Since the mid-nineteenth century, Latin America has been a receiving territory for migrants from the Middle East, especially from the territories that currently comprise Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, a topic that has been addressed in depth by numerous academics.Footnote 1 However, the arrival of Persian citizens to the region during the same period is a subject still unexplored. Among the main reasons are the scarce presence of people from this nationality at present, the almost nonexistence of Latin American researchers interested in the history of Persia in the first half of the twentieth century, and the difficulties finding primary sources that allow study.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Persian emigration to Latin America was carried out by people of different faiths, including Christians, Jews, and Muslims.Footnote 2Although relatively little known, Armenian and Assyrian Christians constituted the largest groups—mirroring the experience of migrants from the Ottoman Empire and its former provinces in the aftermath of the World War I.Footnote 3 As for other faiths coming from Iran, it can be said that their number was few. The amount of Jews from Persia was negligible in comparison to those who immigrated to Latin America from Europe and North Africa, who made up the bulk of the community. The few cases that existed were concentrated in Mexico and Argentina.Footnote 4 Nor did Iranian Muslims arrive in any significant numbers (the few who did remained largely invisible, perhaps owing to the negative connotations associated with Islam in a region so strongly shaped by Catholicism).Footnote 5
At the time of their arrival and during their installation, the Syro-Chaldeans who emigrated to Argentina made use of their links with the missionaries of the Congregation of the Mission, who were established both in northwestern PersiaFootnote 6 and in the South American country. A similar scenario occurred in the United States, where the first PersiansFootnote 7 to arrive at this same stage were the Assyrians, possibly supported by the American evangelical missionaries who had been present in northwestern Iran since the mid-nineteenth century. At the beginning of the second decade of the twentieth century, the largest Assyrian community was in Chicago and consisted of about a thousand people. In the following decade, the number tripled, and some moved to the San Joaquin Valley in California, mainly to the town of Turlock, because its climatic characteristics were similar to those existing in their homeland.Footnote 8
Although Persia declared itself neutral during World War I, different parts of its territory became a zone of hostilities in which Allied troops, such as the Russians and the British, faced the Central Powers, mainly Turks, and some German military advisers.Footnote 9 Due to his young age, Shah Ahmad (r. 1910–25) was a weak monarch exposed to manipulation by foreign powers and several of his advisers, and he was not able to handle the situation skillfully. When the armistice was signed at the end of 1918, and as communications improved, Armenian and Assyrian refugees from the former Ottoman Empire and northern Persia began to look for new destinations where they could feel safe, because the prevailing political instability in their ancestral territories made their return to their home countries dangerous.Footnote 10
The most affected area of Persia during the military campaigns between December 1914 and April 1915, and from the end of December 1917 to November 1918, was the province of Azerbaijan, in the northwest of the country. This territory was a melting pot of ethnic groups, where Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Persians, Azeris, and Turks coexisted, and where numerous religious communities mixed, such as Sunnis, Shiʿa, Catholics, evangelicals, and the faithful of different Orthodox churches. Initially the Russians, and later the British and French, mobilized groups of Assyrians and Armenians in their favor, and the Turks did the same with Persians, Kurds, and Azeris. Likewise, German agents, such as Wilhelm Wassmuss (the German Laurence of Arabia), tried to incite the Qashqai tribe against the British troops that were established in that area, in addition to sabotaging oil pipelines.Footnote 11 During the war, most of the Christian communities established in the territories bordering Turkey practically disappeared, and several missionaries of the order of the Congregation of the Mission also were killed. During the Ottoman occupation of this area in the second half of 1918, Spain protected Christians—both Assyrians and Armenians—by appointing certain priests as consuls through its legation in Tehran. After the war, they continued to help this population due to the still present political instability, and also because of the famines and epidemics that ravaged the country throughout its territory and decimated its population. According to historians, these circumstances resulted in the deaths of eight to ten million people.Footnote 12
The first places Christian refugees arrived when fleeing the atrocities committed by the Ottoman army were the unoccupied areas of Persia, the Caucasus, and later southern Mesopotamia and Syria. In short time, a fairly large nucleus of the population residing in these same territories chose to seek new horizons on other continents, including those who lived in the newly created Armenian Democratic Republic. This occurred mainly after the annexation of Armenia by the Soviet Union at the end of 1920 due to its disagreement with the communist regime, but also because of proximity to Turkey, due to the fear that the violence of the genocide would be repeated. Migration from this area to countries in the Mediterranean basin (France, Greece, and Italy) and Eastern Europe (Romania and Bulgaria) continued, but also to more distant destinations, such as Germany or the United Kingdom, or even America and Oceania. The United States became the priority destination on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, but refugees also arrived in relatively significant numbers in Argentina, and to a lesser extent in Brazil, Uruguay, and Mexico, as well as other Latin American countries, especially given the restrictions that Washington began to impose through the quota system. The immediate consequence of the exodus was a great dispersion of exiled communities on a planetary scale.
Several organizations took charge of providing aid to Christians during the Armenian Genocide, among which the Armenian General Benevolent Union, founded in 1906, and the American Committee for the Relief of Armenians and Assyrians, established in 1915,Footnote 13 stand out. Likewise, several congregations and ecclesiastical organizations played a decisive role. From the end of the war onward, the Armenian diaspora—particularly in the United States and France—intensified its demands for Armenia to be recognized as an independent state with the greatest possible territorial extent.Footnote 14 This request was taken up by the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920. However, due to the territorial ambitions of Ankara and Moscow, its existence was short-lived.
In 1921, the League of Nations created the High Commissioner for Refugees, which was replaced in 1930 by the Nansen International Bureau for Refugees,Footnote 15 which in turn remained active until 1939. Both entities were responsible for rescuing Armenians who had been left stranded in the Syrian desert at the end of World War I, especially women and children in the hands of Arabs, Kurds, and Turks, to organize their resettlement in safe areas, mostly in Syria and Lebanon, but also in other Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Egypt.Footnote 16
Among all Latin American countries, Argentina received the largest number of Armenians and Assyrians. Of these groups, the Armenians were the ones who were best organized as cultural communities, although they were not always linked to the authorities of their original countries. This was primarily because of negative associations with these states during the genocide (particularly Turkey), although Iran was an exception. This was evident decades later on the occasion of the visit of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to Argentina in May 1965, an event that was covered in detail by the national journals. In fact, the newspaper La Prensa dedicated a note to the Iranian community in Buenos Aires, stating:
There are more Iranian residents in the country than is commonly believed. It should be noted that around two hundred people of that nationality live in the capital alone, although due to their ethnic origin and religious confession they also are related to other communities, such as the Armenian and the Jewish. It was evident, however, yesterday, that all equally, without distinction of any kind, have a strong sentimental link with the Iranian land from which they come and that they profess a fervent loyalty to the reigning couple. Iranians residing in Argentina were born, in some cases, outside Iran, for example, in Yugoslavia, Romania or France, where there have always been strong collectivities of that origin. But because in Europe jus sanguinis is generally in force, they were considered to be of Iranian nationality there and that is how they also felt. Their passports, however, are Iranian.Footnote 17
According to the information provided by La Prensa, the important representation of non-Muslim Iranians in the community residing in the capital is observed, and, in addition, the diversity of their origin is noted, as most of them were Armenians who had initially emigrated to Europe due to the instability that devastated the region until 1923. In the interviews carried out by journalists, it is clear that they were elderly people who had arrived several decades ago. As confirmation of the significant number of Armenians who attended the reception, Binayán Carmona points out:
A curious anecdote occurred when Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi visited Argentina in the time of Illia, and received the “community” at the embassy. He was puzzled because they were all Armenian, yet only one person spoke Farsi—this was Mrs. Tamará Movsesián (her married name). Then, with a hint of irony, he commented: “It seems that I was mistaken. The King of Armenia would have had to come instead of me.”Footnote 18
The Armenian community residing in Buenos Aires followed the visit of the Persian royal couple with interest. The journal Diario Armenio published several articles on the occasion of the shah’s arrival and on the situation of Armenians in Iran. The first articles, published on May 8, 1965, underscored the fact that it was a congregation comprising approximately 130,000 individuals who were cherished and esteemed, and that it was endowed with a plethora of liberties. The note continued with the following words: “We are sure that the affection and attention towards the Armenians will last forever. It is with these hopes that we greet the Iranian royal couple and send them our warmest welcome.”Footnote 19 The gratitude to Iran on the part of the Armenian community was made public a few days later with the following statement: “The Armenian nation will never forget that its neighbor and friend, Iran, never abandoned it. Armenians found a fraternal welcome in Persia, as well as in Arab countries, Greece, and Georgia.”Footnote 20 This was the only official statement made by a group regarding the visit of the Persian monarch.
The present study aims to assess the relationship between the mass exodus of Christians from Persia and the Hispanic world, thereby expanding the analysis of Iranian migrations during the early twentieth century. To this end, it integrates a more comprehensive examination of the role of receiving states and intermediary actors. Furthermore, the case study incorporates the communities of Iranian Christians in Argentina with other geographical locations to which Iranians have migrated during this period. More specifically, it focuses on the connection between Spanish humanitarian action during the Turkish occupation of northwestern Persia in 1918 and the arrival and settlement of Assyrians and Armenians in Argentina during the first half of the twentieth century. To analyze the links and their presence in this region, the article first provides an overview of the history of Armenian migration from Persia to Spanish America. Second, it details Spain’s role in protecting Armenians and Assyrians during the Ottoman occupation of the province of Azerbaijan. Third, it addresses the phenomenon of the diaspora, especially in the Middle East, and, in turn, how it was addressed by the League of Nations. Fourth, it presents the main characteristics of Armenian and Assyrian migration to Latin America. Finally, it quantifies and illustrates the particularities of Persian Armenians and Assyrians in Argentina.
This study reveals that Spanish diplomatic representatives in Persia played a pivotal role in defending Christian communities during the Turkish advance of mid-1918. Additionally, it shows that the majority of Iranians who immigrated to Latin America were Christian and primarily settled in Argentina. These Christians primarily came from the cities in the northwest of Iran, which were most affected by the massacres committed by Ottoman troops or allied militias in the years immediately after the end of World War I. In the following decades, they also would leave other regions of Iran.
To carry out this research, numerous unpublished primary sources have been consulted. These materials are preserved in different archives, newspaper collections, and specialized libraries of several of the countries visited during the research process. A comprehensive bibliography also has been analyzed.
Early Migration Background
Since the seventeenth century, there have been references to the arrival of Armenians in Spanish America, mostly from Persia, and more specifically from the Armenian quarter of Nueva Julfa in the city of Isfahan, capital of the empire during the Safavid dynasty. Those who arrived in New Spain did so both by the Atlantic and Pacific routes on the Manila galleon in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,Footnote 21 because during the Spanish colonial period an Armenian community originally from Isfahan resided in the Philippine city and was engaged in trade.Footnote 22 Those who arrived at the Río de la Plata did so by the Atlantic Ocean in frigates from the city of Cádiz, where, as in Seville, there was an Armenian community engaged in trade, mostly from the eastern Mediterranean and Persia.Footnote 23 Although there are no records of the arrival of the Syro-Chaldeans on the American continent about this time, it is known that a missionary of this community, named Ilyās ibn al-qissīs Ḥanna l-Mawsilī and probably born in Baghdad, made a journey through the viceroyalties of Peru and New Spain in the mid-seventeenth century, about which he published an interesting account.Footnote 24
After the emancipation of the American colonies, contacts were suspended until the end of the nineteenth century, when the first Persian emigrants began to arrive as part of the great migration to the Southern Cone of South America. Initially their numbers remained irrelevant when compared to those of other nationalities. On the occasion of the 1903 tour of the Persian ambassador to the United States, Isaac Khan, to several Latin American countries with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations, the press closely followed his diplomatic, social, and commercial activities.Footnote 25 The presence of Persian citizens was occasionally reported, which allows us to know that they were mainly settled in Yucatan and numbered around fifty people.Footnote 26 As soon as he arrived in Argentina, Isaac Khan held a meeting with several representatives of the community in a hotel in Buenos Aires.Footnote 27 Unlike the 1965 visit of the Iranian monarch when religion was central, creed was not mentioned in any of these cases.
The Hispanic World and the Armenian and Assyrian Genocides
During the war, no Latin American government undertook direct humanitarian initiatives; nonetheless, the press covered the massacres through European correspondents and through articles supplied by news agencies.Footnote 28 Moreover, communities of emigrants from the Middle East organized charitable societies to help their compatriots immersed in the war theater. Various mechanisms provided material and economic resources. These channels included both state and nongovernmental organizations, such as the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Footnote 29 which played a central role for three main reasons. First, it maintained a neutral position during the war. Second, it had an extensive diplomatic network in Latin America, including embassies and consulates. Third, it maintained good relations and close contact with the Ottoman Empire. During the conflict, Spain represented Turkish interests in numerous capitals around the world where Turkey did not have an embassy, especially in North America, South America, and even in Europe.
Because of the good harmony that prevailed between Madrid and Constantinople, the Spanish government maintained a discreet attitude toward the massacres being committed against Christian communities.Footnote 30 No public condemnations were made about the situation, however, the Spanish diplomatic representatives accredited by the Ottoman Empire and neighboring countries followed the events in detail, sending Madrid reports prepared by their various delegations.Footnote 31 From the Spanish Legation in Constantinople several petitions were sent to the Sublime PorteFootnote 32 in favor of certain personalities who had been arrested. During the war, Spain was one of the few neutral powers that kept its embassy open in the Turkish capital. Given its relations with the Allied powers, on more than a few occasions, at the request of their governments, Spain acted in support of the Christian communities, mostly Armenians and Greek Orthodox, because of its connections to the respective authorities. Situated in the far eastern part of the Ottoman Empire and characterized by a rural, seminomadic lifestyle, the Assyrians had a limited presence, yet they played a key role on the Mesopotamian and Caucasus fronts in cooperation with British forces. One exception, in 1917, was a request made by the Assyrian League (Alymiat Assuriat) in Argentina to send aid to their compatriots through Spanish diplomatic channels, which was answered positively.Footnote 33
During the final months of World War I, Spanish diplomats played an active and decisive role in protecting Christians from massacres perpetrated by Turkish troops in northwestern Persia. The Ottoman army advanced across the border, taking control of the province of Azerbaijan to gain access to the oil wells of Baku.Footnote 34 Given the rapid execution of the offensive, the Allied powers were compelled to retreat in a disorderly fashion toward Tehran and other less threatened cities. Along with them were large groups of refugees, mostly Assyrians and Armenians, religious missionaries, and foreign officials working for the Persian state.Footnote 35 Even so, a significant number of Assyrians and Armenians, along with several priests of the Congregation of the Mission, remained in the occupied area. The representatives of France, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States asked José Romero Dusmet,Footnote 36 Spain’s envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary minister in Persia, to take care of their properties and protect the Christian communities. The consuls of the Allied powers informed the priest Pierre Franssen,Footnote 37 a member of the Congregation of the Mission, of their intention to appoint him as consul of Spain shortly before departing from the city of Tabriz. Given its status as a Catholic nation, Spain was well positioned to collaborate with the Vincentian missionaries. In contrast, France, the historical protector of Catholics in the Middle East, was unable to participate due to its engagement in the conflict. In addition, at that time Spain was the only neutral country in the conflict that had a representative in Tehran. In light of the pressing nature of the matter, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs swiftly assumed the responsibility entrusted to it. However, the details of its actions and the steps taken remained undisclosed, with no coverage in the Spanish press.
From the time of his appointment until the war’s conclusion, Franssen, in his capacity as consul of Spain, was tasked with resolving numerous contentious issues. These ranged from the administration of properties owned by the English, French, Russian, and American governments in Tabriz and its environs to the defense of the region’s Christian communities.Footnote 38 Initially, many of his efforts were in vain, as the Turkish military authorities refused to recognize his diplomatic post.Footnote 39 To prevent the occupation and looting of these buildings, Spanish flags were placed, but were not always respected.Footnote 40 Therefore, Romero Dusmet traveled to Tabriz in September 1918, navigating the war front, to meet with Turkish authorities.Footnote 41 After spending approximately two weeks in the city, he succeeded in securing Franssen’s formal recognition as a representative of Spain, thereby ensuring that he was accorded the respect that his position warranted. After resolving several matters of the properties of the Allied powers, Romero Dusmet undertook the return trip to Tehran in the company of the priest Antoine Clarys, Franssen’s companion of the order. The Spanish representative brought with him recent news of the situation in the occupied area of Persia, of which no information had reached Tehran. The news included the assassination of the apostolic delegate in Iran —also archbishop of Isfahan— of French nationality, Jacques-Émile Sontag,Footnote 42 and of three other missionaries, all of them members of the Congregation of the Mission. The crime against Sontag had been perpetrated during a massacre committed against the Christians of Urmia on July 31, 1918, which had led to numerous fatalities.Footnote 43
To protect the most destitute and remote population of Tabriz, Romero Dusmet, on Franssen’s recommendation, appointed a vice-consul of Spain in the cities of Salmas and Khoy. The person assigned was an Armenian Catholic priest named Stepan Sarkissian,Footnote 44 who settled in that area. Similarly, at the conclusion of 1918, Clarys was designated as vice-consul of Spain in Urmia, per Franssen’s recommendation and Romero Dusmet’s decision.Footnote 45 However, Clarys could not effectively assume the position due to the impossibility of traveling to this city because of the ongoing danger; he was forced to wait until after the armistice.
In early 1919, during the Paris Peace Conference, the Spanish consul in Tabriz, Pierre Franssen, along with representatives from the Nestorian community (Jacob David) and the Armenian community (Archbishop Nerses Melik Tanguian) sent a telegram to Boghos Nubar Pacha, the president of the Armenian National Delegation in Paris, regarding consequences of the war. The document also requested that he forward it to representatives of the Allied powers as negotiations were beginning. The message included the following paragraph:
Armenians and Assyrians of Salmas and Urmia of the province of Azerbaijan, Persian Empire, beg you to demand compensation from the Turks at the Peace Conference for the losses caused by the Turkish invasion of the neutral Persian territory, plundering and ruining 6,000 Assyrian houses and 3,000 Armenian houses, expelling the entire population from their own homes and forcing them to flee to Hamadan, Kermanshah, Baghdad, [and] massacring and destroying a third of the entire population.Footnote 46
In response to the petition, Boghos Nubar Pacha expressed his firm support for the initiative and committed to advocating for it during the upcoming peace conference.Footnote 47
In mid-1919, Father Clarys was able to travel to Urmia with other officials. However, at the time Madrid was about to end its representation in the country. As a result, the missionary obtained the new accreditation of consul from the French Legation. The delegation was led by Gordon Paddock, the US consul in Tabriz, and included Jacob David, the Nestorian representative. However, their stay in the city did not proceed as planned. One month after his arrival, a new outbreak of violence occurred, resulting in a massacre against the few hundred Christians who had survived thus far. Paddock and Clarys evaded the attack thanks to the governor’s prompt response.Footnote 48 The violence was mainly due to the increase in tension between Muslims and Christians over the way food was being distributed, as well as the concern of the local population that had participated in the massacres of the previous year (which had killed several missionaries) about the investigations being carried out by Paddock and Clarys. Stepan Sarkissian, the vice-consul of Spain in Salmas, a town near Urmia, was the first to notify the diplomatic corps in Tabriz of this episode.Footnote 49 After a month of captivity in Urmia, and facing several complications, Paddock, Clarys, and the remaining Assyrians successfully departed for Tabriz.Footnote 50 From that moment, slowly and progressively, stability was established in the area. With the closure of the Spanish Legation in Tehran at the end of July 1919, its humanitarian work came to an end. In addition, with the cessation of hostilities on Persian territory by Turkish troops, France, Great Britain, and the United States regained their presence in the area, and their diplomats resumed their daily activities.
After that, the violence unleashed during the Turkish War of Independence (1919–23) was monitored mainly by the consulates and the Spanish Embassy in the interior of the country. In those years, specific measures were implemented in support of several Armenians who had been subjected to arrests and deportations. Following the final defeat of the Greek army in September 1922, the Catholic patriarch of the Armenian community in Turkey requested that the Spanish representative in Constantinople appoint King Alfonso XIII as a mediator with Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. The objective of this request was to persuade these countries to accept the arrival of approximately 6,000 Armenians who were facing expulsion by the nationalist troops of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Similarly, it was proposed that Spanish ships transport the Armenians to the Iberian Peninsula. There, they would be collected by ships from the receiving countries. However, this plan was never put into action.Footnote 51
Diaspora of the Christians of Persia
During the first invasion of northwestern Persia in 1915, around 64,000 people fled the region by crossing the Russian border to seek refuge in the Caucasus, preferably in Georgian lands, far from the battlefields.Footnote 52 This group was comprised of individuals belonging to either the Persian or Ottoman Christian communities, who had been compelled to leave their places of origin during the initial waves of persecution and had subsequently arrived as refugees in the Persian territory.Footnote 53 Some relocated to other regions of the country that were not affected by the Turkish invasion. With the withdrawal of Turkish troops in the face of the Russian advance, the province of Azerbaijan regained some stability and several Christians decided to return to their homes.Footnote 54 However, as the Turks initiated a second offensive at the end of 1917 and occupied the entire area until November 1918, the massacres escalated significantly. This was because the brutal violence spread to parts of the territory untouched in 1915, where many refugees still remained. In light of the withdrawal of Russian forces due to the Bolshevik Revolution, Christians decided to take up arms with the support of France and Britain. This decision was made so they could remain in their territory rather than enter the territory controlled by the Bolsheviks. As the situation deteriorated with the violent entry of Ottoman troops, the fastest escape route, which was north of the Caucasus Mountains, was no longer available because it had been blocked by enemy forces.Footnote 55 At this point in time, British troops had made significant progress northward in the Mesopotamian campaign, having overcome the Ottoman army in several battles. Consequently, it became advantageous for the Christians to seek their protection. This prompted the Ottoman and British forces to sign an agreement in July 1918 to cease hostilities against the refugees. As a result, the Christians mostly went south, where they would be received in the Baqubah camp,Footnote 56 a safe place created to receive the Christian communities of the central-eastern Ottoman Empire and northwestern Persia.
Due to lack of means and food, as well as the poor physical condition of the refugees due to the great famine that had ravaged this area of Iran, it was estimated that around twenty thousand of the fifty thousand who fled died during the twenty-five-day journey on foot. More than five thousand would perish in the following months from various diseases after their arrival in Baqubah. The camp housed up to fifty thousand people, and it was estimated that one-third came from Persia.Footnote 57 In 1920, the site was closed by the British authorities and refugees were scattered throughout the area. A tiny fraction chose to return to their places of origin in the Hakkari Mountains, but fearing that further violence might erupt most stayed in the area and others tried to head to other destinations. Iraq gained its independence from the United Kingdom in October 1932, and just a year later the Simele massacre took place, in which between six hundred and three thousand Assyrians were killed by the troops of the new country, with the intention of restricting their desire for freedom.Footnote 58
For this reason, and given the prevailing tension, the Iraqi delegate asked the League of Nations to find a new destination for the Assyrians who wanted to leave the country, whose number ranged between ten and twenty thousand people. The Committee for the Settlement of Assyrians in Iraq was created to find a new location where they would feel safe and no longer be exposed to new barbarities.Footnote 59 This body was led by a council composed of delegates from six countries that were part of the League of Nations, which rotated until 1938, the year its mission was terminated.Footnote 60 One of the six representatives also acted as president of the body. Between 1934 and 1936, this post was occupied by the Spanish ambassador in Bern, Julio López Oliván,Footnote 61 who made a great effort to obtain a place in the world for the Assyrians.
Between 1932 and 1938, the years in which the committee was operating, several destinations were considered, including Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Australia, France, Brazil, and Argentina.Footnote 62 In Latin America, by the end of 1927, it was estimated that a considerable number of Assyrian refugees had arrived independently: 150 in Cuba, 200 in Mexico, 200 in Argentina, and approximately 1,300 elsewhere, though their specific origins were not distinguished.Footnote 63 Shortly thereafter, the Nansen International Bureau for Refugees concluded that the region had the potential to accommodate an even larger contingent.
The first official request was presented to the Brazilian government, given that the country had good climatic conditions and had an already settled small Assyrian community.Footnote 64 In 1934, Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas demonstrated an overt and favorable stance on the issue, thereby engendering widespread anticipation. However, within a brief period, a pronounced social backlash emerged, prompting the government to reconsider its position.Footnote 65 The governments of Ecuador and Mexico were approached with a similar request, but both countries declined, citing economic factors as the primary reason.Footnote 66 On January 17, 1935, the League of Nations formally requested the Argentine government of President Agustín Pedro Justo to consider hosting the Assyrians, due to its favorable climatic conditions.Footnote 67 Nine days later, the Argentine representative, Enrique Ruiz Guiñazú, issued a negative response, with the following message:
This Legation has already on two occasions conveyed the views of its Government in response to similar requests, and on the present occasion I have received special instructions to transmit to the Chairman of the Committee a like reply, to the effect that my Government deeply regrets that it cannot accede to this request. Owing to the world crisis, the Argentine Republic introduced, some years ago, measures which amounted in practice to a restriction of the general immigration that took place regularly into our country.Footnote 68
Because no Latin American country was in the mood to accept Iraq’s Assyrians within its national borders, European powers began to consider the possibility of their own colonies. London offered a space in British Guiana, a proposal that was finally rejected, because it did not have the minimum conditions necessary for easy adaptation, and also had poor climatic conditions.Footnote 69 France, for its part, pointed out that they could initially settle in the Gharb area, in northwestern Syria, but for reasons of space, it was finally decided that they would settle in the Khabur valley, in the northeastern part.Footnote 70 Therefore, by the end of 1937, about nine thousand Assyrians coming originally from Iraq and Iran had settled in that region.Footnote 71
Armenian and Assyrian Diaspora in Latin America
At the onset of World War I, Armenians were virtually absent from Latin America, with only a few exceptions, such as Brazil and Argentina, where small settlements had been established. Too much time had passed since the arrival of Armenian merchants from Isfahan in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. With the emancipation of the American territories in the second decade of the nineteenth century,Footnote 72 trade from Spanish ports was interrupted, including Seville and Cádiz on the Iberian Peninsula and Manila in the Philippines, cities in which Armenian communities had been established. With the economic decline that began at this time, these groups also were disappearing.
After the end of World War I, Latin America began to be conceived as just another destination where one could settle and feel safe, although in many cases it was seen as a bridge to enter the United States. This is how Cuba and Mexico received the first Armenian families. Current data indicate that approximately 350 Armenians arrived in Mexican harbors during the first half of the twentieth century.Footnote 73 For various reasons, particularly the quota system implemented by the Washington administration, numerous Armenians were unsuccessful on their initial attempts to gain entry to the United States. Consequently, they sought alternative options, leading them to Mexico.Footnote 74 The Armenians included several of Persian origin, as noted in a separate box of the National Registry of Foreigners of the Archivo General de la Nación, dedicated to those of this origin.Footnote 75 During these years Armenian emigrants also arrived in Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, and even Chile, although there are no publications indicating whether they were of Persian origin.Footnote 76 The issue of Assyrian emigration to these countries has not yet been investigated, although some handwritten testimonies and interviews can be found on social media and independent press.Footnote 77
In the case of Argentina, during the years prior to World War I Armenian emigration had already begun, which was well organized through institutions such as the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) of Argentina, founded in 1911, and the Armenian National Union (Unión Nacional Armenia; UNA), which in 1918 brought together all the organizations formed to respond to the needs caused by the genocide.Footnote 78 The president of the UNA, Edouard Hachikyan, maintained close contact with Boghos Nubar Pacha of the Armenian National Delegation in Paris, to coordinate the arrival in Europe of Armenian volunteers residing in Argentina who would join the Armenian security forces and to express his desire for the recognition of the independence of historic Armenia during the Paris Peace Conference.Footnote 79
At the time of the beginning of the war, their community ranged between two and three thousand people, mainly concentrated in Buenos Aires. According to Matiossian, “The restrictions of the United States and Canada, the difficulties in emigrating to Europe, the precariousness of life in Greece and Bulgaria and the political-economic instability of the Near East added up to thousands of refugees from the Catastrophe going to South America. Many entered Argentina as immigrants between 1922 and 1930.”Footnote 80
From the 1920s onward, Armenian associations and churches began to publish periodic publications with a small circulation on specific topics of interest to the community.Footnote 81 In April 1931, a group of refugee survivors of the genocide founded the first publication, the Diario Armenia, published entirely in the Armenian language especially for those who had not yet learned Spanish, to notify readers of events taking place in Argentina and to provide practical information for the group.Footnote 82
The arrival of Armenians lasted for several years, until after World War II. The new conflict that devastated Europe caused a significant number of Armenians to flee to America, taking advantage of already existing networks.
Christian Communities from Persia in Argentina
Armenians and Assyrians from northwestern Persia were not a prominent demographic in Argentina; however, they did achieve a certain degree of visibility within their respective communities. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Assyrian migrants had entered the country on their own from the towns of Khosrava, Karajalu, and Goegtapa, located in northwestern Persia.Footnote 83 They were greeted upon arrival in the port of Buenos Aires by the nuns of the Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul,Footnote 84 who were also present in northwestern Persia. During the first years, some of them sent their impressions of Argentina to the editorial board of the magazine Kukhva, published in Urmia.Footnote 85
The Assyrian immigrants moved to other towns in the country, such as the city of Córdoba, where several of them settled in the same house.Footnote 86 Regarding their distribution throughout the national territory, Botta points out:
In Argentina, the selected destination was the province of Jujuy, particularly the towns of El Carmen and Pueblo Ledesma (Libertador General San Martín). The construction of the La Ciénaga dam and the expanding activity of the Ledesma sugar mill attracted migrants to the area… . In 1910, a delegation of Chaldeans traveled to Rome and met with Pope Pius X. The pontiff expressed his support for the delegation and provided them with the necessary financial resources to travel to our country. The surnames of the families that arrived in Jujuy at that time can be cited: David, Dávida, Kamandaro, Acop, Guibarguis, D’Jallad, Mastaram, Slivon, Nathanielof, Abraham, Zona, Chalabe, Malik de Tchara, Khallov, Babe, Sarquiza, Isayo, Danielo, Safarov, Begzadeth, Isaya, Pabloff, Kuryakus, Abazo. It is noteworthy that some of their adopted surnames sounded Russian, likely influenced by the Russian nature of their travel documents.Footnote 87
The personal ties of the Assyrian migrants from Persia with the missionaries of the Congregation of the Mission were preserved despite the great geographical distance.Footnote 88 During World War I correspondence continued, generally with news about the situation that was being experienced in the Assyrian populations affected by violence. Antoine Clarys’s correspondence with his former students while collaborating with Romero Dusmet, the Spanish representative in Tehran, on humanitarian work offers a pertinent example.Footnote 89 After the end of the war, more Assyrians arrived in Argentina on their own thanks to the existence of these networks.
At the beginning of 1921, the French authorities were interested in determining the distribution of the Chaldean Assyrians of Persia throughout the world. Upon learning of the strong ties that many of them retained with the Congregation of the Mission, Aristide Chatelet, the representative of the order in Tehran, was asked to provide an estimate of their distribution in the region and in other countries. With respect to territories outside the Middle East, only North America, with an approximate population of twenty-five thousand, and Argentina, with two thousand, are noted.Footnote 90 Verification of the Argentine figures is impossible, as the Assyrians’ status is neither specified in the passenger entry lists of the port of Buenos Aires nor known to port officials. Due to the ambiguity surrounding their ethnic and national origins, they were classified as Syrians, Arabs, or Levantines instead of Persians. This decision complicates the assessment of their population size, although in some instances the city of birth is documented.Footnote 91
The Assyrian League (Alymiat Assuriat) was concerned with sending economic aid to the Middle East in 1917 through Spanish diplomatic representations. In August 1934, a few months before the League of Nations requested that the Argentine government permit the entry of Assyrian refugees from Iraq, the Assyrian Aphremic Center (Centro Afrémico Asirio) was established in Buenos Aires. By that time, several associations of Christians from Greater Syria had also been established, serving as key points of reference for newcomers.Footnote 92
Armenians from Persia were able to rely on the channels established by the agencies designed to assist those fleeing the genocide. Individuals who traveled alone to Argentina generally contacted Armenian organizations to request support or attention, as did groups upon their arrival in the country.Footnote 93
According to the passenger lists of the port of Buenos Aires, which are kept at the National Directorate of Migration (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones), approximately 280 Armenians arrived from Persia between 1922 and 1960.Footnote 94 This figure aligns with the total number of Persians (including people of all faiths) recorded in the data from the Fourth National Census Argentina conducted in 1947.Footnote 95 However, these data are moderately contradicted by the balance of the number of entries and exits of Persians from 1921 to 1947, which was 336.Footnote 96
From 1889 to 1960, approximately 17,072 Armenians from various countries—primarily Turkey, Greece, and Armenia—arrived. Of these, those from Persia accounted for roughly 1.64% of the total. However, it is noteworthy that a significant proportion of those from Armenia might actually have originated from Turkey, or even Persia. Armenia was not a site of the major mass killings. Furthermore, it was not until 1918 that the country gained independence. It lasted as an independent state for less than three years. The departure of these people was primarily due to the Soviet occupation that took place at the end of 1920. Iraq also appears on the list of countries of origin, as Armenians had arrived there after fleeing from or through Persia in 1918, following a route similar to that taken by Assyrians.
The passanger lists provides data of great interest, which confirm the relationship between the massacres committed by Ottoman forces in northern Persia and the escape and migratory routes. It can be seen, for example, that during the first decades, Armenians from the northwestern areas of the country, which were most affected by the violence, entered specifically from the cities of Tabriz, Salmas, Khoy, and Maku. Other places of origin also included Tehran, Hemedan, Urmia, Maraghe, Isfahan, and Qazvin.Footnote 97
The passenger lists at the port of Buenos Aires indicate the arrival of several Armenians of Persian origin with Russified surnames, as shown by the language box, which indicates that they spoke Persian in addition to Russian. This suggests that the Soviet Union was a significant route during the migration. A similar situation occurs with other Armenians born in Persia who know other languages, such as French or Italian. This allows us to record the countries through which they traveled. There also are cases of Armenians who were not born in Persia but who spoke Persian. This may indicate that they are the children of emigrants, or that their place of birth was recorded incorrectly. There also are entries for Armenian families whose parents—or one of them—had been born in Persia, and whose children were born in transit countries in Europe or the Middle East. These data also allows us to piece together part of their journey. When marriages include a person not born in Persia—who usually comes from the Ottoman Empire—it is possible that the couple met while one of them was a refugee in Persia.Footnote 98 Another possibility is that the marriage was recorded after both people were residing in a third country, most likely in Europe.Footnote 99
An important detail of the passenger lists is that Armenians of Persian origin almost always were registered consecutively. This seems to indicate that they disembarked in groups. This could be because they belonged to the same family or a group of acquaintances sharing the same place of origin. The coincidence of other data is observed as well, such as their arrival on the same ship and their embarkation from the same port, which typically was Genova, Marseille, Cherbourg, Le Havre, or Hamburg.
Finally, the database also includes inscriptions of Armenians holding Persian documentation or passports, who were neither born in Persia nor residents there, and who spoke languages other than Persian. This was a relatively common strategy among those who came from the Soviet Union, especially from the Caucasus region, and from Eastern European countries, as it allowed them to leave those territories more quickly using such papers.Footnote 100
Conclusions
The analysis of the various sources referenced in this paper has confirmed that Iranian migration in the early twentieth century moved toward countries, such as Argentina, that have received minimal coverage from the academic community. These findings enable a more global perspective on this phenomenon, which remains largely unexplored.
The genocide perpetrated by Ottoman forces and their allies during World War I resulted in the migration of a significant number of Armenians and Assyrians to Latin America. Most came from territories under Turkish control, as that area was the most affected by the conflict. However, several hundred people also arrived from northwestern Persia and later from other countries in this region and the Mediterranean basin.
Despite the geographical distance, during the colonial period, groups of Armenian merchants—mostly from Isfahan—settled in several Spanish, European, American, and Asian cities, such as Seville, Cádiz, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Lima, and especially Manila, where the largest group was concentrated. They were primarily merchants who were organized into guilds and had significant purchasing power. The merchants’ interest was in precious metals from America, especially silver. As the Spanish Empire declined, this community gradually disappeared.
At the turn of the twentieth century, substantial groups of Armenian immigrants began arriving in Latin America, mostly from the Ottoman Empire. With the outbreak of World War I, the community became concerned about the events unfolding in Anatolia. The arrival of survivors of the massacres intensified their criticism of the Turkish state, a sentiment that persists to this day.Footnote 101
The settlement of new Armenians and Assyrians from Persia was suspended until the first decades of the twentieth century, when the reasons for resettlement and places of origin were different. At that time they no longer came from Isfahan, but from towns in the north of the country, such as Urmia, Khoy, Salmas, and Khosrava, among others. Before the war, the first to cross the ocean were immigrants seeking to improve their economic conditions. Later, survivors of the massacres arrived from these cities and others, such as Tabriz and Maku, which were occupied by Turkish troops. However, other factors beyond the genocide itself must be considered, such as famines, epidemics, and the Russian Revolution. The material and economic conditions of these people were clearly different from those of the merchants who arrived in the cities of the Spanish Empire two or three centuries earlier.
The Assyrians from northwestern Persia were mostly, if not all, Chaldeans. This was important when it came to settling in Latin America, a region where Catholicism had a strong presence. The emigrants of this community made use of the networks of the Congregation of the Mission in Argentina, and members of this order supported them significantly upon their arrival. In contrast, Armenians from Iran relied on their community–based aid organizations, whether religious or secular, regardless of country of origin.
The missionaries of the Congregation of the Mission, especially Pierre Franssen and Antoine Clarys, also acted as a bridge between the Christian communities and diplomatic representation of Spain in Tabriz and Tehran, thanks to the close collaboration formed to stop the massacres and defend the properties of the Allied powers. It was through these priests that Romero Dusmet created links with the Syro–Chaldeans, and especially with the Armenians of Tabriz. These missionaries were a key link between the Persian Christian communities, Latin America, and the Spanish Legation in Persia. Sharing the same Christian beliefs indisputably facilitated this relationship.
When attempting to quantify the number of Christian emigrants from Persia, the researcher encounters various challenges. Records may not always accurately reflect the actual figures of entries and exits, and it may not always be possible to determine a person’s creed or ethnicity. Surnames are typically the most readily identifiable information for Armenians; however for Assyrians and other groups this can be more complex, as they may be registered under different nationalities. In some cases, passenger lists may be incomplete or lost, leading to significant gaps in the records. Statistical data may not be complete, and figures may not be clear. Regarding Armenians from Persia residing in Argentina, there is relative agreement in the different sources consulted, with figures ranging between 200 and 300 people. Assyrians numbered between the 2,000 cases estimated by the Congregation of the Mission in 1921 and the 200 indicated in the document of the League of Nations in 1927. Although these figures are not accompanied by detailed information, it is possible that the Assyrians from Iran identified by the Vincentians were individuals who had emigrated prior to World War I, with the number of individuals who arrived after the war being included in the second case. It is evident that prior to the onset of the conflict the Assyrian community in Persia surpassed the Armenian community in size. However, the exodus resulted in a comparable influx of individuals from both communities.
The cultural exchange and interaction that took place in Argentina among Armenians, Assyrians from Persia, and their counterparts from other regions of the Middle East helped strengthen the shared identity of these communities centered on their common Christian beliefs. Concurrently, they deliberately distanced themselves from any symbol, connection, or reference to Islam, a religion that, from their perspective, their executioners professed. The small group of people from Persian lands did not create their own collectives or entities based on their country of origin. As a result, identity and religion took precedence over nationality, making it difficult to determine a person’s country of origin. Persian Armenians rapidly integrated into the Armenian community and into Argentine society as a whole. There was limited influx of individuals from Iran following the initial years of the exodus, primarily attributable to the significant decline in the Christian population in the northwest of the country. This is evident in the high age of the individuals cited in media coverage of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s visit to Buenos Aires in 1965. This community faced difficulties maintaining its connections with Persia, including geographical distance, and particularly the ongoing political instability in the Middle East, where religious persecutions continued until the early 1930s. Shortly thereafter, with the onset of World War II and its subsequent political ramifications in Iran, the situation remained unchanged for a few more years.
With the outbreak of the 1979 revolution and the onset of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–88), some Iranian emigrants and refugees arrived in Latin America once more, predominantly supporters of the Shah or individuals seeking refuge from military hostilities. On that occasion, the proportion of Christians was insignificant due to the predominance of Muslims or Bahá’í Faith adherents. It is noteworthy that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi himself was exiled in Mexico and Panama for several months between 1979 and 1980, largely because he had no other viable options at the time.
Due to the ongoing political instability in the Middle East, the possibility of future influxes of Christian refugees remains a distinct possibility. This is particularly salient in regions such as southern Turkey, northwestern Iran, and northeastern Iraq, where the Christian population is in decline and facing the prospect of total extinction.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks the staff of the Geneva-based United Nations Archives, the National Historical Archive (Spain), the Nubar Library in Paris, the Diplomatic Archives Center in La Courneuve (France), the Historical Archive of the Congregation of the Mission (France), the library of the Armenian Cultural Association (Argentina), and Joseph and Claire Yacoub for their assistance in locating documents. This work was supported by the research project “Crossed Perspectives between the Iranian and Hispanic Worlds. Narratives and Representations in Contemporary Times”, which has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Reference: PID2023-1502740A-100).
Archives
Archives Diplomatiques du Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères (France)
Archivo de la Cancillería Argentina
Archivo General de la Administración (Spain)
Archivo Histórico Nacional (Spain)
Biblioteca de la Asociación Cultural Armenia (Argentina)
Bibliothèque Nubar (France)
UCLA Center for Oral History Research (United States)
United Nations Archives (Switzerland)
Fernando Camacho Padilla is Associate Professor of History at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He has studied the multiple effects that political crises, such as revolutionary experiences and military coups, have had on international relations. He also works on Latin America and the Middle East connections.
