Chains of Gold: Portuguese Migration to Argentina in Transatlantic Perspective

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> Chains of Gold: Portuguese Migration to Argentina in Transatlantic Perspective

Chains of Gold: Portuguese Migration to Argentina in Transatlantic Perspective

Marcelo J. Borges, Dickinson College

Books

Available
Publication year: 2009


Series:	Studies in Global Social History, 2
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 17648 5
ISBN-10:	90 04 17648 9

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	xvi, 355 pp.

List price:	€ 99.00 / US$ 147.00

Table of contents

List of Illustrations
List of Maps, Tables and Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
1. Maria vai com as outras (Monkey See, Monkey Do) 1
Portuguese Migration in Argentina 4
Regional Flows and Local Networks 8
Spatial Distribution and Immigrant Communities 10
Approach 13
2. Migration in Context: Society, Economy, and Population in Rural Algarve 25
The Land and Its Uses 28
Rural Life and Migration in Two Algarvian Parishes 34
Population and Space 35
Economy 37
Social Groups 39
Domestic Groups 42
Migration as a Family Strategy 44
Demography and Emigration 48
Conclusion 52
3. Regional Patterns of Migration: A Systems Approach 75
Migration Systems 77
A Systems Approach to Algarvian Migrations 79
The Algarve and the Southern Iberia Migration System 81
Gibraltar 82
Southern Spain and Alentejo 86
Other Circuits of Medium-distance Migration 95
The Algarve and the Atlantic Migration System 98
Causes, Continuities, and Changes 99
Information and Perceptions 106
Transatlantic Destinations 110
Portuguese Africa: The Colonial Path 112
Fazer a América: Destination Selection 114
Conclusion 127
4. Chains of Gold: Migratory Networks in Two Portuguese Immigrant Communities 149
Oil Camps and Suburban Gardens: Portuguese Migrants in Two Contrasting Receiving Societies 150
Comodoro Rivadavia: The Making of an Oil Town 152
Villa Elisa: From Bourgeois Retreat to Family Gardening 155
The Dynamics of Chain Migration 158
Forging the Chains: Origins and Social Spaces 159
Phases: Pioneers, Migrant Workers, and Families 165
Comodoro Rivadavia 166
Villa Elisa 178
Os esquecidos: The Broken Links of Chain Migration 187
Chain Migration and Ethnic Middlemen 191
Conclusion 199
5. Making a Living and Making a Life: Economic and Social Adaptation 217
Making a Living 218
Black El Dorado: Working in Comodoro Rivadavia 219
Women and Work 231
Gigantic Gardens of Flowers: Working in Villa Elisa 237
A Family Affair: Generations and Gender 247
Social Networks and Occupational Chains 251
Making a Life: Marriage Patterns 260
Old and New Social Ties 266
Social and Ethnic Life 274
Conclusion 287
Bibliography and Sources 312
Index

Readership

Readers interested in social history and historical sociology; labor history; world and transnational history; migration, ethnic and diaspora studies; history of Latin America, southern Europe, and the Atlantic World.

About the author(s)

Marcelo J. Borges, Ph.D. (1997) in History, Rutgers University, is Associate Professor of History at Dickinson College. He has published extensively on migration history in the Americas and Europe.

Why did migrants from southern Portugal choose Argentina instead of following the traditional path to Brazil? Starting with this question, this book explores how, at the turn of the twentieth century, rural Europeans developed distinctive circuits of transatlantic labor migration linked to diverse immigrant communities in the Americas. It looks at transoceanic moves in the larger context of migration systems, examining their connections and the crucial role of social networks in migrants’ geographic mobility and adaptation. Combining regional and local perspectives on both sides of the Atlantic, Chains of Gold provides a vivid account of the trajectories of migrant men and women as they moved from rural Portugal to contrasting places of settlement in the Argentine pampas and Patagonia.

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