Southern Cone Historical Manuscripts

Julio Roca (1843-1914)

A great president influences the course of history by placing his nation on a trajectory that benefits the people over time. Argentina can proudly point to Julio Argentino Roca (1843-1914) as such a president. Roca was instrumental in the transition of a loosely associated collection of provinces into the modern Argentine nation-state. Twice elected president, he also served as Argentina’s highest ranking general, a cabinet minister, and the head of the national senate.

• Biographical Information
• Description of Archival Collection
• Bibliography

Biographical Information

Born on July 17th 1843 in the scenic Argentine province of Tucumán, Roca was the fifth of eight children of Coronel José Segundo Roca and Agustina Paz. José Segundo’s military career kept him away from home for long periods of time either engaged in military campaigns or in exile fleeing from the terror instigated by Juan Manuel de Rosas, who ruled Argentina with an iron fist from the 1820s to 1852. In 1855, Julio Roca’s mother passed away. The children were sent to various relatives with Julio and two of his brothers enrolling at the Colegio de Concepción del Uruguay. Excelling under the rigorous discipline of a military school, he happened uponthe library where he buried himself in works on military campaigns. These studies served him well later in life when he rose to lead the Argentine army. In his father’s absence, Roca spent time at his uncle’s home in the province of Paraná. His uncle, Marcos Roca, was a senator in the provincial Paraná congress and an avid supporter of José Justo Urquiza, the vanquisher of Rosas and the leader of the Argentine Confederation that failed in its attempt to unite the country ...  (continue)

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Description of Archival Collection
(MSH/SCH 4020-1 to 4020-149 and 8500-1 to 8500-8)

The 149 items found in this collection consist largely of letters written to members of Roca’s family. The majority are personal letters written to his father, brother, and son. More detail on each individual item can be found the manuscript database at http://lib-266.library.nd.edu/index_sch.html. 

They include:
108 letters written by Julio Roca to family members and friends including:
              53 letters to his brother, Alejandro
              8 letters to his father, Jose Segundo
              1 letter to his son, Julio

41 letters or documents addressed to Julio Roca from friends and associates:
              9 letters from Pedro Barrazas
              5 letters from General Francisco Seeber

There is also a small number of official documents dealing with commercial issues and some photographs.

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Bibliography

Arce, José.  Cronología de Roca.  2nd ed.  Buenos Aires: Republica Argentina.  Ministerio de Educación y Justicía, 1965.  Series: Publicaciones del Museo Roca.  Estudios – VII.

Julio A. Roca.  Buenos Aires: Planeta, 1999. Series: Grandes Protagonistas de la Historia Argentina.

Luna, Felix.  Yo soy Roca. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 2000.

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