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Swedish Argentines are Argentine citizens of Swedish descent, as well as Swedish-born people who reside in Argentina. The history of Swedish settlement in Argentina took place principally in the mid to late 19th century, when Swedish people arrived in Argentina. Many Swedes came to Argentina for economic reasons and in order to start a new life. Swedes also helped build Argentina, in particular helping to build Argentina's railroads in the mid 19th century.
The first Swedes to arrive in Argentina were registered as new converts by Jesuits in Córdoba in 1763. Many of the Swedes who showed up during the first half of the 19th century were adventurers who fought in the civil war between the Unitarians and Federalists (on both sides). A good number of them were sons of prominent families who were fleeing a debt or had some other reason to make themselves scarce. They became the black sheep of the Pampas.[citation needed][clarification needed] Back home in northern Sweden, they had hunted moose. In Misiones Province's subtropical rainforest, they hunted tapir.
Argentina is home to the largest Swedish community in Latin America.[citation needed]