1879 and surrounding campaigns
Conquest / dispossessionSupplement
Argentina’s so-called Conquest of the Desert
Pampas and Patagonia; Indigenous peoples
The Argentine army extended state control over inhabited Indigenous territories. Official photographs record conquered communities and captives, including women and elders, exposing the human reality behind the language of an empty desert.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
1879 marks Roca’s major campaign, within a longer process of conquest.