Un agente clave de la expansión agrícola en las Pampas. Empresarios de colonización en la provincia de Santa Fe (Argentina) durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX

– The systematic installation of agricultural colonies based on European immigrants in Santa Fe province during the second half of the nineteenth century paved the way for the consolidation of an extensive rainfed agriculture over the fertile Argentine pampas. In this process a group of German land entrepreneurs played a crucial role. This paper aims to make new contributions to the analysis of these actors by working on two case studies, which represent different moments of the evolution of the colonization process. We use deeds of sales and private accounts to study the different logics of action in the market, the variation of profit rates, risks levels and business viability.