Synopses & Reviews
A pioneering examination of the experiences of peasants and peons, or
paysanos, in the Buenos Aires province during Juan Manuel de Rosasandrsquo;s regime (1829andndash;1852),
Wandering Paysanos is one of the first studies to consider Argentinaandrsquo;s history from a subalternist perspective. The distinguished Argentine historian Ricardo D. Salvatore situates the paysanos as mobile job seekers within an expanding, competitive economy as he highlights the points of contention between the peasants and the state: questions of military service, patriotism, crime, and punishment. He argues that only through a reconstruction of the different subjectivities of paysanosandmdash;as workers, citizens, soldiers, and family membersandmdash;can a new understanding of postindependence Argentina be achieved.
Drawing extensively on judicial and military records, Salvatore reveals the stateandrsquo;s files on individual prisoners and recruits to be surprisingly full of personal stories directly solicited from paysanos. While consistently attentive to the fragmented and mediated nature of these archival sources, he chronicles how peons and peasants spoke to power figuresandmdash;judges, police officers, and military chiefsandmdash;about issues central to their lives and to the emerging nation. They described their families and their wanderings across the countryside in search of salaried work, memories and impressions of the civil wars, and involvement with the Federalist armies. Their lamentations about unpaid labor, disrespectful government officials, the meaning of poverty, and the dignity of work provide vital insights into the contested nature of the formation of the Argentine Confederation. Wandering Paysanos discloses a complex world until now obscuredandmdash;that of rural Argentine subalterns confronting the state.
Review
andldquo;In the best tradition of subaltern studies, Ricardo Salvatore goes to the military records, court cases, and police files that most reveal the testimony of the popular classes. His book represents the most complete and nuanced analysis of the lives of peons, migrants, itinerants, and common soldiersandmdash;including their dress, family relationships, interaction with the Rosista state, and demands for liberty in the job market. Wandering Paysanos is both theoretically sophisticated and richly documented.andrdquo;andmdash;Jonathan C. Brown, University of Texas
Review
andquot;Meticulously researched in official correspondence, military records, judicial archives, political poetry, and other popular narratives, Wandering Paysanos contributes importantly to interdisciplinary discussions of modern state formation and rural political and social consciousness. Few students of the Latin American past can match Salvatore in combining skillful analysis of political, social, and economic relations with an ability to deconstruct and interpret texts. This volume redeems the promise of Latin American subaltern studies.andquot;andmdash;Gilbert M. Joseph, Yale University
Synopsis
"In the best tradition of subaltern studies, Ricardo Salvatore goes to the military records, court cases, and police files that most reveal the testimony of the popular classes. His book represents the most complete and nuanced analysis of the lives of peons, migrants, itinerants, and common soldiers--including their dress, family relationships, interaction with the Rosista state, and demands for liberty in the job market. "Wandering Paysanos" is both theoretically sophisticated and richly documented."--Jonathan C. Brown, University of Texas
Synopsis
Provides a radically new interpretation of postcolonial Argentinian history, showing how marginalized groups used the resources of the market and state to avoid economic exploitation and government domination.
About the Author
Ricardo D. Salvatore is Professor of Modern History at Universidad Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires. He is coeditor of Crime and Punishment in Latin America: Law and Society since Late Colonial Times and Close Encounters of Empire: Writing the Cultural History of U.S.andndash;Latin American Relations, both published by Duke University Press.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Tables and Illustrations xiii
Introduction 1
1. The Ways of the Market 25
2. Cash Nexus and Conflict 61
3. Provincianosandrsquo; Paths to Work 95
4. Class by Appearance 129
5. The Power of Laws 161
6. The Making of Crime 197
7. The Experience of Punishment 232
8. Regiments: Negotiation and Protest 262
9. Desertersandrsquo; Reasons 295
10. Memories of War 325
11. Rituals of Federalism 361
12. Subalterns and Progress 394
Conclusion 423
Notes 429
Glossary 493
References 497
Index 517