Neglected narratives: the absence of Ottoman migration in Argentine historiography

Abstract

During the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, Argentina underwent a period of swift economic expansion and advancement, leading to the emergence of a robust need for both skilled and unskilled workforce. Simultaneously, considerable numbers of people left the Ottoman Empire due to political unrest, financial struggles, and discrimination based on ethnicity and religion. While a multitude of migrants made their way to Argentina from diverse regions globally, the specific encounters and journeys of those originating from the Ottoman Empire have frequently been neglected in the historical accounts of Argentina. Intending to respond to this issue, the study sought to examine the diverse and fragmented communities that were formed through Ottoman migration, analyzing how these communities dealt with the preservation of their cultural roots while also facing the challenges of assimilating into Argentine society. Ottoman migrants, such as Armenians, Syrians, and Lebanese, stood out from European immigrants because of the evident differences in their ethnicity, religion, and language. The wide range of differences among Ottoman migrants resulted in the formation of separate and frequently secluded societies, causing the overall journey of these individuals to be challenging to identify as a cohesive historical occurrence.