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Martín García Island

Isla Martín García
Aerial photograph of Martín García Island from the west, withairstrip visible in background
Diagram of Martín García andTimoteo Domínguez Islands, after they were physically united in one land mass
Geography
Location	Río de la Plata
Coordinates	34°10′57″S58°15′00″W / 34.18250°S 58.25000°W /-34.18250; -58.25000
Area	1.84 km2 (0.71 sq mi)
Highest elevation	27 m (89 ft)[1]
Administration
Argentina
Province	Buenos Aires
Partido	La Plata
Demographics
Population	150 (2008)

Martín García Island (Spanish:Isla Martín García) is the southern half of an island in theRío de la Plata. Martín García is in Uruguayan waters and was disputed between Argentina and Uruguay, but in 1973 they reachedan agreement establishing it as Argentine territory to be used solely as a nature reserve. With an area of 1.84 km² (0.71 sq mi), it has a permanent population of about 150 people (50 families), and falls within the jurisdiction ofBuenos Aires Province. The island is accessible by air throughMartín García Island Airport. The northern half of the island is known asTimoteo Domínguez and is Uruguayan territory; it emerged from the river as a sandbank in the 1960s and grew to merge with Martín García Island in the 1980s.

The historical island of Martín García was strategically located, and was the site of a fortification built in the 1820s by Argentine forces to deny the Brazilian navy access to theUruguay River. This fort, namedConstitución, succeeded in keeping Brazilian reinforcements at bay during theBattle of Juncal between 8 and 9 February 1827, allowing the Argentines to destroy the Brazilian squadron operating on the Uruguay River during theCisplatine War.

Several Argentine political figures have been held under arrest at the island by military governments, includingpresidentsHipólito Yrigoyen (1930),Juan Perón (1945), andArturo Frondizi (1962).

Martin Garcia Island was discovered by the Spanish in the expedition ofJuan Díaz de Solís in 1516; it is named after the storekeeper Martín Garcia, who died on board and whose body was buried on the island. From that time, the island was continually disputed by Spain and Portugal due to its strategic position amidst the main river channel and as a gateway to its main tributaries, theParaná and Uruguay rivers.

The island was used as apenal colony from 1765 until 1886. Developed by theViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, the first viceroyPedro de Cevallos fortified the island and assigned a military garrison there. In 1814, AdmiralWilliam Brown, commanding a fleet, landed on the island anddefeated the royalists, leaving Martin Garcia in the hands of theUnited Provinces of the Río de la Plata.

The island was the scene of other battles during theArgentine War of Independence, as well as during theCisplatine War of the 1820s. In 1838, during the government of Buenos Aires Province GovernorJuan Manuel de Rosas, Martín García was also attacked by Anglo-French forces. Later it was occupied by allied forces composed ofUnitarian Party exiles inMontevideo. In 1843, it was recovered by federal troops of Rosas, who lost the post in 1845 to troops led byGiuseppe Garibaldi, who retook it for Montevideo. Its strategic value during theArgentine Civil Wars of the mid-19th century ended after Rosas was overthrown in theBattle of Caseros in 1852.

PresidentDomingo Sarmiento proposed a base on the island in 1850, withArgirópolis City as the capital of a micro state administered jointly by Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.^[2]

Beginning in 1879, many indigenous peoples who were captured as part of the so-calledConquest of the Desert were confined on Martín García island. According to official documentation, these prisoners of war included combatants as well as noncombatants (including young children and the elderly). While on the island, many of the prisoners were compelled to work and were subject to discipline within the various institutions of the island. This has led some scholars to argue that Martín García was a concentration camp and a tool of genocide.^[3][4] Although there are no official numbers, researchers have estimated that as many as 3,000 indigenous prisoners passed through Martín García during the 1870s and 1880s.^[5]

The island was transferred toArgentine naval jurisdiction in 1886, and naval forces were placed in it. In the late 1920s, an airstrip was built, the precursor of the Martín García Naval Air Station (Spanish:Estación Aeronaval Martín García); this was expanded in the 1950s, and is currently theMartín García Island Airport.^[6]

Most of the German survivors of theSMS Cap Trafalgar rescued by the collierEleonore Woermann in September 1914 and taken to Buenos Aires were interned for the duration of the war on the Argentine-controlled island. German sailors from the heavy cruiserGraf Spee were also interned on the island by Argentina in 1943.

The jurisdictional status of the island was formally established by theTreaty of Río de la Plata between Argentina and Uruguay on November 19, 1973. This treaty stipulates that the Martín García Island is an Argentineexclave surrounded by Uruguayan waters. In return for recognition of Argentina's sovereignty over the island, Argentina made territorial concessions in the Río de la Plata, notably the cession ofJuncal Island to Uruguay.

Article 45 of the treaty states:

The Martín García Island shall be exclusively destined as anatural reserve for the conservation and preservation offauna andflora under jurisdiction of the Argentine Republic, without prejudice to the provisions of article 63^[7]

On the other hand, this treaty, in effect, defined its territorial limits. To the north of the island wasTimoteo Domínguez, an island under Uruguayan jurisdiction, and this was recognised by Article 46 of the same treaty:

Should the Martín García Island in the future unite with another island, the corresponding boundary shall be delineated pursuant to the outline of the Martín García Island resulting from application of Chart H-118, covered in Article 41.^[8]

At the time of the treaty the channel between these islands comprised an enormousstream load which, since the date of the treaty, has effected a physical union of the Uruguayan island with Martín García. Thus, the boundary between Martín Garcia and Timoteo Domínguez has now become the only existing land frontier between the Republic of Argentina and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.^[9]

Uruguayan officials have cited Article 45 on several occasions to prevent the use of the island by Argentina for purposes other than for the nature reserve. In 1985, the Navy transferred ownership of buildings and facilities in the island to theProvince of Buenos Aires. Today, the island is a tourist destination. Among its notable sights are the old Chinatown, a center of immigrants; the remains of the fortifications, the prison infirmary, and the forest inhabited byred deer. The island is also well known for the baking of artisanal pastries.

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The island's biome is that of forests, and its predominant species include theceiba and the creolelaurel, as well asxerophytic species (similar to theGran Chaco) that includegorse,cacti, andlapachillo. The island's beaches are populated withreeds,fig trees (ibopehay), and more than 800 species of plants.

The median and greater wildlife, excluding fish, is composed at present mainly by over 250 bird species including eight species of hummingbirds,sparrowhawks,lapwings,herons,vultures,parrots, cardinals,pigeons, sparrows,finches,larks,pygmy owls (caburé), andgreat horned owls, among others. The island is also home to a variety of reptiles, lizards, geckos, turtles, frogs,coypu (or pseudonutrias),capybaras, alligators,red deer. The once-large population ofgiant river otters (ariray) was exterminated by the late 1950s.

The average annual temperature is 17 °C (63 °F), and averages 8 °C (55 °F) in the winter, and 29 °C (84 °F) in the summer. Average annual precipitation is 1,000 mm (40 ").

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Martín García once had an estimated population of 4,000, but it decreased when the military garrison was withdrawn. The stable population in 2008 is less than 170 people (about 50 families). They have an elementary school, the EGB nº 39 "Juan Díaz de Solís".

Wikimedia Commons has media related toIsla Martín García.

• Martín García canal dispute
• Martín García Lighthouse

• Martín García Island
• Enclaves and exclaves
• Landforms of Buenos Aires Province
• River islands of Argentina
• Islands of the Río de la Plata
• Argentina–Uruguay border
• International islands

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