Más allá de la cría extensiva: un estudio matizado sobre la geografía económica de Uruguay antes de la modernización

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to establish some questions about some economic and demographic characteristics of pre-industrial Latin America societies, specially the demographic and occupational structure of the South of Uruguay between 1760 and 1860 in the Río de la Plata context. We highlight in the first place the importance of the familiar labor force in different socioeconomic contexts of the region; in the second place, the size of the productive sectors in the occupational structure. From this, we can see a different economic geography from those which raised the image of Uruguay as a homogeneous territory: the regions are distinguished by the demographic and economic path and the society segmented in estancieros and gauchos is questioned. From population registers from Montevideo and surroundings we analyze the size and composition of the homes, the active population and the occupational structure.