Right after the Argentine Civil wars and the national unification by the end of the nineteenth century, there came a time of paramount economic growth at the beginning of the twentieth century. This historic moment is known as “Belle Epoque”. Such economic welfare was the result of the rise in the exportation of raw material, the influx of overseas capital and the massive arrival of European Immigrants that contributed with manual labour.
The exporting of agricultural raw material became the most important trading activity in the economic structure of the country, so much so that Argentina came to be known as “El granero del mundo” – or “Great barn of the world.” The exportation of raw material was in the hands of a few land-owning families that possessed great extensions of land. These families were part of the Argentine Oligarchy, which had amassed great economic and political power.
The Argentinian Oligarchy conformed with the lifestyle and fashion trends as well as agricultural style of the city of Paris. The capital influx resulting from the exportation of raw material funded the development of small palaces, which embellished the city. However, once out of such economic resources, the Argentinian
Oligarchy met financial ruin.
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