Borders on Paper, Borders on the Ground: Boundary Commissions Under the Treaty of Madrid and Their Role in the Reinvention of the Rio de la Plata Frontier (1752–1759)

Abstract

In this chapter, we will address the demarcation practices of the boundary commissions that, after the agreements reached under the Treaty of Madrid (1750), attempted to define on the ground the diplomatic decisions aimed at defining a distinct intercolonial border in the Rio de la Plata region. On the basis of the idea of associations by Bruno Latour, which assumes a principle of symmetry between materials and the heterogeneity of human and non-human properties, we explored the agency of hydrography and local societies in boundary demarcation. These agencies redefined not only the spatio-temporality of boundary commissions, but also the selection of their routes. Cartography, through inscription and translation operations, offers elements to identify these agencies and the different tiers of signification that challenged desk decisions. The controversy regarding the definition of the heads of the Ibicuy river proves, from our perspective, the creative nature of border reinvention.