Argentina, and Buenos Aires in particular, was a preferred South Americandestination for great numbers of European immigrants who crossed theAtlantic beginning in the late nineteenth century in search of newopportunities. Most Latin American governments, from the early days of theirnations' independence, sought to attract European workers. These newlyfounded countries considered immigration an essential element for creating asociety that would become economically, politically, and socially modern.They hoped to attract mainly foreigners from Northern Europe, among them theBritish, whom they considered to have superior labor skills and to beaccustomed to the habits of order and work the new nation required.