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in 1880. This area he conquered for Argentina was then turned into ranches to breed cattle and sheep and even grow wheat and corn. Gauchos, or cowboys from the pampas, attended these ranches. These ranchers were soon replaced by farm laborers called “Peones.” Argentina took this new opportunity in agriculture to be able to create an economy for the country.
Since these lands were split into regions, only the wealthy could afford them and they controlled the rural economy in Argentina for the last half of the 19th century. This control of land formed an oligarchy. Once this was recognized as a problem it took several to remove this oligarchy and to separate the ownership of land in Argentina. The complete disassemblement of the oligarchy finished in 1916, which started the beginning of the modernization of Argentina.