 Courtyard of a house of Ottoman immigrants, in the Tres Sargentos Passage, Buenos Aires, c. 1912. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 635 (IOM) [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Buenos Aires | |
| Languages | |
| Rioplatense Spanish, Turkish | |
| Religion | |
| Islam and Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Turkish diaspora |
Turkish Argentines are Argentine citizens of full or partial Turkish ancestry. In 2015, The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that there are 635 Turkish immigrants residing in Argentina. [1]
The Turkish community is small and mainly descended from Turks who arrived during the Great Immigration in Argentina in the late 19th century and early 20th century from the then Ottoman Empire, mainly during World War I. Another second wave arrived during World War II. Some third generation descendants are fluent in Turkish. [2] The community, which is very active, is usually seen at the Immigrant's Day celebration in Buenos Aires, thanks to an invitation from the National Migration Directorate. [3]
Most of the immigrants arriving since the Ottoman Empire were Arabs (mainly Syrians and Lebanese), while another number were Sephardic Jews and Armenians. Despite this, the Arab-Argentines are mistakenly nicknamed Turks. An example of this is the nickname of the former president Carlos Saúl Menem. [4] [2] This is due to the arrival of immigrants they were noted as "Turkish-Ottomans", appearing in the same way in the first Argentine censuses. [5] [6] In 1914, the "Turkish-Ottomans" represented 1.9% of the foreign population, being the fifth largest immigration. [7]
At the beginning of the 1900s, a Turkish-Ottoman neighborhood was developed in the Catalinas Norte area of the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Retiro, which stretched for 200 meters above the Reconquista Street. The sector concentrated most of the 8,000 Ottomans in Buenos Aires. Many of them were merchants and had their own newspaper
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Argentina, with Roman Catholicism being its largest denomination. This historical background is very much due to the Spanish influence brought about through the newly conquered territories. However, affiliation with Protestant churches is increasing and immigration throughout the 20th century has brought other religions from various regions to Argentina.
Asian Argentines, are Argentine citizens or residents of Asian ancestry. The vast majority trace their ancestry to West Asia, primarily Lebanon and Syria, and East Asia, namely China and Japan. Though there are other communities of South Asian or Southeast Asian origin as well. Asian-Argentines settled in Argentina in large numbers during several waves of immigration in the twentieth century.
Turkish people or Turks are the largest Turkic people who speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In addition, centuries-old ethnic Turkish communities still live across other former territories of the Ottoman Empire. Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a Turk as anyone who is a citizen of Turkey. While the legal use of the term Turkish as it pertains to a citizen of Turkey is different from the term's ethnic definition, the majority of the Turkish population are of Turkish ethnicity. The vast majority of Turks are Muslims and follow the Sunni and Alevi faith.
Immigration to Argentina began in several millennia BCE with the arrival of different populations from Asia to the Americas through Beringia, according to the most accepted theories, and were slowly populating the Americas. Upon arrival of the Spaniards, the native inhabitants of Argentine territory were approximately 300,000 people belonging to many Indigenous American civilizations, cultures, and tribes.
Asian Brazilians refers to Brazilian citizens or residents of Asian ancestry. The vast majority trace their origins to Western Asia, particularly Lebanon, or East Asia, namely Japan. The Brazilian census does not use "Asian" as a racial category, though the term "yellow" refers to people of East Asian ethnic origin.
Arab Brazilians are Brazilian citizens of Arab ethnic, cultural, linguistic heritage and identity. The majority of Arab Brazilians trace their origin to the Levantine region of the Arab World, known in Arabic as Bilad al-Sham, primarily from Lebanon and Syria, as well as Palestine. Arab Brazilians are Christians in the great majority. The first Syrians and Lebanese arrived in São Paulo around 1880. It is not known exactly when, although the Syrians and Lebanese say that in 1885 there was a small core of peddlers working in the market square. By 1920, the census listed 50,246 Syrians and Lebanese in Brazil, 38.4% (2/5) of these in the state of São Paulo. The 1940 census enumerated 48,614 Syrians, Lebanese and other related groups with a decrease of approximately 1647 people. As immigration almost ceased after 1929 and the colony aged, it is surprising that the decline was not even greater. The trend of the period between 1920 and 1940 was the continuous concentration of Syrians and Lebanese in São Paulo. Almost half (49.3%) of Syrians and Lebanese residents in Brazil lived in São Paulo.
The Turkish diaspora refers to ethnic Turkish people who have migrated from, or are the descendants of migrants from, the Republic of Turkey, Northern Cyprus or other modern nation-states that were once part of the former Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the Turkish diaspora is not only formed by people with roots from mainland Anatolia and Eastern Thrace ; rather, it is also formed of Turkish communities which have also left traditional areas of Turkish settlements in the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, the region of Meskhetia in Georgia, and the Arab world.
Argentina has a racially and ethnically diverse population. The territory of what today is Argentina was first inhabited by numerous indigenous peoples. The first white settlers came during the period of Spanish colonization, beginning in the 16th century. The Spaniards imported African slaves, who would go on to become the first Afro-Argentines. Following independence from Spain in the 19th century and well into the 20th century, numerous migration waves took place, with Argentina being the second most popular destination for migrants in the early 20th century, after the United States. Most of these migrants came from Europe.
Immigration to Turkey is the process by which people migrate to Turkey to reside in the country. Many, but not all, become Turkish citizens. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and following Turkish War of Independence, an exodus by the large portion of Turkish (Turkic) and Muslim peoples from the Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea, and Greece took refuge in present-day Turkey and moulded the country's fundamental features. Trends of immigration towards Turkey continue to this day, although the motives are more varied and are usually in line with the patterns of global immigration movements. Turkey's migrant crisis is a following period since the 2010s, characterized by high numbers of people arriving and settling in Turkey.
Armenian Argentines are ethnic Armenians who live in Argentina. Estimates vary, but between 70,000 and 120,000 people of Armenian ancestry live in the country, forming one of the largest groups in the Armenian diaspora worldwide. The core of the population came from Cilicia, Syria and Lebanon.
Turkish Canadians, also called Canadian Turks, are Canadian citizens of Turkish descent. The majority of Canadian Turks descend from the Republic of Turkey; however, there has also been significant Turkish migration from other post-Ottoman modern nation-states including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to Canada from the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, as well as other parts of the Levant, and North Africa.
Arab Argentine refers to Argentine citizens or residents whose ancestry traces back to various waves of immigrants, largely of Arab ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity originating mainly from what is now Lebanon and Syria, but also some individuals from the twenty-two countries which comprise the Arab world such as Palestine, Egypt and Morocco. Arab Argentines are one of the largest Arab diaspora groups in the world.
Diplomatic relations between the countries Argentina and Lebanon, have existed for over a century. Both nations enjoy friendly relations, the importance of which centers on the history of Lebanese immigration to Argentina. There are approximately 1.5 million Argentines of Lebanese descent. The Lebanese community in Argentina is the third largest immigrant community in the country and Argentina is host to the second largest community in Latin America. Both nations are members of the Group of 24 and the United Nations.
Lebanese Turkmen, also known as the Lebanese Turks, are people of Turkish ancestry that live in Lebanon. The historic rule of several Turkic dynasties in the region saw continuous Turkish migration waves to Lebanon during the Tulunid rule (868–905), Ikhshidid rule (935–969), Seljuk rule (1037–1194), Mamluk rule (1291–1515), and Ottoman rule (1516–1918).
The Turks in the Arab world refers to ethnic Turkish people who live in the Arab world. There are significant Turkish populations scattered throughout North Africa, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula.
Argentines are the people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Argentine. In the past the National Gentilic for Citizens of Argentina was mistakenly translated as Argentinians, a term that is no longer considered accurate.
European Argentines or White Argentines belong to several communities which trace their origins to various migrations from Europe and which have contributed to the country's cultural and demographic variety. They are the descendants of colonists from Spain during the colonial period prior to 1810, or in the majority of cases, of Spanish, Italians, French, Russians and other Europeans who arrived in the great immigration wave from the mid 19th to the mid 20th centuries, and who largely intermarried among their many nationalities during and after this wave. No recent Argentine census has included comprehensive questions on ethnicity, although numerous studies have determined that European Argentinians have been a majority in the country since 1914.
Lebanese Argentine refers to Argentine citizens of Lebanese descent or Lebanon-born people who reside in Argentina. Many of the Lebanese Argentines are descendants of immigrants cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity, originating from what is now Lebanon.
Emin Arslan was a Lebanese author, journalist, editor and consul. He was the Consul General of the Ottoman Empire in Bordeaux, Brussels, Paris and Buenos Aires. He authored books and articles in Arabic, Spanish and French.
West Asian Canadians, officially known as West Central Asian and Middle Eastern Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to West Asia and Central Asia. The term West Asian Canadian is a subgroup of Asian Canadians and Middle Eastern Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, West Asian Canadians are considered visible minorities and can be further divided by nationality, such as Iranian Canadian or Afghan Canadian.
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