The author of this study of the Argentine frontier (originally published in 1878), Estanislao Zeballos, was an ardent supporter of frontier conquest and settlement. Thus, as historian Raúl J. Mandrini writes in the introduction to this edition, La conquista de quince mil leguas is not so much a history as it is a policy recommendation to illustrate Zeballos’s plans for what the newly formed Argentine state needed to do about its frontier region. The organization of the book further solidifies Zeballos’s agenda. The 11 chapters are loosely divided into two sections, plus a bibliography. In the first, Zeballos lays down the foundation for what will become the “new” frontier south of the Río Negro. The second section discusses the new frontier, the Indians, and river navigation for military purposes. The final chapter forms the crux of Zeballos’s argument, and it is here where he details his own observations and ideas...
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