FREEDOM?
WHAT IS
ARGENTINA
People were often taken from Africa and sold as slaves to counties throughout North and South America. Above is a map showing the movement of enslaved people during the Atlantic Slave Trade in.
Slave Trade in Argentina
In 1587, the first slaves were brought to Buenos Aires, Argentina from Brazil. The slave trade was the biggest, and most profitable, commercial activity in the area. In fact, African slaves made up 70% of Buenos Aires' imports. These slaves were imported from Brazil and several countries in Africa.
1500s
Freedom (n):The ability to be free and not be owned by another human being.
Page created/written by Henry Baddley
December 13, 2017
Abolition of Slavery
1800s
In 1810, Buenos Aires initiated a series of wars that would eventually spread through Latin America and lead to their independence. However, Argentina's victoriously earned freedom would not have been possible without the help of the slaves. The slaves' participation in battle was so crucial to the victory that the Free Womb Act, which "freed" all of the children that were born to slave mothers after the war, was put into action in 1813. The first Constitution of Argentina-written in 1853- abolished slavery in all regions that were part of the confederation. At the time, this excluded Buenos Aires, for it was not yet part of the confederation. Once Buenos Aires joined in 1861, slavery was completely abolished throughout the country.
Painting of the War of Independence in Argentina.
Today
"There are many cases of girls 13 or 14 years old who are forced to work as prostitutes," says Julio Benjamin Fernández, the head of the human trafficking division in the police department in Tucumán, Argentina.
Freedom (n):The ability to have the same freedoms as every other human and have the same rights.
In present day, human and drug trafficking have become a big deal in Argentina. A lot of young women are being kidnapped and forced into prostitution and sold to different areas of the world. Many of young women and girls are often found in different regions or countries because they are given false documentation so they can cross over to continue the expansion of human tracking. Even though slavery was abolished in 1853, humans--today--are still being sold, traded, and forced into prostitution under the radar. This continues to be a problem, not only in Argentina but in countries across around the world.