Spatial analysis of the population of the province of Corrientes (Argentina) in the first half of the 19th century. Application of SIGS in Postcolonial History

Abstract

The present article aims, firstly, to give an account of the potential of geographic information systems (GIS) for historical research. Second, it seeks to develop a spatial analysis of the population of the province of Corrientes (Argentina), appealing to the tools provided by GIS. Specifically, we propose to graphical visualize the impact of the civil war on the demographic of Corrientes, for which an intensive work with the Corrientes censuses of 1833 and 1841 is appealed. In this period, the different confrontations between the Rosista Confederation and the province of Corrientes provoked a sharp demographic decline in a short period of time. The graphic visualization of this historical process will allow us to observe how the demographic decline affected the territory of Corrientes unevenly, for example, some specific areas of the province suffered a greater impact as a result of the proximity to the battle areas or due to the immediate migratory effect.