Early 20th century Swedish migration to Argentina. Preliminary results on how settlement and dispossession became entangled – a talk by Anne Gustavsson and Jenny Ingridsotter
Monday, February 9, 2026 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
- In-person event
- 2420R, Richcraft Hall, Carleton University
- 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6
- Cost: Free
- Contact
- Migration and Diaspora Studies, MDS@carleton.ca, 613-520-3858
This presentation will explore the results of a study on Nordic migration and its relation to settler colonialism in Latin America. The project investigates the histories of Nordic migrants who, in the early 20th century, settled in the border regions between Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia as part of settler colonial processes involving the dispossession of Indigenous land.
The presentation will focus especially on migrants who settled in different parts of northern Argentina. The first case is that of Swedish migrants mainly travelling in families who became small scale farmers in Misiones, bordering Brazil. The second case is that of Swedish male migrants who travelled alone and settled as cattle ranchers in Chaco, bordering Bolivia. The presentation examines Swedish migrants’ settlement in terms of subjective experiences, structural factors and boundary making with other social groups. The empiric material comes from both public and private archives and collections located in Sweden and in Argentina which contain all types of documents related to the Swedish migration and settlement in the regions studied; manuscripts, maps, recorded interviews, correspondence, newspaper articles, photographs and diaries.