{"id":619,"date":"2012-10-18T14:31:20","date_gmt":"2012-10-18T19:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.brown.edu\/modernlatinamerica\/?page_id=619"},"modified":"2012-10-18T14:31:20","modified_gmt":"2012-10-18T19:31:20","slug":"beneath-the-facade-of-wealth","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/chapters\/chapter-9-argentina\/travels-in-argentina\/beneath-the-facade-of-wealth\/","title":{"rendered":"“The Spanish-American Republics,” Theodore Child (1891)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beneath the Facade of Wealth:\u00a0Buenos Aires in the 1890s: an Analysis of Theodore Child’s “The Spanish-American Republics” (1891)<\/a>
\n<\/strong>By Cameron Parsons<\/p>\n

Writing in 1890 for the New York-based Harper\u2019s Magazine<\/em>, travel journalist Theodore Child ventured south of the equator to the Republic of Argentina in order to document for his American readers \u201cthe slow and mysterious task of creating civilization\u201d (Child, v). He arrived in the country at a crucial moment in the nation\u2019s development. After more than sixty years of post-independence history marked by internal fragmentation, near constant political upheaval, and stagnant economic development, Argentina had by the time of his writings entered upon an era of profound growth that was reshaping the look, feel, and character of the nation. Fueled by an influx of much needed labor and capital from Europe and benefitting from recent territorial consolidation under liberal political rule, Argentina was rapidly integrating into the mercantilist world economy on the strength of exports of meat and grain from its fertile pampas <\/em>regions. Economic growth rates soared to five percent per year while imports of finished goods from Europe dramatically increased (MLA, 250). This contributed to a newfound prosperity that accrued in the hands of Argentina\u2019s landed and political elite, and to a subsequent \u201cgreat movement of development and modernization<\/a>\u201d in the capital city of Buenos Aires. (Child, vi)<\/p>\n

However, to the skeptical eye of Northern observers such as Child, the \u201crapid transformation<\/a>\u201d of the region was nonetheless \u201ccurious\u201d and \u201cdisheartening\u201d (Child, vi). With a tone of condescension, Child describes the Argentine capital city of Buenos Aires as one that fancies itself an equal counterpart of European or American cities\u2014on-par in terms of civility and civilization\u2014when it has, in reality, only a achieved the status of a \u201cless successful counterfeit\u201d<\/a> (Child, 294). Indeed, he proclaims that Argentines have sought to \u201cimitate\u201d Europe \u201cin all that concerns civilization<\/a>\u201d (Child, 275). They have used their newfound wealth to build a capital with a \u201cmarkedly European aspect<\/a>\u201d; to purchase all the goods of \u201cart or of luxury that London, Paris, Milan produce\u201d; to develop newspapers which \u201caspire to become the Harper\u2019s Weekly <\/em>or the Graphic <\/em>of South America<\/a>\u201d; and to promote commercial areas that can rival those of \u201cParis\u2019 Magasins du Louvre<\/a>\u201d (Child, 275, 277, 278). However, as the author sees it, with all these ventures the Argentines had succeeded only in crafting an elegant fa\u00e7ade that soon falls away to reveal a true lack of cultural refinement that no amount of money can hide.<\/p>\n

Nowhere is this made clearer than in his observations of the public amusements of Argentinean society. Beginning with his description of the Argentineans\u2019 importation of horseracing from Europe, Child praises their construction of \u201cpicturesquely-situated tracks and tastefully-designed tribune<\/a>\u201d and for their investments in \u201cwell-stocked racing stables<\/a>\u201d (Child, 294). He immediately senses the wealth and the extravagance in the design of the hippodromes<\/em>, and expects to find a matching level of \u201ccivility, elegance, and fashion<\/a>\u201d in the character of those who attend (Ibid). However, as was typical of his experiences with Buenos Aires, beneath the pervasive materiality, the rough gaucho<\/em> culture of Argentinean society remains:<\/p>\n

In the tribune of the members of the Jockey Club\u2026what men! How coarse and brutal in their manner! How gross and unclean in their language, how aggressively vulgar, how utterly lacking in refinement of any kind! For this rough horde of human beings, the only interest that the races offered was the betting\u2026. In such a rough crowd as this there is no place for honest women<\/a>\u00a0(Child, 295).<\/p>\n

Even though the men who attend such events flaunt their newfound wealth and status\u2014the \u201crich young creoles\u201d wearing \u201clight colored cravats and enormous diamond pins<\/a>\u201d and taking every care possible to \u201cmake themselves conspicuous<\/a>\u201d\u2014ultimately, these are the acts of an Argentine nouveau-riche<\/em> desperately attempting to recreate a European high-society they know little to nothing about (Child, 298, 299). As Childs sees it, the \u201cculture of Buenos Ayres [sic] is not yet sufficiently developed to appreciate<\/a>\u201d such activities[1]<\/a> (Child, 298). In the capital city, the only culture that exists is one of \u201ccoarse and brutal materialism\u2026. There seems to be no poetry, no sentiment,\u201d only \u201cthe ostentatious display of wealth in the grossest manifestation of vulgar luxury<\/a>\u201d (Child 304).<\/p>\n

Understanding Childs\u2019 Perspective:<\/span><\/p>\n

One immediately senses certain contempt in Child\u2019s writing. But where does this critical tone come from? Why does Child spend so much of this chapter on the Argentine capital deploring not only the acts and mannerisms of its citizens in public, but more importantly, their haughty displays of opulence?<\/p>\n

Certainly, one could easily attribute this to his sense of American superiority in comparison to Southern neighbors that he sees as still developing. According to Child, the Argentines desperately need to assert their relative place in the world. As he says, the Argentines \u201cboast of their capital, of its rapid progress, and the luxury of life at Buenos Ayres. This pride and self-congratulation is largely justified, but nevertheless, the reality falls far below the descriptions that are current<\/a>\u201d (Child, 262).<\/p>\n

However, reading this travelogue one gets the sense that his general contempt is motivated more by his sense of America\u2019s superiority over Europe, and his frustration that the Argentines had chosen to emulate Paris, Milan, and London over New York, Washington, or Boston. Writing at a point in history when the United States had truly entered upon the world stage and begun to project its political, economic, and cultural power, Child likely believes that the age of European preponderance has come to a close and that the United States represents the future in all regards. He frequently references the achievements of the United States. He reminds his audience that it was the American Constitution that the government of Argentina chose to use as the basis for the Republic. He reports that the accumulation of wealth in Buenos Aires is rivaled by no other city, \u201cexcept those of North America.<\/a>\u201d He praises the values of Americans and their country where \u201cmoral and intellectual improvement are uppermost in the thoughts and works of innumerable patriotic citizens<\/a>\u201d (Child, 312). However, despite these praiseworthy qualities of the United States, Argentines continue \u201ctoo look up to the French,\u201d and \u201cimitate them when they become rich enough<\/a>\u201d (Child 275). In doing so, from Child\u2019s perspective they slight the United States, and perhaps delay their progress towards true civilization and cultural refinement.<\/p>\n

Moreover, his disdain for the Argentine capital and its residents\u2019 European ostentation may also be found in his economic concerns. In continuously seeking to emulate the Europeans by using their newfound wealth to buy \u201crich fancy articles and objets de luxe\u201d <\/em>almost exclusively from European markets, the Argentines have bypassed \u201cthe gold silver smiths\u2019 art, the weaving of rich stuffs\u2026the making of fine furniture\u201d of Northern manufactures and their products of \u201creal artistic merit\u201d that are far superior to the \u201cpoor, vulgar, and commonplace articles [from Europe] that the Argentines have received in exchange for their dollars<\/a>\u201d (Child, 279). In doing so, they have \u201cneglect[ed] an excellent and willing market\u201d to the north, and denied American producers their share of the wealth that he finds so prominently, and perhaps frustratingly, on display in and around the capital city. Of course, his clear feelings of the injury and injustice being done to the United States fail to take into account the natural economic and sociological connection between Europe and Argentina that was forged by the arrival of nearly four and a half million Europeans to Argentina in the century following independence (Scobie, 33). Nevertheless, the conspicuous displays of wealth serve as a constant reminder of all that the American economy is currently being deprived. To explain the phenomenon, he therefore resorts to condemning the consumers, telling his American audience that the \u201cculture of the Argentines\u201d is simply \u201ctoo limited\u201d to appreciate the objects of \u201cdelicate taste\u201d <\/a>that refined Americans are currently producing\u00a0(Child, 279).<\/p>\n

\n

Given the biases of the author and recognizing that the individual chapters of Child\u2019s Spanish-American Republics<\/em> were originally published in Harper\u2019s Magazine<\/em> for the purpose of entertaining<\/em> an American audience, we must alter our reading and understanding of Theodore Child\u2019s observations. As a journalist whose livelihood depended on selling articles, his primary objective was not to write impartial, scientific observations of a city in transition, but rather to craft a work that would appeal to a widespread reading public. He is likely more critical of Argentine life, society, and culture than is actually warranted, for he knew that Americans would take great pride and pleasure in reading how their own civilization continued to stand above the rest. Though he opens his essay by proclaiming that he \u201cwrites in good faith, unbiased by prejudices or sympathies<\/a>,\u201d the tone of Child\u2019s writing clearly says otherwise. Modern readers must therefore seek to extract from this travelogue only those details not touched by his sense of American superiority or his journalistic flare (Child, v ).<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Bibliography:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Child, Theodore, Spanish-American Republics<\/em> (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1891), 261-342.<\/p>\n

Skidmore, Thomas, Modern Latin America<\/em> (New York: Oxford UP, 2005).<\/p>\n

\n

Valez, Wanda. <\/em>\u00a0\u201c<\/em>South American Immigration: Argentina.\u201d The Autobiographical Mode in Latin American Literature Vol 1 <\/em>(1990). Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Web. < http:\/\/www.yale.edu\/ynhti\/curriculum\/units\/1990\/1\/90.01.06.x.html<\/a>><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beneath the Facade of Wealth:\u00a0Buenos Aires in the 1890s: an Analysis of Theodore Child’s “The Spanish-American Republics” (1891) By Cameron Parsons Writing in 1890 for the New York-based Harper\u2019s Magazine, travel journalist Theodore Child ventured south of the equator to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"parent":789,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-619","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/619\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}