suppressed through the influence of the upper class (Nations, 2017). This was seen in the increased focus on making the indigenous groups compliant by encouraging immigration by Europeans (Geographia, 2012). The additional effect is that the previous Argentine culture was further diluted by the culture of the European immigrants (Geographia, 2012). However, some of the language, customs, and dress of the indigenous groups are still retained as a matter of pride such as the Quechua at the north and the Mapuche in Patagonia (Geographia, 2012). The implication is that despite the Spanish conquest the indigenous groups now considered a minority still retained their own culture.
Religious Influence of the Catholic Spanish and the Remaining Ethnic Groups
The influence of the Spanish conquerors was not only seen in the government policies implemented in Argentina but also of its religion. The main reason for this is the heavy encouragement of migrating Europeans to the country especially from Spain and Italy (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). Calvert, Donghi and Eidt (2016) revealed that one-third of the European migrants during the late 19th to early 20th century are from Spain while half are from Italy. This was concurred by the fact that by the year 2000 Argentina is primarily composed of Europeans at 86.4% while only 3.4% of the Amerindians remained (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). Inter-racial marriages from previous migrations resulted to Argentina having a 6.5% population composed of mestizos (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016).
The result of the higher composition of Italian and Spanish migrants is that the majority of the population are Roman Catholics (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). But Calvert, Donghi and Eidt (2016) disclosed that most of these Roman Catholics are non-practicing despite its strong influence on the government and society. The reason for this is that the 1853 Argentine Constitution specifically promotes the adoption of the Roman Catholic Church as the official religion (Georgetown, 2017). This was further concurred by the fact that the Argentine president must be a catholic and that congress is required to promote Catholicism to the indigenous people (Georgetown, 2017). The legal stipulation with regards to religion in the Argentine Constitution was amended in 1994 and subsequently allows Argentines to choose their religion (Georgetown, 2017).
Calvert, Donghi and Eidt (2016) disclosed that the ethnic groups are now highly limited with regards to their population. Some of the most tenacious indigenous group are the Diaguita from the Andean Northwest, the Guarani from the Mesopotamian region, the Guaycuruan from Gran Chaco and the Araucanian Indians from Chile (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). Other tribal groups are the Tehuelche from Patagonia, the Ona from the Tierra del Fuego, and the Pampas indian tribe of Querandi from Buenos Aires (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). But the tenacity of these indigenous people meant that their culture, customs and dress are still retained despite the Spanish conquest.
Influences of the Protestant Church
The continuing independence of the indigenous people with regards to their religion meant that they can decide to adopt other religions. The independence of Argentina from Spain in 1816 (Nations, 2017) also meant that government policies are no longer controlled by the Catholic Church and thus other religions can enter the country. This was concurred by the entry of James Thomson from 1816 to 1827 (Escobar, 1992), which coincided with the immigration of English, Scottish, German and Scandinavian migrants (Holland and Melton, 2002). The initial foray of Thomson is to promote the reading of the bible by influencing established priests in cities (Escobar, 1992). But this is perceived to be unheard off during the 1600s since the Roman Catholic Church is perceived to have a monopoly on Latin American countries (Escobar, 1992).
This religious intolerance to other religions was seen in the jailing of Francisco Penzotti in Peru (Escobar, 1992). But the incident was perceived to be a scandal since Penzotti was affiliated with the American Bible Society as well as being Italian (Escobar, 1992). The success of the Protestant religion was due to the fact that the main focus was on the people while the Roman Catholics focused on the elites (Escobar, 1992). This was done through the education of the masses where the brightest students are taught the Protestant religion and later becomes a mentor to others (Escobar, 1992). Another successful strategy is that the Protestant church adapted to the Latin American mentality while the Roman Catholic Church imposes its will to the Latin American people (Escobar, 1992). The result is that the Protestant religion flourished in cities despite the fact that the Catholic Church still significantly controls the rural environment (Escobar, 1992).
The advantage of the Protestant Church is that the religion encourages the marginalized poor to improve their lives (Escobar, 1992). This is because social standing is not considered as an issue in the Protestant church but is highly desired in the Roman Catholic Church (Escobar, 1992). The outcome is a better self-worth for nobodies and upward mobility due to a larger social network especially for business leaders since church members can become customers (Escobar, 1992). The additional value of the Protestant Church is that jobless individuals have a higher chance of getting a job due to the larger network base (Escobar, 1992). The effect is that more and more Latin Americans are influenced to become Protestants especially when compared with the more controlling Roman Catholic Church (Escobar, 1992).
Religious Fighting between the Roman Catholic and Protestant Church
The primary difference of the Roman Catholic Church and Protestants is the focus of economic standing of their target individuals (Escobar, 1992). This is because the Roman Catholic Church focused on the elites while the Protestant church focused on the masses (Escobar, 1992). The Roman Catholic Church tried to prevent the entry of other religions the efforts of which is primarily directed to the Protestant Church. This was seen in the jailing of Protestant missionaries especially in Roman Catholic dominated locations such as rural areas (Escobar, 1992).
This religious fighting was further enhanced by the fact that the Roman Catholic Church is perceived to be weaker when it comes to individual attendance. The reason given by Escobar (1992) is that the Catholic Church focused on establishing a visible church instead of converting each Latin American individually. The effect is that the Protestant Church was seen to become more influential due to the use of mass media through radio stations (Escobar, 1992). In order to counter the increasing influence of the Protestant Church the Catholic Church also developed a strong radio network (Escobar, 1992). The implication is that there is a significant competition between the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church but the Catholic Church is seen to be losing with the increasing number of religions coming into Argentina (Holland and Melton, 2002).
Current Economic and Cultural Development
Argentina is perceived to still remain volatile in 2014 with regards to its economic potential since some of the locals prefer to retain dollars instead of the pesos (Buenos, 2014). The reason for this is that the locals fear that their pesos will depreciate due to inflationary effects and thus decrease their purchasing power, which resulted to an increased desire for dollars (Buenos, 2014). But most locals prefer to make use of cuevas instead of banks due to a high distrust of financial institutions (Buenos, 2014). This is due to the fact that Argentina is perceived to be currently in a financial crisis due to economic and political meltdowns (Lough and Oatis, 2014). Lough and Oatis (2014) disclosed that the current crisis was due to government mismanagement resulting to the fluctuation of commodity prices.
Lough and Oatis (2014) pointed out that the best economic era for Argentina was in the early 20th century where it was considered to be one of the richest due to the export of agricultural products and an educated workforce. But the economy was seen to have wildly fluctuated along with its government when it rapidly changed from a democratic to militaristic control (Lough and Oatis, 2014). This was further worsened by the fact that presidents were retained for a maximum of two years while the minister was replaced yearly (Lough and Oatis, 2014). However, the country is seen to remain temporarily stable with regards to the agricultural commodities since it is considered to be a main source by China (Lough and Oatis, 2014).
The decision of President Cristina Fernandez to focus spending on social welfare programs resulted to an unusually high inflation rate resulting to the devaluation of the local currency (Lough and Oatis, 2014). This is further worsened by the potential threat of a loan default which is perceived to be the second time within the decade (Lough and Oatis, 2014). The reason is due to the fact that a majority of the country’s exports are focused on agricultural products while it imports machinery and apparatus (Calvert, Donghi and Eidt, 2016). These economic issues are inherited by recent President Mauricio Macri resulting to a recession (Flannery, 2016). The only option available for Macri is to attract foreign direct investment especially in industries that need a high infusion of capital (Flannery, 2016). One potential strategy is to offer tax amnesties to recover undeclared assets not only locally but also at abroad (Flannery, 2016).
Cultural Development
The continuing economic issue is perceived to significantly affect Argentina especially with regards to the current use of a democratic rule (Flannery, 2016). The reason for this is that President Macri must not only decrease the inflation rate but also increase the employment rate (Flannery, 2016). The main industries that were affected are manufacturing since the export of other products must be improved aside from the agricultural products (Lough and Oatis, 2014). But the business elite is perceived to be benefiting more from the economic reforms developed by President Macri (Flannery, 2016) and thus results to a decreased importance of the working class. The mismanagement of the previous administration was seen to be continuingly detrimental to the working class especially with the lower purchasing power (Flannery, 2016) due to the decline in confidence to the local currency (Buenos, 2014). A potential improvement in the economic welfare of Argentina’s constituents means that political reform must be beneficial for all (Flannery, 2016), which is considered to be a delicate balancing act for President Macri.
References
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