British investment in Argentina

Foreign direct investment by Great Britain into Argentina was attempted, initially with little success, from the early years after Argentina's independence in the 1820s. However, it grew to large proportions in the second half of the 19th century and remained so up to the Second World War, in association with greater political stability and favourable policies in Argentina. British ownership of large parts of Argentina's industry and railway system, and British control of the financial capital that backed Argentina's growing prosperity at that time, resulted in a strong relationship between the two countries, which is viewed by some as having contained elements of imperialism.

Starting with Juan Perón in the 1940s until the 1970s, a series of presidents pursued policies of nationalization and import substitution industrialization, involving domestic ownership of industry and reduced dependence on foreign capital.

First signs of British Economic ties with Argentina (early 1800s)

Before the British had begun investing in Argentina, they had attempted to take military control of the Rio de Plata region while Argentina was still under Spanish rule.^[1] In 1806, British forces were able to gain control of the trading port at Buenos Aires for 45 days, during which $1 million pounds worth of cargo was imported into the city.^[2] In 1807 the British moved forward with a secondary attack which involved many more boots on the ground.^[2] While the military campaign was a failure, the result was that the population of British people in society had drastically increased.^[2] The British population in Argentina around this time during the early to mid 1800s was known for being very involved in Argentinian society, joining many social groups and forming their own business establishments.^[2] As a result of the large British population at this time, as well as the British presence in the business community, British investment from overseas increased.^[2] This is reflected in the statistic that by 1808, Buenos Aires was importing $1.3 million pounds of British goods.^[2]

Violence:

The impact of this drastic increase in British imports during the early to mid 1800s meant that local artisans lost business, and the conflict caused by the shift in depending on local artisans and infrastructure for goods to depending on Britain was one of the causes of the violent civil war conflict that took place after Independence from Spain in 1816.^[3] Additionally, Caudillo owned industries in the federal states or provinces were handed over to British companies by the government in Buenos Aires.^[3] One notable case is that of the Famatina gold mines and the violence that followed.^[4]

Cultural Impact:

The increase in imports and investment from Britain also had an impact on Argentinian culture, and led to overall more European influence on the culture than there would have been if Buenos Aires had not had such a strong trading relationship with England.^[5]  

One aspect in which British culture clearly overtook the existing colonial Spanish culture in Argentina was in regards to dish ware.^[6] In the wake of Argentinian Independence from Spain, owning or using goods (most notably dish ware) that were of Spanish design was seen as non patriotic, and using imported British made goods (which were plentiful due to the recent spike in British imports) became a way of expressing anti-Spanish sentiment and Argentinian nationalism.^[6] British dish ware designs with blue and white in particular were common.^[6]