Misiones (Spanish pronunciation:[miˈsjones],Missions) is one of the23 provinces ofArgentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in theMesopotamia region. It is surrounded byParaguay to the northwest,Brazil to the north, east and south, andCorrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.
This was an early area ofRoman Catholicmissionary activity by theJesuits in what was then called the province of Paraguay, beginning in the early 17th century. In 1984, the ruins of four mission sites in Argentina were designatedWorld Heritage Sites byUNESCO.[4]
1846 impression ofSan Ignacio Miní, a Jesuit Reduction, abandoned following the temporary abolition of the order in 1773
Indigenous peoples of various tribes lived in the area of the future province for thousands of years. At the time of European encounter, the area was occupied by theKaingang andXokleng tribes, later followed by theGuarani tribe. The first European to visit the region,Sebastian Cabot, discovered Apipé Falls while navigating theParaná River in December 1527. In 1541Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca reached theIguazú Falls.
In the 17th century, members of theSociety of Jesus came to the region as missionaries, initially led byDiego de Torres Bello (1551-1638). From 1609 onwards the Jesuits established a string ofJesuitReductions, most notably that ofSan Ignacio (founded in 1610). In a few years they set up 30 mission villages. They taught the Guarani western-style agriculture and crafts. Their crafts were sold and traded along the river and they shared in the Reductions' prosperity.
In 1759 thePortuguese government, at the insistence of its anti-JesuitSecretary of State, theMarquis de Pombal, ordered all Reductions closed inits territory (which then included much of present-day Misiones Province). The Marquis eventually prevailed in 1773 onPope Clement XIV to have the Jesuit Ordersuppressed. With the abandoning of the missions, the prosperous trade surrounding these Reductions quickly vanished. Colonists imposed a brutalplantation economy in the region, forcing the Guarani to act asslave labor.
Steamer on the riverbank at Posadas in 1892
In 1814,Gervasio Posadas, theDirector of theUnited Provinces of the Río de la Plata, declared Misiones annexed to Argentina'sCorrientes (at this time Argentina was quasi-independent but nominally still a Spanish colony). Argentina did not exertde facto control over Misiones, which was claimed by several countries and effectively governed itself. In 1830 Argentine military forces fromCorrientes Province took control of Misiones.
In 1838, Paraguay occupied Misiones, claiming the area on the basis that the Misiones population consisted of indigenous Guarani, the major ethnic group of Paraguay. In 1865, Paraguayan forces invaded Misiones again in what became theWar of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870). Following the defeat of Paraguay and its peace agreement with Argentina (eventually signed in 1876), Paraguay gave up its claim to the Misiones territory.
Argentines in Misiones at the beginning of the 20th century
Although Argentina had claimed Misiones since 1814, academics tend to interpret Argentine possession of Misiones as beginning with the defeat of Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance.John Lynch writes that "thetreaty of alliance [i.e. against Paraguay] contained secret clauses providing for the annexation of disputed territory in northern Paraguay by Brazil and regions in the east and west of Paraguay by Argentina [...]. After a long and harrowing war (1865–70), Argentina prised from a prostrate Paraguay territory in Misiones between the Paraná and the Uruguay and other land further west."[5]Scobie states that "the political status of Misiones remained vague" and that Argentina gained the region "as a by-product of the Paraguayan war in the 1860s".[6]
Ukrainian immigrants harvestyerba mate in 1920. Despite challenging conditions, Misiones attracted considerable European immigration in the early 20th-century
The War of the Triple Alliance left Paraguay much impoverished, and Misiones benefited economically from belonging to Argentina.[citation needed] In 1876 the Argentine PresidentNicolás Avellaneda, assisted by his close friend, General Pietro Canestro (an Italian nobleman who devoted much of his life and wealth to the achievement and sustainability of the peace in the region), proclaimed theImmigration and Colonization Law. This law fostered the immigration of European colonists[7]in order to populate the vast unspoiled Argentinian territories.[citation needed]
On 22 December 1881 the national government in Buenos Aires detached theNational Territory of Misiones [es] from the province of Corrientes.[8]
Descendants of Slavs in Misiones
Several colonizing companies formed under the Immigration and Colonization Law. One of them, Adolf Schwelm'sEldorado Colonización y Explotación de Bosques Ltda. S.A., founded the city ofEldorado in 1919 with a port on the Upper Paraná. Its agricultural colonies and experimental farms, the orange- and grapefruit-tree plantations, and the cultivation of yerba mate, the mills and the dryers for such product are characteristic of this area.Swedish-Argentines became well known for growingyerba mate.
Misiones received many immigrants, mostly from Europe, coming mainly via Southern Brazil. Some came from Buenos Aires, and from Eastern Europe, in particular large numbers ofPoles andUkrainians. Since then[when?], Misiones has continued to benefit economically[citation needed] and has developed politically within Argentina. It has been successfully integrated into the Argentine state.[citation needed] As of 2016[update] control of the province is not contested. On December 10, 1953, the "National Territory of Misiones" gainedprovincial status in accordance with Law 14.294, and its constitution was approved on April 21, 1958.[9]
Misiones received more attention from national policy-makers following a 1973 international agreement to construct theYacyretá hydroelectric dam on a point in theParaná River shared by Paraguay and Corrientes Province. When the dam became fully operative in the 1990s, the Paraná's waters all along the Misiones shores rose. They flooded lands that the dam's authorities had failed to clear and condition adequately, resulting in the onset of mosquito-transmitted illnesses, such asleishmaniasis,yellow fever,dengue, andmalaria. The entire Misiones shores along the Paraná River is now confined by two dams, one of them Yaciretá, downstream of the river, and the otherItaipú, located in Brazil and Paraguay, upstream of the river and north ofPuerto Iguazú. As of 2016[update] Argentina was pursuing an agreement with Paraguay to expand the reservoir works in order to double the facility'selectricity production.
The Misiones plateau includes a part of Brazil across the border. The rocks contain significant quantities of iron which forms a part of the soil, giving it a reddish color. At the center of the plateau rises the Sierra de Misiones, its highest peak, 843 m, near Bernardo de Irigoyen, in the Cerro Rincón.
The province is embraced by three big rivers including theParaná,Uruguay andIguazú.Iguazu Falls are spectacularwaterfalls on the Iguazú River in the northwest corner of the province, near the city ofPuerto Iguazú. Misiones shares the falls with the Brazilian state ofParaná (in that nation's Southern Region). Meanwhile, the international border withParaguay is close by.
The province has ahumid subtropical climate characterized by a lack of a dry season and abundant rainfall throughout the year.[10] Under theKöppen climate classification, it is classified asCfa.[11] There are four distinct seasons although winters and autumns are fairly short.[11] The mean annual temperature is around 21 °C (70 °F).[10] June–August typically register the coldest days when temperatures can fall below 10 °C (50 °F).[10] However, rare incursions of polar air into the province from the south can lead to frost.[11] Summers are hot with temperatures exceeding 32 °C (90 °F) from December to February.[10] One of the main characteristic is the presence of hills in the central and northern parts of the province leading to lower temperatures as a result of the higher elevation.[11] Average annual rainfall ranges from a low of 1,870 millimetres (74 in) in the south to 2,360 millimetres (93 in) in the north.[12] The rainfall pattern in the province has abimodal distribution with two peaks occurring in Spring and Autumn with winters being the driest.[12] The exceptions are the north and higher altitude areas where precipitation is well distributed throughout the year.[12] Snowfall has occurred at the higher hills.[11] For example, during the winter of 1975, snowfall was observed and accumulated inBernardo de Irigoyen, one of the coldest towns in the province due to its high altitude 815 m (2,674 ft).[11] Owing to the humid climate and high rainfall, relative humidity is high.[11]
Misiones population pyramid (2022 census)Children from the Misiones Province during the XXXIVImmigrant Festival
There are 1,280,960 people living in Misiones according to the national census of 2022. A part of the population is descendant of indigenous peoples (especiallyGuaranis) and also Spanish who reached during the colonization and mixed with natives. Another part of the residents are descendants of Europeanimmigrants. Unlike many regions of Argentina, where the immigrants came throughBuenos Aires, most of the immigrants who settled in Misiones came throughSouthern Brazil. The ethnic groups who settled in Misiones after Spaniards areItalians,Germans,Poles,Ukrainians,Swiss,Russians,Swedes,Danes and a small number ofArabs,Japanese and, recently,Laotians (in the late 1970s) andChinese (in the 2000s). From the 1960s, the province has also received immigrants fromBrazil (mostly descendants of East Europeans) andParaguay (mostly descendants both of indigenous peoples and Spaniards).
Misiones'economy, like most in northern Argentina, is relatively underdeveloped yet fairly well-diversified. Its 2006 output was estimated at US$4.8 billion (which shall be around US$7.2 billion in 2011, according to Argentina's economical growing) or US$4,940 per capita (around US$6,500 in 2011), over 40% below the national average.[13]
Though its rainy, erosion-prone geography discouragesintensive crop farming,agriculture makes an important contribution to the province's economy, adding about 10% to the total. Misiones' thick forests have long provided for the ample production of roundwood without excessive impact on itsecosystem. The principal exploited trees are theParaná pine, Guatambú, Cedar, Petiribí, Incense, Cane water-pipe, Anchico, Eucalyptus and Gueycá.
Misiones' chief source of agricultural income, however, has long been the cultivation ofyerba mate: Misiones is Argentina's leading producer (yielding about half a million tons, annually).Tea, citrus fruit and, in minor amounts,tobacco, sugar cane,rice, coffee,cocoa andcoconut are also cultivated in Misiones.[citation needed]
Lightmanufacturing andtourism also contribute to the local economy, each adding about 13% to the total.
The provincial government is divided into the usual three branches: the executive, headed by a popularly elected governor, who appoint the cabinet; the legislative; and the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court.
^Hines, Barbara (Fall 2010)."The Right to Migrate as a Human Right: The Current Argentine Immigration Law"(PDF).Cornell International Law Journal.43 (3): 479. Retrieved2 May 2023.In 1876, the Argentine government enacted its first immigration law, Law No. 817 of Immigration and Colonization, popularly known as the Avellaneda Law, which incorporated the protection of foreigners that had been enshrined in the law and reflected the constitutional principles of openness toward foreigners and enjoyment of rights on an equal basis with citizens.[...] During the period between 1869 and 1914, millions of primarily European immigrants arrived in Argentina.
^Eidt, Robert C. (1971).Pioneer Settlement in Northeast Argentina. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 77.ISBN9780299059200. Retrieved2 May 2023.On December 22, 1881, preparations for federalizing Misiones were completed and the area was declared a national Territory.
^Jusionyte, Ieva (2015).Savage Frontier: Making News and Security on the Argentine Border. Oakland, California: Univ of California Press. p. 70.ISBN9780520286474. Retrieved2 May 2023.In 1953 the National Territory of Misiones became a province and, when in 1958 its constitution was approved, state-building in the region was officially over.
^abcd"Geografía" (in Spanish). Ministerio de Turismo. Archived fromthe original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved29 March 2017.
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