I'm hoping to come at this project from some kind of personal angle or connection, possibly from the land/territory question or colonist/indigenous relations. I'm wondering if Wilfred Barbrooke Grubb played any role in the Mennonite migration to the Chaco. During the early stage of research I came across information that Barbrooke Grubb spoke at two conferences in New York in 1900. It appears that "Grubb continued promoting European and North American Immigration for ranching in his speeches at the New York missions conference. [...] Grubb described how he and his coworkers were 'opening up' the Chaco area.[...] Grubb advocated an influx of Christian business people (...) as well as the development of cattle ranching in which local people were employed as ranch hands." (1) In a later publication, he repeated the same sentiment: "What the Chaco needs is not the establishment of great companies, but a great number of smaller settlers, and this can only be made possible if the Government facilitates men of small capital being able to secure land...". (2) Was there some connection between Grubb's speeches in New York or publications and the Mennonites ending up in the Chaco? Interestingly, a New York banker (Samuel McRoberts) and a realtor (Fred Engen) helped the Mennonites secure land in the Chaco after initial meetings with a Mennonite delegation in New York in 1919. (3) There is an almost 20 year gap from the time Grubb gave his speeches to the delegation meeting, so perhaps my question is too far fetched, or perhaps it is impossible to find out if there was some connection or groundwork he might have laid. However, Barbrooke Grubb also maintained cordial relations with the Paraguayan government, so it is plausible that he would have put forward proposals for settlement of the Chaco there. Perhaps there might be records in some Paraguayan archive? Maybe Manuel Gondra is the key: he was president of Paraguay from 1910-1911 and again from 1920-1921, both times when Barbrooke Grubb was in Paraguay. Gondra was also the Paraguayan minister (ambassador?) in Washington just prior to 1920, with whom McRoberts had connections. (4) Even though I don't have any direct evidence of communications regarding the settlement of the Chaco between all these figures, I am convinced that there must have been at the very least some ideological connection. I'm not sure how far I want to go with my research to find definite proof of a connection, since it is not entirely essential to the content of the project, but for myself this would be an interesting more direct connection to my own history and the 'opening up' of the Chaco that led to the Mennonite settlement.
(1) Crago, Morgan. "W. Barbrooke Grubb - Missionary Explorer and Anglican Layman." www.bu.edu/missiology/w-barbrooke-grubb/
(2) Barbrooke Grubb, Wilfrid. "The Paraguayan Chaco and Its Possible Future," The Geographical Journal 54, no. 3 (1919): 159
(4) ibid
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