Judges of peace, masons and conservatives on Buenos Airesïcountryside. An approximation to the personal links on the south of the Buenos Airesïprovince (Tres Arroyos, 1865-1910)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the way in which Justice of the Peace was implemented in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, between 1865 and 1910, through the study of the subjects who acted in such capacity and the political framework in which they took part. The work was carried out taking into account one particular Justice of the Peace Office, the one located at Tres Arroyos County. On the one hand, the profile of the subjects who acted as Justices of the Peace is reconstructed so as to understand the logics guiding the appointment thereof. For this, research work is done in order to reconstruct their biographies associated to the different terms of office and local institutionalization. Then, two grouping modes that served as a relational basis for local individuals and that allowed to complete the explanation developed from individual biographies are identified: an initiation ritual-type network, as it was the case of masonry, and a local conservatism network, managed by local and powerful ranch and farm owners. Finally, it is observed if these networks had an influence on local justice administration. The sources used are several local commemorative albums, census data, local newspapers, criminal records brought before the Justice of the Peace in Tres Arroyos, the Copybook of the Justice of the Peace Office, and the Book of Records of Tres Arroyos Hiram Lodge.