Graphical representations of the State-building. Land and indigenous in argentine territorial cartography, during the nineteenth century

Abstract:

The frontier with indigenous territories constitutes a resource of land available for colonization and production. The land surveying provided effective control over these uncharted territories. In the second half of the nineteenth century, two central arguments intersect the State building: how to privatize public land was subdivided and what was done with the Indians who occupied it. In this paper, it will be drawn an overview on the evolution of registering process in the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina), favored by the development of specific state knowledge, articulated with cartographic representations of the territory. On these axes, it will emphasize two issues: regular forms present in the registering and graphic representation of the indigenous presence in the making of nineteenth century maps.

Keywords: Territory; cartography; XIX century; Argentina