Defensive practices, conflicts and authorities in Buenos Aires frontier. The border command headquarters of Pergamino and Magdalena (1752-1780)

Abstract

This paper delves into the functioning of the Buenos Aires border from an analysis of various Comandancias de Fronteras, mainly those located in Pergamino and Magdalena (on the north and the south of the jurisdiction) emphasizing the articulated efforts between the regular military forces and militia forces to conduct defensive practice. The period examined (1752-1780) covers the years between the implementation of the Comandancias until the defensive reforms introduced by the viceroy Vértiz, that have upset some basic features of our object of study. We are interested in the forming process of this boundary, the practices that gave life to it, the social subjects that emerged in this process and the conflicts they were part of. We follow the path of some Major Sergeants of militias, in particular, Diego Trillo in Pergamino and Clemente López Osornio in Magdalena, as examples of a local authority based on the legitimacy provided by the exercise of the "defense".