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The Conquest of the Desert ((スペイン語:Conquista del desierto)) was a military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s with the intent to establish Argentine dominance over Patagonia, which was inhabited by indigenous peoples. Under General Roca, the Conquest of the Desert extended Argentine power into Patagonia and ended the possibility of Chilean expansion there. Argentine troops killed more than a thousand Indians and displaced over 15,000 more from their traditional lands. Ethnic European settlers developed the lands for agriculture, turning it into a breadbasket that made Argentina an agricultural superpower in the early 20th century.〔''The Argentine Military and the Boundary Dispute With Chile, 1870-1902,'' George V. Rauch, p. 47, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999〕 The Conquest is commemorated on the 100 peso bill in Argentina. The Conquest is highly controversial. Apologists have described the Conquest as bringing civilization, while revisionists have labeled it a genocide. One revisionist, Jens Andermann, has noted that contemporary sources on the campaign indicate that the Conquest was intended by the Argentine government to exterminate the indigenous tribes, an example of genocide.〔(Andermann, Jens ). (''Argentine Literature and the 'Conquest of the Desert', 1872-1896'' ), Birkbeck, University of London. Quote: "It is this sudden acceleration, this abrupt change from the discourse of 'defensive warfare' and 'merciful civilization' to that of 'offensive warfare' and of genocide, which is perhaps the most distinctive mark of the literature of the Argentine frontier."〕 First-hand accounts stated that Argentine troops killed prisoners and committed "mass executions".〔 The 15,000 Indians taken captive "became servants or prisoners and were prevented from having children."〔〔 Apologists perceive the campaign as intending to conquer specifically those groups of Indians that refused to submit to Argentine law and frequently carried out brutal attacks on frontier civilian settlements.〔Rock, David. ''State Building and Political Movements in Argentina, 1860-1916''. Stanford University Press, 2002, pp. 93-94〕 In these attacks, Indians stole many horses and cattle, killed men defending their livestock, and captured women and children to become the slaves and/or forced brides of Indian warriors.〔''Argentina: Countries of the World,'' Erika Wittekind, p. 67, ABDO, 01/09/2011〕〔''Captive Women: Oblivion And Memory In Argentina,'' Susana Rotker, p.32, University of Minnesota Press, 2002〕 The Guardian, an English newspaper, has alleged that two education officials lost their jobs due to the controversy over the Conquest of the Desert: It alleges Juan José Cresto was forced to resign as a director of the Argentine National Historical Museum because he "said the Indians were violent parasites who attacked farms and kidnapped women"〔 and a history teacher in La Pampa Province, Beatriz Horn, was fired for "telling a radio station that Roca deserved praise for putting Indians to flight and opening Argentina's frontier to European settlers."〔 Argentine news sources, however, report Juan José Cresto lost his job for being abusive and violent towards employees〔http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2002/03/25/s-03201.htm〕 and the firing of Beatriz Horn was primarily due to her praise for the military dictator Leopoldo Galtieri.〔http://www.lagaceta.com.ar/nota/380889/argentina/Actualidad_nacional.html〕 ==Background== The arrival of the Spanish colonists on the shores of the Río de la Plata and the foundation of the city of Buenos Aires during the 16th century led directly to the first confrontations between the Spanish and the local Indian tribes, mainly the Querandí (also called the Pampas). The Spanish had purchased the Buenos Aires hinterland from the local Indians to be used for cattle raising. This use displaced most of the animals traditionally hunted by the natives. The Indians responded by attacking the towns, killing settlers and releasing or driving off many cattle and horses from the farms. In retaliation, the Spanish colonists built forts and defended themselves from the frequent attacks. The frontier dividing the colonial farms and the Indian territories gradually moved outwards from Buenos Aires; at the end of the 18th century, the Salado River was the boundary between the civilizations. Many Indians were forced to abandon their tribes to work on the farms. Some assimilated or intermarried with the white population. The group known as gauchos developed from working on the ranches. After Argentina achieved independence in 1816, the provinces had numerous conflicts as they struggled over how to organize. Once these were settled, the government wanted to quickly occupy the lands claimed by the young republic (in part to prevent Chile from encroaching on it). It also wanted to increase the national agricultural production and offer new lands to prospective immigrants. In 1833 Juan Manuel de Rosas in Buenos Aires Province and other military leaders in the Cuyo region coordinated offensives to try to exterminate the resistant indigenous tribes, but only Rosas had any success. By this time Chile had founded Punta Arenas in Magellan Strait in 1845, which threatened the Argentine claims in Patagonia. Later in 1861 Chile began the occupation of the Araucanía, which alarmed Argentine authorities because of its rival's growing influence in the zone. Chile had defeated the Mapuche in their central region. This indigenous tribe had strong language and cultural ties to the nomadic tribes on the east side of the Andes, with whom they share the same language. In 1872 the indigenous leader Calfucurá and his 6,000 followers attacked the cities of General Alvear, Veinticinco de Mayo and Nueve de Julio. They killed 300 settlers and drove off 200,000 head of cattle. These events were a catalyst for the government to mount the Conquest of the Desert. The Indians drove the stolen cattle from the incursions (''malones'') to Chile through the Rastrillada de los chilenos and traded them for goods. The historian George V. Rauch notes evidence that Chilean authorities knew about the origin of the cattle and consented to the trading in order to strengthen their influence over Patagonian territories. They expected eventually to occupy those lands in the future.〔Rauch (1999), ''The Argentine Military and the Boundary Dispute'', p. 43〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Conquest of the Desert」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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