Never forget, Argentina 🇦🇷 systematically erased black people from its history. They won’t teach you in school that black people were eradicated in Argentina 🇦🇷 The Practice of slavery was abolished in Argentina in the year 1853. Although, in 1813, the freedom of newborn slaves and all enslaved people who set foot on Argentine soil was decreed, the abolition of slavery was only declared in the Argentine Constitution of 1853 and was implemented in the province of Buenos Aires after 1861. However, this did not change the fortunes of the Afro-Argentines, as it only brought further suffering to them. Argentina's leaders, who were mostly Spanish businessmen, stressed the importance of modernizing Argentina and citing Europe as the birthplace of civilization and progress. Their thoughts were akin to those held by other predominantly white European nations during that era, who believed that anything pertaining to white signified advancement, whereas anything pertaining to dark skin was considered retrogression. The Spanish colonists believed that Argentina would have to physically, mentally and culturally destroy its Black population to join the ranks of other advanced nations like Germany, France, and England. The Spanish colonists decided to implement severe economic policies and practices that would result in the disadvantage or loss of predominantly black afro-argentines men. When Argentina was confronted with the prospect of becoming involved in the most bloody interstate conflict in Latin American history, commonly referred to as the Paraguayan war of the triple alliance, a significant number of afro-argentines were dispatched to fight. Unfortunately, thousands of Afro-Argentines died in this war because most of them had very little military training. Other severe circumstances imposed by the Spanish colonists on the afro-argentines included systemic controlled poverty, unfavourable government policies aimed at marginalizing them, elevated infant mortality rates, and a limited number of married couples within their ethnic group. Due to the discriminatory treatment they were subjected to, a significant number of Afro-Argentines were forced to flee their homeland and relocate to Uruguay.  Those who remained in Argentina were faced with the challenge of battling the cholera epidemics in 1861 and 1864, as well as the yellow fever epidemic in 1871, in what many refer to as a biological weapon to eradicate the afro-argentines population. These tragic events resulted in a substantial decline and a significant exodus of Afro-Argentinians from Argentina to other parts of South America, or, regrettably, to their demise. The barbaric act was not limited to Argentina, but also included its neighbouring countries. Particularly, Brazil, Cuba, Columbia, and other Latin American nations attempted to eradicate or marginalize their black population and usher in a steady stream of European immigrants. The uniqueness of Argentina's story is due to its success in establishing and rebranding its image as a predominantly white country. When the Spanish-controlled Argentine government realized that the country was experiencing a significant decline in population due to its expulsion of the Afro-Argentine population, they devised a plan to open its borders to anyone of European descent living abroad. The goal was to attract other white people from other parts of the world to live and work in Argentina with additional incentives. One of the strongest incentives was the promise of citizenship and social assistance benefits. Juan Bautista Alberdi, an Argentine political theorist and diplomat, who was probably best known for his saying “to govern is to populate,” played a big role in encouraging White European immigration to Argentina in the 1850s. Alberdi's concepts were enthusiastically embraced by the then-president of Argentina, Justo José de Urquiza, who incorporated them into the first constitution of the nation. this amendment resulted in influx of white settlers from Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and Belgium.