Conquest of the Desert
The Conquest of the Desert (Spanish: Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca during the 1870s and 1880s with the intention of establishing dominance over Patagonia, inhabited primarily by indigenous peoples. The Conquest of the Desert extended Argentine territories into Patagonia and ended Chilean expansion in the region.
| Conquest of the Desert | |||||||||
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Conquest of the Desert, by Juan Manuel Blanes (fragment showing Julio Argentino Roca, at the front) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Argentina Mapuche and Tehuelche allies |
Mapuche tribes
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Julio Argentino Roca Teodoro García Conrado Villegas | Manuel Namuncurá | ||||||||
Argentine troops killed more than 1,000 Mapuches, displaced more than 15,000 more from their traditional lands and enslaved a portion of the remaining indigenous people. Settlers of European descent moved in and developed the lands through irrigation for agriculture, converting the territory into an extremely productive area that contributed to the status of Argentina as a great exporter of agricultural products during the early 20th century. The conquest was paralleled by a similar campaign in Chile termed the Occupation of Araucanía. The Conquest is controversial: apologists describe it as a civilising mission and as a defense against attacks by the natives, while revisionists label it a genocide.